Hall of Fame
Position: Quarterback
Years: 1908-1910
Place of Birth: Arlington, MN
Date of Birth: Sep 15, 1887
Place of Death: LeSuer, MN
Date of Death: Dec 13, 1963
Height: 5-9
Weight: 155
High School: Arlington, MN (Arlington HS)\r
During the 1909 season, John McGovern, junior captain and quarterback at Minnesota, was putting Gopher football on the map and leading his team to the Big Nine conference (later the Big Ten) championship. Gridiron buffs were left in disbelief when McGovern's tiny 5-9, 155-pound figure squirted through enemy lines or booted the football for long yardage field goals. They were less surprised when McGovern was recognized as an All-America that season. It was McGovern's kicking toe that stunned coach Amos Alonzo Stagg's powerful Chicago team in 1909. The little guy kicked three field goals to provide Minnesota with a 20-6 victory. McGovern was a gritty, durable player who simply refused to quit. That characteristic was never more obvious than in the final game of the 1909 season. Taped and padded to protect a broken collar bone, McGovern played the full 60 minutes of the season finale against Wisconsin, a game Minnesota lost, 15-6, to smudge an otherwise perfect season. In three varsity years, McGovern missed only one game. He became the master strategist in running coach Henry Williams' offense, one of the first to employ sophisticated shifts. After graduation, McGovern worked as sports editor for a Minnesota newspaper before turning to a law practice in Washington, D.C.
