The list of men who have coached multiple eventual Super Bowl winning coaches in college is short. Very short. In fact, as of this writing, San Jose State College's Bob Bronzan remains the only one. Though his time as the Spartan's head coach was a brief seven years in the 1950's, he managed to coach both Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil while influencing so many others. This is his story.
The Early Years
Bob Bronzan was born on January 11, 1919 in the blue collar town of Tehachapi, California. As one of six children born to Croatian immigrants and having lived through the Great Depression as a teenager, Bob Bronzan knew early on that education was the key to escaping poverty.
Using football as the vessel to reach his dreams, Bronzan went on from a prep star on the gridiron at Tehachapi High School to winning a Northern California Conference championship at Modesto Junior College to San Jose State College in 1937 where he would find himself again and again for the next 53 years. Playing under Dudley DeGroot, Bob Bronzan starred on some of the best squads in school history, going 22-3-1 in his first two years
Having lost in the last game of the year to miss out on a rare undefeated season in 1938, the Spartans entered 1939 determined to make it the best year ever for San Jose State. They didn't disappoint. Whether it was beating Montana State 35-0 or Cal's junior varsity squad 27-0 a week later, the Spartans treated each game as an opportunity to rectify the lone loss of the previous year. They ended the season a perfect 13-0, having given up just 23 points all year. With a CCAA championship in hand, it was the finest year in San Jose State's history.
Bob Bronzan ended his college playing career as an honorable-mention All American and a bachelors degree. But he was far from done with his education. With World War II looming in the distance, he found time to go to grad school at Stanford, obtaining both a masters and a doctorate.
After serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II, Bronzan returned stateside to begin his teaching career. He began his career teaching and coaching at Livingston High School in 1945 before being returning to San Jose State to serve as Bill Hubbard's assistant for the next four years. After beating Texas Tech in the 1949 Raisin Bowl, Hubbard stepped down as the Spartan's coach and anointed Bronzan as his successor.
The Spartans
At the tender age of 31, Bob Bronson entered the 1950 season as the youngest coach in all of college football. After opening his coaching career with a tough 33-16 loss at Stanford, his Spartans came out with a statement 14-10 win over Santa Clara. With victory in hand, Bronzan knew that he belonged in the college ranks.
San Jose State finished 1950 6-3-1 but won just twice the next year. However, one of their wins was a 32-6 thrashing over arch-rival Fresno State, salving his player's faith in his system.
The following year, the varsity program welcomed a sophomore tight end named Bill Walsh. While he would never amount to anything more than a role player, Walsh spent the next three years soaking up all the knowledge that he could glean from the young coach. The Spartan's 6-3 1952 season was spoiled with a hard-fought 15-7 loss to Santa Clara to end the season.
After going 4-4-1 in 1953, San Jose State was determined to rebound quickly the next season. They began the year beating Utah State (20-0) and Fresno State (28-0) before getting blown out by 17th ranked Cal 45-0. San Jose State went on to wrap up their 7-3 campaign with wins over Stanford (19-14) and New Mexico (26-14).
When Bill Walsh graduated that Spring, he took away many of Bronzan's lessons on life and football. He noticed how his coach was one of the first on the West Coast to integrate his football team and how Bronzan was always so attentive to his player's needs. Of course, Walsh realized the depths of Bronzan's affections much later in his life as Bronzan always tried to keep tabs on his players, valuing his relationships with each of them. This sense of value endeared him to many of his players.
It was during this era that Bronzan became widely known for his knowledge of the game. Notre Dame's Frank Leahy even brought him to South Bend, Indiana to oversee Spring practice numerous times.
After going 5-3-1 in 1955, the Spartans varsity program welcomed a young backup quarterback named Dick Vermeil. While Vermeil completed 47.1% of his passes for 91 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions that year, the Spartans finished 1956 2-7-1. After losing to Hawaii 20-0, Bob Bronzan stepped down to look for opportunities elsewhere. Little did he know how quickly his endeavors would lead him right back to where he started.
Later Life
For all his expertise in the game, Bob Bronzan spent just a single year in the NFL, an advisory role with the Eagles in 1958, before returning home. He served as San Jose State's athletic director from 1961 through 1972 and worked as a professor in their Human Performance Department until leaving in 1980.
He spent his golden year watching admirably as his greatest pupils won Super Bowls. In his journals, he knew all along that both Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil would be excellent coaches. His influence in the game extended far beyond those two legends of the game as Bronzan's coaching tree extended throughout college football, junior college and high school. Bob Bronzan died on December 10, 2006.
References
Comments