Norm Van Brocklin

We are honored as our guest today is author Karen Vanderyt, the daughter of Norm Van Brocklin and Gloria Schiewe. Karen joins us to talk about the story of her parents that she wrote down in her latest book, "The Dutchman and Portland's Finest Rose: A Love Story Inspired by the Life of Football Legend Norm Van Brocklin."

Joining us today in the podcast above is the very talented writer Karen Vanderyt. Is there anyone better prepared to tell the sory of the Dutchman and Portaland's Finest Rose, than Karen? Learn more about Karen including a link to her own website that shares even more.

About Author Karen Vandryt

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Mrs. Vanderyt lived in many places from coast to coast as the family followed the playing and coaching career of her famous father, NFL star and later Coach Norm Van Brocklin from Oregon, California, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. She attended Cornell University and met her future husband, Bill, there. They married and moved to Atlanta, making their home in Georgia.

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Karen has taken some letters from over 70 years ago that were correspondence between her parents, early in their relationship, and has combined them with researched facts, interviews with people in the know, and memories of conversations she had with her parents to provide this incredible story of a brilliant romance and the college and early pro career of a legend.

The book opens with a compelling and emotional scene. It is so sorrowful yet beautiful when you read on to see the great love of this couple, Gloria Schiewe and Norm Van Brocklin. The reader is not only involved in a great story with the ups and downs of their relationship but depicts the struggles, hard work, and success of a promising young athlete that had his athletic career interrupted by World War II, where he served in the U.S. Navy.

There are stories that even Karen learned about her famous parents through the research in writing this book. As a reader we learn these and even more in depth about the legendary college and NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Norm "Stub" Van Brocklin, directly from the pen of his daughter.

Some of these include:

• An inside look at football during the transition of the system of single-platoon football to mass substitution.
• The early gridiron transistion from the offensive era of the single and double wing offenses to the T-Formation, quarterback driven style of offense.
• Dealing with the coaching styles of Stub's college coaches; first in Coach Tex Oliver and then Coach Jim Aiken both frustrated and took him to new heights.
• The brilliant legends that Oregon played against in 1947 and 1948 Bobby Layne of Texas, Kyle Rote and Doak Walker of SMU.

Want to know more about our legendary subject Hall of Famer, Norm Van Brocklin? Here is a collection of posts that tell about his career.

Norm Van Brocklin and his 554 Yard Day

Born March 15, 1926, in Parade, South Dakota, was the legendary Oregon Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. He could quickly read the defenses and do what came automatically to him, find the open receiver for a gain. Norm was gifted with a peripheral vision that allowed him to take into view the entire panorama of play. In 1966 Norm Van Brocklin's collegiate story was placed into the College Football Hall of Fame. Norm left Oregon while still having a year of eligibility left. The Rams used their number four pick in the 1949 Draft to pick Norm. The Pro Football Hall of Fame says that even splitting time with fellow HOF QB Bob Waterfield, Van Brocklin won the NFL passing title in 1950, 52 & 54, playing for both the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles leading Philly to the NFL’s championship title in 1960. Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1971.

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We would like to thank Karen Vanderyt and her family for sharing the story of Stub and Gloria in the book and with Karen's time spent with us in the correspondance and interview process. Special thanks to Mr. Gregg Ficery, a mutual friend that connected Karen and her story with us.