Statue of Munger unveiled

To those who did not know George Munger, the statue erected in remembrance of the legendary Penn football coach may look odd.

He sits just below and to the right of the scoreboard at Franklin Field, kneeling. His face is looking up and to the right, towards the scoreboard. His mouth is slightly open and his eyes, beneath wiry glasses are squinting.

To those men who played for Munger, and for those who were around to watch him coach, its a living replica of the man who lead the Quakers from 1938-1953.

Munger, who died in 1994, is a member of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fames. Under his 16-year helm, the Quakers won a combined 84 games.

Munger coached 14 all-Americans and five Hall of Famers, including Penn's most famous football graduate, Chuck Bednarik. Bednarik is considered by some the greatest to ever play the center position, and enjoyed a long career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Under Munger, nine Penn squads tied or claimed outright the Ivy League title, although it was unofficial at the time. The Red and Blue lost only six Ivy contests in 62 league games.

Aside from the national recognition that Mungers squads garnered, the most notable aspect of the Munger years was the attendance at football games.

Every weekend, the Penn football team sold out Franklin Field -- a feat that the current team doesn't even come close to equalling. Under Munger's reign, Penn led the nation in attendance.

Every year, the "Mungermen" -- Penn football graduates who played under Munger from 1938-1953 -- gather in Philadelphia to catch up, watch a Penn football game and reminisce about their days on Franklin Field.

And since the death of their fearless leader just eight years ago, these yearly gatherings are also a time to reflect on the coach that they all respected and adored.

Last weekend, the Mungermen convened for multiple reasons. They came together to catch up with one another, but they also came to unveil George Munger's statue at Franklin Field.

"He was an icon for a coach that maintained the interest and dedication of the people who played for him," Mungermen organizer Bernie Lemonick, who played from 1948-1950, said.

In an effort memorialize Munger, the Mungermen set up a campaign to build a statue of him that would be placed at Franklin Field.

According to the former players, Munger was not only a stellar coach, he was also a role model and a "father-figure" to his impressionable players.

He was a sturdy, stable figure for a group of men dealing with the challenges of school, athletics and other factors, such as World War II.

"The presence he had was very, very strong," Francis Reagan, who played from 1938-1940, said. "He was a great teacher, and he had a deep sense of ethics. There are generations that have slipped by Penn not knowing."

Now, for all those who were not there to see Munger in action, there will now be a constant reminder of his great contributions to Penn football history.

Behind the statue there is a plaque which lists every player that played for Munger.

Munger was a coach that reached out to well over 200 football players and changed many lives. Now he's back to where so many remember him, crouched on the sidelines, staring intently at the scoreboard.

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