Tigers dig deep into history books to honour former stars

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2010 (5937 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It happened 68 years ago, but Lou Bernstein remembers it like it was yesterday.

Playing left end for the rag tag St. John’s Tigers, Bernstein and his teammates shocked the Kelvin Clippers, led by the great Harry Hood, to serve notice that they were a team to watch in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

“Everyone picked us to come in last (in 1941-42),” Bernstein said. “Kelvin was the hot team, and they had everybody. I recall the day we beat Kelvin, their whole team sat down and bawled and bawled.”

That win was no accident. The Tigers would go on to beat St. Paul’s to win the league championship that season, and would make it back to the final the next year.

“We were a team of newcomers and nobodies, and we won the championship,” Bernstein said.

After that first season, Bernstein moved to fullback for the next two years, which is where he had his biggest impact on the field.

As St. John’s prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary this weekend, plans are in place to honour Bernstein, 84, and several other players who played key roles in establishing the Tigers’ football tradition.

Bert Aikens, Dr. Norman Hill, Kirk Kuppers and Bernstein will all be inducted into the WHSFL Hall of Fame at noon on Saturday in the big tent being put up on the school’s field.

Meanwhile, Rube Ludwig, who starred for the Tigers before the league was officially founded in 1933 will be given a special honour.

“I was thrilled when I got the call,” said Bernstein, who lived in the North End and West Kildonan until a few years ago. “I thought it was quite an honour after all these years. Now I have something I can brag about to my three grandchildren.”

Ironically, Bernstein’s grandson, Matthew, was the captain of the St. Paul’s team that won the WHSHL’s Potter Division title this past season.

“They can’t put anything past me now,” joked the proud grandfather. “The only difference is that I can only throw a ball about 10 yards now.”

The Tigers being honoured will also include about 15 former players — from the 1940s through to the 2000s — who will be given orange helmets as members of the inaugural class of the St. John’s Tigers Hall of Fame.

“This is just a starting point for us,” said current Tigers head coach Brian Marks. “We wanted to feature some people to kind of get the history out there.”

Marks said the reunion served as a perfect opportunity to honour the storied history of the school’s football program.

“This will hopefully remind the kids we have now what it means to be a Tiger,” Marks said.

For more information on the St. John’s reunion, visit www.stjohnshigh100.mb.ca.

avi.saper@canstarnews.com