(An abridged version of this story appeared in the University's Summer 2025 Spiritus Magazine)
 
As we inch closer to the 150-year anniversary of the University, one man was alive for nearly 62% of that time.
 
Born on Aug. 18, 1933 in Chicago, Robert Hernbroth won a football championship, found his wife, obtained an education he used for a lifetime, met everlasting friends at the University, and throughout the years, always had love for U-D.
 
Hernbroth had old gridiron stories of Titan lore, but sadly passed away just before reliving some of his favorite memories. They now live on through his son, Gary.
 
"It was a very surreal day when he passed," said his son Gary. "I believe he passed with so much peace and comfort. We were contacted about doing this story at the start of the week, and he loved his time at U-D.
 
"The last piece of music that he ever heard in his life was the old fight song. I put it on my phone, nice and loud, and next to his ear, and he opened his eyes and eyebrows opened up. I knew it brought back memories. That Thursday, we elected a new Pope, the first American Pope from Chicago, like he was. We were set to do the interview the next day, but he passed that Thursday night."
 
Hernbroth grew up in Chicago and played high school football at a famed Catholic program in Fenwick. Sports Illustrated once listed Fenwick as one of the "50 Best High School Athletic Programs in the Country." 
 
"My dad had a chance to play on the original Soldier Field," said Gary. "In those days, the Catholic League champion would play the public school champion right there, and the stadium would fill up for the game, just think about that. That was a big deal. He was an offensive guard and blocked for a guy named Johnny Lattner, who played at Notre Dame and won the Heisman Trophy."
 
In the early 1950s, the Titans had just turned the program over to Earl "Dutch" Clark, who would serve as the head football coach and athletic director, and it was coach Clark and his staff who saw a kid from the Windy City with a tremendous amount of talent. Those days did not feature highlight tapes or YouTube videos. There was scouting at high school games, connections with prep coaches, and watching games in-person. 
 
"The Fenwick program had players going to Purdue, Michigan State, Notre Dame, just a lot of big programs," said Gary. "U-D invited him and another teammate, Tony Viola, to the stadium, so they had to buy a train ticket and get to Detroit. They joined other prospects there. Coach Clark and a few assistants met the guys, took them to the locker room, put them in sweat pants and sweatshirts. They gave them a football and said, 'Just play football, throw around the ball, two-hand touch, just play.' The coaches went up to the press box and watched. Something tells me it didn't stay a two-hand touch for too long, and he said 'Oh no, we were tackling and blocking. We knew the coaches were watching, it was essentially a tryout, and we knew the drill; they wanted to see us in person.' Out of that, he was offered a scholarship."
 
Freshmen were not allowed to play in those days, so after sitting out the 1951 season and working with the team and playing in a few freshman football contests, he eventually earned a starting job at guard halfway through the 1952 season.
 
"The two guys he talked about the most that he played with were Lattner, he was a good guy, and he also played with Ted Marchibroda at Detroit," said Gary. "He talked about his leadership skills. He was only at U-D for one year, and my dad was on the offensive line the night he set the NCAA passing record against Tulsa, throwing for 390 yards.
 
"As a sophomore, he actually had to block Bob St. Clair, who is in the NFL Hall of Fame. My dad said that was physically the toughest game he had ever played, but he was proud of the job the line did protecting Teddy. They played for Teddy, he said, all the guys loved Teddy."
 
In 1953, with Hernbroth on the line, the Titans started the year with dominating home wins, 33-6 over North Dakota State and 48-0 over Wayne State. U-D would also win at Villanova, 27-0, and down Oklahoma A&M - now Oklahoma State - 18-14 on Homecoming. Titan Hall-of-Famer Lee Riley had a touchdown in the game, another name he recalls playing with.
 
"He played with Pat Riley's brother, Lee. Lee dated my mom before my dad," a laughing Gary said. "Lee was the swagger guy on the team, but a good player."
 
The win proved to be an important one for the Titans. Following losses at Marquette and at Boston College, U-D needed to end the season with two wins for any hope of a conference title. The first came with some payback as they went into Tulsa and blanked the Golden Hurricane, 33-0, revenging the 62-21 setback a year earlier in Marchibroda's record-breaking day. 
 
The Titans then shocked Wichita State, 26-6, on the road, with Riley scoring three touchdowns en route to U-D's second conference title in five years, sharing the honor with Oklahoma A&M, who they defeated a couple of weeks earlier. 
 
"That was another great story," said Gary. "Offhand, I don't know how many of their trips were by plane or just buses or trains, but for that trip, they took a train that was called the Wabash Cannon Ball. I can't remember the hotel they stayed at, but the guys, a lot of the guys, let's say they liberated towels from the hotel. They get on the train and are just about to take off, and the hotel manager runs to the train station and talks to Coach Clark, and says, I guess we don't have any towels left in any of the players' rooms. So coach Clark and his assistants went up and down the train and told the players to please remove the towels from their luggage, bring them to the last car, no questions will be asked, but we are not moving this train until the hotel gets their towels back."
 
Hernbroth did not play in 1954 due to an eye injury, but after the season, he received tryout letters from NFL teams, including the Rams. He decided not to pursue it. During the summer, he sold magazines, including Times, Life and Sports Illustrated and was U-D's official magazine seller on campus. 
 
"One day we were talking about Sports Illustrated and he told me about his job selling magazines and how he had a box of the original magazine leftover that he threw out, not knowing what it could one day be worth," said Gary.
 
While he missed the 1954 season, he was finishing up his degree in education, and he worked in the athletic department, helping the athletic trainer and coaching the freshman team. 
 
"There was a game in 1954, where U-D was going to Michigan State and playing in the old Jenison Fieldhouse. The trainer got sick and couldn't make the trip, and the coach at the time saw the hard work my dad was doing and knew he would be interested in working with the team and was pretty good at it and invited him to come on the trip as the athletic trainer and the Titans won, I believe." 
 
Hernbroth graduated in 1955 and went into student teaching. He also got drafted into the Army for two years, from 1956-58, and after basic training, he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. When his time was done, he came back to Michigan and was a teacher and assistant football coach at Ferndale St. James, working under former Titan head football coach John Shada.
 
He would be one of the leaders in helping set up Michigan's Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, earning an award for his dedication and vision in helping start that concept. 
 
But it was U-D football that Hernbroth loved. Even after hearing the news that the University discontinued the program, he still bled red and white and always wanted nothing but greatness for the school.
 
"Like so many alums, he was truly upset when the program ended, but he wanted to try and keep it going at least as a club program," said Gary. "I remember he took me and my brothers to a club game against Hillsdale College, and they had a kicker who would go on and play in the NFL, Chester Marcol. He would play for many years for the Green Bay Packers. My dad knew everyone still, so he got us to go to the locker room and down on the field in the pregame. It was a great time. Later on, in the late 70's, he took us to a basketball game where John Long and Terry Duerod were playing."
 
Another memory Gary had with his dad at U-D was going to the famous Dakota Inn. It was where his dad took him to get his first legal drink with his mom because he wanted to share where he and the team hung out.
 
"Some of his fondest memories were going to the Dakota Inn, the Rathskeller," said Gary. "I always wanted to take him back for one last beer. That was the place to go after football games. I don't think they were supposed to get in, underage and all, but those were the times. U-D also had a thing called the Huddle Club. Coach Clark would work with the cooks on the menu, and they rented a place on campus for the team to go and eat, and he said, 'Man, oh man, was the food good'. Ms. Smucker's made pies, and I always asked if she was related to the jelly, and he said I don't think so, but she made great pies!"
 
On the night of May 8, 2025, the man upstairs decided he needed another guard on the line. At the age of 91, Hernbroth entered eternal life. While he will be missed, there is no doubt he is with many of his former teammates — maybe all of them. He is blocking for Teddy, setting up a hole for Riley, and sharing football stories about the gridiron days in Chicago with Lattner and Viola.
 
Fight for the Titan Way! Detroit is here to stay!