BILL GARNAAS, QB ON U'S '41 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, DIES:- May 12, 2002
Whatever Bill Garnaas chose to do, he left a mark.
He was a quarterback on the University of Minnesota's 1941 national championship team. He played pro football. He was a stockbroker. And when he decided to take up photography, he wasn't just the type to point and click.
Garnaas, of Eden Prairie, died Thursday. He was 80, and had had Parkinson's disease for the past several years. His son, Bob Garnaas, said his father took a lot of pride in his photography, whether it was a photo taken during a football game or a candid shot of a friend.
"I can't tell you how many negatives I've got," said his son. "I don't know. There must be thousands."
Garnaas was a handsome, strapping young man with chiseled features when legendary Gophers coach Bernie Bierman selected him for the football squad six decades ago. In 1941, the Gophers won the national championship, and Garnaas was the quarterback of the team, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith.
One of his other college football highlights: He's believed to be the last college player to score points with a drop-kick. "He did that against Michigan. I think it was 1941," his son said. "There hasn't been one since."
But 1941 also was a year of war -- Smith got his Heisman two days after Pearl Harbor -- and Garnaas wound up serving in the Navy during World War II. When the war ended, he returned to football, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years, from 1946-48.
He returned to Minnesota to raise a family but always stayed in touch with his former Gophers teammates. Bob Garnaas said he remembers growing up as a kid and having football stars who had been household names dropping by.
"Growing up, it just seemed kind of normal," he said. "He absolutely loved his time at the U. That national championship year was so pivotal for him. It was something he took a lot of pride in.
"As you go on in life, you realize you can appreciate those things a little bit more than when they're happening to you. You realize just how special it was."
Garnaas sold life insurance, and later stocks and bonds. But his real love during the time was photography, his son said. He was an amateur, but he could often be found on the sidelines of Gophers or Vikings games, taking pictures.
"I think it was a creative outlet for him," Bob Garnaas said. "I think it was fun for him to go to a football game, and because of his knowledge of the game, he really had to think through what was going to happen in a game and position himself in the right spot to get the photo."
Garnaas is survived by his son; a daughter, Becky Malkerson; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at noon Monday at Plymouth Congregational Church Chapel in Minneapolis.
Whatever Bill Garnaas chose to do, he left a mark.
He was a quarterback on the University of Minnesota's 1941 national championship team. He played pro football. He was a stockbroker. And when he decided to take up photography, he wasn't just the type to point and click.
Garnaas, of Eden Prairie, died Thursday. He was 80, and had had Parkinson's disease for the past several years. His son, Bob Garnaas, said his father took a lot of pride in his photography, whether it was a photo taken during a football game or a candid shot of a friend.
"I can't tell you how many negatives I've got," said his son. "I don't know. There must be thousands."
Garnaas was a handsome, strapping young man with chiseled features when legendary Gophers coach Bernie Bierman selected him for the football squad six decades ago. In 1941, the Gophers won the national championship, and Garnaas was the quarterback of the team, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith.
One of his other college football highlights: He's believed to be the last college player to score points with a drop-kick. "He did that against Michigan. I think it was 1941," his son said. "There hasn't been one since."
But 1941 also was a year of war -- Smith got his Heisman two days after Pearl Harbor -- and Garnaas wound up serving in the Navy during World War II. When the war ended, he returned to football, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years, from 1946-48.
He returned to Minnesota to raise a family but always stayed in touch with his former Gophers teammates. Bob Garnaas said he remembers growing up as a kid and having football stars who had been household names dropping by.
"Growing up, it just seemed kind of normal," he said. "He absolutely loved his time at the U. That national championship year was so pivotal for him. It was something he took a lot of pride in.
"As you go on in life, you realize you can appreciate those things a little bit more than when they're happening to you. You realize just how special it was."
Garnaas sold life insurance, and later stocks and bonds. But his real love during the time was photography, his son said. He was an amateur, but he could often be found on the sidelines of Gophers or Vikings games, taking pictures.
"I think it was a creative outlet for him," Bob Garnaas said. "I think it was fun for him to go to a football game, and because of his knowledge of the game, he really had to think through what was going to happen in a game and position himself in the right spot to get the photo."
Garnaas is survived by his son; a daughter, Becky Malkerson; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at noon Monday at Plymouth Congregational Church Chapel in Minneapolis.
BILL GARNAAS, QB ON U'S '41 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, DIES:- May 12, 2002
Whatever Bill Garnaas chose to do, he left a mark.
He was a quarterback on the University of Minnesota's 1941 national championship team. He played pro football. He was a stockbroker. And when he decided to take up photography, he wasn't just the type to point and click.
Garnaas, of Eden Prairie, died Thursday. He was 80, and had had Parkinson's disease for the past several years. His son, Bob Garnaas, said his father took a lot of pride in his photography, whether it was a photo taken during a football game or a candid shot of a friend.
"I can't tell you how many negatives I've got," said his son. "I don't know. There must be thousands."
Garnaas was a handsome, strapping young man with chiseled features when legendary Gophers coach Bernie Bierman selected him for the football squad six decades ago. In 1941, the Gophers won the national championship, and Garnaas was the quarterback of the team, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith.
One of his other college football highlights: He's believed to be the last college player to score points with a drop-kick. "He did that against Michigan. I think it was 1941," his son said. "There hasn't been one since."
But 1941 also was a year of war -- Smith got his Heisman two days after Pearl Harbor -- and Garnaas wound up serving in the Navy during World War II. When the war ended, he returned to football, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years, from 1946-48.
He returned to Minnesota to raise a family but always stayed in touch with his former Gophers teammates. Bob Garnaas said he remembers growing up as a kid and having football stars who had been household names dropping by.
"Growing up, it just seemed kind of normal," he said. "He absolutely loved his time at the U. That national championship year was so pivotal for him. It was something he took a lot of pride in.
"As you go on in life, you realize you can appreciate those things a little bit more than when they're happening to you. You realize just how special it was."
Garnaas sold life insurance, and later stocks and bonds. But his real love during the time was photography, his son said. He was an amateur, but he could often be found on the sidelines of Gophers or Vikings games, taking pictures.
"I think it was a creative outlet for him," Bob Garnaas said. "I think it was fun for him to go to a football game, and because of his knowledge of the game, he really had to think through what was going to happen in a game and position himself in the right spot to get the photo."
Garnaas is survived by his son; a daughter, Becky Malkerson; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at noon Monday at Plymouth Congregational Church Chapel in Minneapolis.
Whatever Bill Garnaas chose to do, he left a mark.
He was a quarterback on the University of Minnesota's 1941 national championship team. He played pro football. He was a stockbroker. And when he decided to take up photography, he wasn't just the type to point and click.
Garnaas, of Eden Prairie, died Thursday. He was 80, and had had Parkinson's disease for the past several years. His son, Bob Garnaas, said his father took a lot of pride in his photography, whether it was a photo taken during a football game or a candid shot of a friend.
"I can't tell you how many negatives I've got," said his son. "I don't know. There must be thousands."
Garnaas was a handsome, strapping young man with chiseled features when legendary Gophers coach Bernie Bierman selected him for the football squad six decades ago. In 1941, the Gophers won the national championship, and Garnaas was the quarterback of the team, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith.
One of his other college football highlights: He's believed to be the last college player to score points with a drop-kick. "He did that against Michigan. I think it was 1941," his son said. "There hasn't been one since."
But 1941 also was a year of war -- Smith got his Heisman two days after Pearl Harbor -- and Garnaas wound up serving in the Navy during World War II. When the war ended, he returned to football, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years, from 1946-48.
He returned to Minnesota to raise a family but always stayed in touch with his former Gophers teammates. Bob Garnaas said he remembers growing up as a kid and having football stars who had been household names dropping by.
"Growing up, it just seemed kind of normal," he said. "He absolutely loved his time at the U. That national championship year was so pivotal for him. It was something he took a lot of pride in.
"As you go on in life, you realize you can appreciate those things a little bit more than when they're happening to you. You realize just how special it was."
Garnaas sold life insurance, and later stocks and bonds. But his real love during the time was photography, his son said. He was an amateur, but he could often be found on the sidelines of Gophers or Vikings games, taking pictures.
"I think it was a creative outlet for him," Bob Garnaas said. "I think it was fun for him to go to a football game, and because of his knowledge of the game, he really had to think through what was going to happen in a game and position himself in the right spot to get the photo."
Garnaas is survived by his son; a daughter, Becky Malkerson; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at noon Monday at Plymouth Congregational Church Chapel in Minneapolis.
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