The most valuable player in the only bowl win in Northwestern history died Jan. 30 at age 86 in Arizona.
Frank Aschenbrenner scored the first touchdown of the 1949 Rose Bowl, a 73-yard run that was the longest run in a Rose Bowl for the next 44 years. He finished the day with 11 carries for 119 yards and the touchdown. Described to the Chicago Tribune as a “triple threat” by teammate Gaspar Perricone, Aschenbrenner also averaged 43 yards per punt in the Wildcats’ 20-14 win over University of California at Berkeley.
“He was a very gentle, kind, humble, reserved person,” his wife Charleyne told the Tribune.
Born in Germany, Aschenbrenner moved to Milwaukee at the age of three before going on to start his football career at Marquette. After a year on the football team, he joined the Navy to become a pilot in World War II. He enrolled at NU after the war and continued his football career there.
In his junior year, Aschenbrenner ran for 375 yards on 93 carries and caught eight passes for 59 yards. He scored four of NU’s 19 touchdowns that season as NU struggled to a 3-6 record. In his senior season, Aschenbrenner was one of the main blockers for the Cats’ running attack that led them to an 8-2 record and a trip to the Rose Bowl. He earned second team All-Big Ten recognition in 1948 for his efforts.
“He was a real leader and an unbelievably good football player,” Perricone told the Tribune.
After graduating from Northwestern in 1949 with a degree in business administration, Aschenbrenner continued his career with the Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference before playing a few seasons with the Montreal Alouettes in Canada.
The 86-year old was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989 and was elected four years later into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
Aschenbrenner is survived by his four children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
