A story from the stands: What former Nebraska football players have learned from the game – Rohrig
THE PRECIOUS GIFT
“That was the most perfectly formed wall I had ever seen,” Herman Rohrig said of the punt return wall that broke Nebraska’s back and heart in the 1941 Rose Bowl game. sidelines, but Stanford set it up perfectly and ran it back. Before that, we had them on the run.”
“We felt really bad about the loss, but Coach Biff Jones told us not to get depressed. We played a good game.” That’s one of the lessons Rohrig learned from the game. “Life is like football. Sometimes you lose and football teaches you how to win and lose.” He has put those lessons to good use.
The comeback high school star from Nebraska almost went to the state of Colorado. He and a friend from Lincoln High were nearly full when Rohrig got a call from Cy Sherman; the sports editor of the Lincoln Star. Rohrig’s father was the Star’s janitor. “Sherman told me if he went to Colorado instead of Nebraska, he would fire my dad.” Nebraska won the recruiting battle.
At 6’4″ and 217 pounds, Rohrig was a great backup for his day, but Coach Jones was not impressed.
“He called me fireplug,” Rohrig said. “He made me run up the steps of the stadium to lose weight. I thought it was a little harsh, but he told me I could do it and I did.” Memorial Stadium still had the smell of the new stadium that had just been completed a few years earlier.
One of Rohrig’s fondest memories of those days was the punt return he ran against Missouri.
“Someone was running with me all the way to the end zone. The cheering fan was Mickey Rooney. “Great run,” he yelled at me as we reached the end zone.
It wasn’t long before Nebraska had another date with stardom. “The train ride to Pasadena took a little detour,” Rohrig recalled. “The first day, we went to Texas and Mexico. They wanted to let us see Mexico. The next day we were in Phoenix and then we spent a week or so in California before the game.”
Even though it was billed as a field trip, the team was able to hang out with some movie stars, including former Beatrice resident turned big movie star, Bob Taylor. “I took a picture with him and Ann Rutherford. I was showing them how to throw the ball.”
Players and coaches didn’t watch many Stanford movies to prepare for the game. “Hell, we just lined up and played. Nebraska played the single wing formation, but Stanford put in a new form called the T formation. Coach Lyman knew a little bit about the T from his Green Bay Packer days.”
“Our formations were simple. I was the running back, so I got center, like a quarterback today. When we lined up on the left, we went left. Occasionally we used a reverse, but that was it.”
Most of Nebraska’s first-team Rose Bowl players had a long history together. “With the exception of one kid from Kansas, we were all from Lincoln High.”
There would be more great races in Rohrig’s future. He then went on to play for the Chicago All-Star team, a selection of the best college players who played on the best team in the NFL. Rohrig also played eleven years with the Green Bay Packers.
Rohrig became supervisor of the top 10 officials. “I was 6’4″ before I started that job and at the end of 16 years, they cut me down to 5’9”.
Rohrig has been remarkably healthy all his life, except for breaking his nose eight times and spending a lot of time at the dentist. “Remember, we didn’t have face masks back then. I haven’t had any joint replacements,” she said, “but some of my friends thought I should get a head replacement once.”
“I love soccer,” Rohrig said. “Those guys don’t realize it yet, but they will always remember the lessons of football and of this game.”
Herman Rohrig certainly has. He has given you the priceless gift of his life.