1951 SW Football Team

1951 Southwest Football Team

With a combination of returning veterans from the previous 5-3 season and some talented newcomers, the 1951 Football team finished the season 7 and 1 overall, and 6 and 0 in the Minneapolis Conference to win the City Championship. The team went on to the U of M's Memorial Stadium to whip St. Paul Murray 40-8 to secure the Twin City Championship trophy. This was as far as a Minnesota high school football team could go at a time before there was a State Championship game.

Awards included Coach of the Year to Jerry Sullivan, Most Valuable Player to Paul Eddy, and Best Lineman in the City to Dave Mills. Paul Eddy, Bob Meredith, Dave Mills, Tom Kent, and Don Dennison were named to the All-City team. Clark Ewald, Carl Bredt, and Tom Kassmir received All- City Honorable Mention. Nine members of the 1951 team went on to play College Football.

The one loss of the 1951 season was to Austin in the first game of the year. Coach Sullivan had a fiery message for the team on the bus back to Minneapolis, which became a defining moment for the season..

Bob Meredith, Mel Young, Denny Sullivan, Bob Lockrem, Clark Ewald, and Skeets Berg were also members of the Southwest Hockey team which defeated St. Paul Murray 5-3 in the 1951 Twin City Championship Hockey game.

Les Barnard, the legendary South High coach, who coached five championship teams beginning in 1934,was quoted by the Minneapolis paper as saying, "That's one of the best teams Minneapolis has ever had in the Twin Cities Championship game. And I'm not so sure it isn't the best."