On December 7 1941 1941 Heisman winner Bruce Smith
His name evokes images of another, more famous football player who came along more than 40 years later. His actual football exploits have been largely forgotten in the mists of time. But this Bruce Smith? He not only won the 1941 Heisman Trophy; the kid with Hollywood looks starred in an autobiographical Hollywood movie. Oh yeah, and he’s been nominated for sainthood. Many football heroes have been canonized by the press, but this is the Catholic Church we’re talking about. In 1942, the movie “Smith of Minnesota” was released. It celebrated the Faribault, Minn., product’s virtuous and athletic life — though it didn’t exactly rival “Citizen Kane” in cinematic excellence. “Dog of a movie,” said Smith’s widow, Gloria. “It was pretty bad. I told Bruce, ‘If they took the word “swell” out of the script, it would be a silent movie.'” Whatever merits Smith lacked as a thespian, he made up for as a human. He was deeply religious — “I never heard him curse,” Gloria said — and the grace with which he endured terminal cancer in the 1960s earned him a final measure of respect and even reverence. While deeply ill, Smith made hospital rounds with Father William Cantwell to visit and comfort dying young cancer patients. A decade after Smith died in 1967, Cantwell was moved to propose the former football player’s canonization. Decades before, Smith’s football exploits had made him an icon to his fellow Minnesotans. Huge crowds would gather at the Faribault train station to greet him when he came home to visit his family after games. “I just wish I had a quarter for everyone who named their child after him,” Gloria said. “He was a hero to so many people.” Four years ago, Gloria was forced by financial straits to sell Bruce’s Heisman and some other memorabilia to a collector in Los Angeles. The trophy is distinctive for the broken finger on the stiff-arming hand, Gloria said. A neighbor had been ironing Bruce’s shirts and hung them on the outstretched arm — until one day the finger broke off. The neighbor confided to Gloria, who told her to never mention it to Bruce. “I always maintained ignorance,” Gloria said with a laugh. Surely, such a saintly man would have forgiven her.
— Pat Forde
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