The 1936 College All-Star Game
In
1935, the city of Detroit had won, not only the National Football League
championship, but also laid claim to baseball’s World Series with the
champion Detroit Tigers. On September 2, 1936, in a game that had been
postponed from the previous night, the Detroit Lions had to scramble in
the fourth quarter just to tie the All-Stars of college football. The
attendance for the game numbered 76,361 and many felt this was the
greatest battle in the series thus far. The All-Stars’ play was considered a tribute to the hard work of coach, Bernie Bierman of the University of Minnesota. Bierman had led the Gophers to a national championship and finished the season undefeated in 1935. He was assisted by Elmer Layden of the University of Notre Dame, Bo McMillan of the University of Indiana, Lou Little of Columbia University and Lynn Waldorf of Northwestern University.
The first quarter was scoreless with the All-Stars racking up the yardage. The second quarter gave them their only score in a “neat play.” In four plays,
the All-Stars had driven 44 yards
to the Lions 17-yard line and “then came the Minnesota boys amply
protected by blockers…” Fullback Sheldon Beise lateralled the ball
backward to Vernal “Babe” Le Voir who swung in reverse, went inside of
the tackle, cut to the right, sidestepped a tackler and followed the
perfect blocking into the end zone. Le Voir’s was the first touchdown
ever scored in the All-Star classic. Willie Fromhart of Notre Dame
place-kicked the extra point. By half time, the All Stars had gained
twice as much yardage as their opponents. The Lions had trailed for three quarters when a fumble early in the fourth quarter set up a score. The Lion’s Ernie Caddel scored an eight-yard touchdown to make the score 7-6. The great Dutch Clark drop-kicked the extra point which secured a tie for the NFL Champs.