Bernard E. Heselton (January 25, 1903 – February 6, 1981) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, from 1938 to 1964. During his career, Heselton won six Midwest Conference (MWC) championships, including the first in his initial season as Vikings' head coach. He amassed a 111–79–5 overall record, the second-most wins in university history. Heselton, who grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota, died in February 1981.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 25, 1903 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | February 6, 1981 (aged 78) Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1924 | Hamline |
| Basketball | |
| c. 1924 | Hamline |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1925–1927 | Central HS (MN) |
| 1928–1937 | East Division HS (WI) |
| 1938–1964 | Lawrence |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1961–1970 | Lawrence |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 111–79–5 (college football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 6 MWC (1938, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951) | |
Early life
editHeselton was born January 25, 1903, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended South Saint Paul High School, Hamline University and the University of Minnesota, where he graduated in 1925. Bernie starred in football and basketball while at Hamline.
Heselton married Alice Nellermoe. The couple had two daughters, Mary and Janet.[1]
Coaching career
editHeselton started his coaching career at Central High School, in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1925, then moving on to East Division High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1928, where he coached for ten years. His teams at East Division won 58 games, lost 16, and tied 6. They won six conference championships, five in succession with four undefeated seasons and a string of 32 straight wins.
While Heselton served as head coach at Lawrence University, the Vikings won the Midwest Conference (MWC) championships, in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1951. In addition to his coaching duties at Lawrence, Heselton served as the school's athletic director from 1961 to 1970.[2]
Honors and legacy
editHeselton's coaching accomplishments led to his induction to the state of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981, the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1982, and was part the inaugural class of the Lawrence University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.[3][4]
In 1988, to commemorate the 25 years of rivalry between Carl Doehling of Ripon College and Heselton, the two schools instituted the Doehling–Heselton Memorial Trophy. The winner of the annual game between the Red Hawks and the Vikings is awarded this traveling trophy.
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Vikings (Midwest Conference) (1938–1964) | |||||||||
| 1938 | Lawrence | 6–1 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1939 | Lawrence | 2–5 | 1–4 | 9th | |||||
| 1940 | Lawrence | 2–5 | 2–5 | 8th | |||||
| 1941 | Lawrence | 4–2–1 | 3–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1942 | Lawrence | 6–0 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1943 | Lawrence | 2–2 | |||||||
| 1944 | Lawrence | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1945 | Lawrence | 3–2 | |||||||
| 1946 | Lawrence | 6–1–1 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1947 | Lawrence | 7–1 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1948 | Lawrence | 7–1 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1949 | Lawrence | 7–1 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1950 | Lawrence | 2–5 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1951 | Lawrence | 7–0 | 7–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1952 | Lawrence | 7–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1953 | Lawrence | 6–1–1 | 5–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1954 | Lawrence | 6–2 | 6–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1955 | Lawrence | 1–3–1 | 1–3–1 | NA | |||||
| 1956 | Lawrence | 4–4 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1957 | Lawrence | 1–7 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| 1958 | Lawrence | 1–7 | 1–7 | 9th | |||||
| 1959 | Lawrence | 4–4 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1960 | Lawrence | 3–5 | 3–5 | T–8th | |||||
| 1961 | Lawrence | 4–4 | 4–4 | T–6th | |||||
| 1962 | Lawrence | 6–2 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1963 | Lawrence | 3–4–1 | 3–4–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1964 | Lawrence | 2–6 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| Lawrence: | 111–79–5 | 92–68–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 111–79–5 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/e/r/Percy-D-Gerde/ODT1-0005.html [user-generated source]
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "OCR Document". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ "Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame 1996 Inductees - Lawrence University". Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.