Mullen took circuitous route to Huskers
Robert “Moon” Mullen of Connellsville has the distinction of being the last two-year captain in University of Nebraska football history.
Mullen, a 1943 graduate of Immaculate Conception High School, took a rather circuitous route to Lincoln, Neb. He played a little high school football under Earl Trump at IC before the tiny Connellsville school abandoned the grid sport. He worked after school and then joined the military service.
Mullen was persuaded to enter Nebraska by Clarence Herndon, who played tackle on Nebraska’s 1940 Rose Bowl eleven and later coached him in the service. The 6-3, 220-pound Mullen was stationed after the war in California in 1946. He received a letter from Nebraska coach Bernie Masterson, who had been informed about Mullen by Herndon.
Mullen played freshman ball as a center in 1947. Mullen became a stalwart offensive tackle, and also manned the tackle and linebacker spots on defense. He also centered for extra points and field goals.
“That was a great time of life,” Mullen said. “There were a lot of things later in life that I could cope with as a result of playing football.”
Mullen had an unusual five-year career with the Cornhuskers under three head coaches, Masterson, Potsy Clark and Bill Glassford. He was the last Cornhusker to serve as co-captain in two seasons and only the fourth ever to accomplish that.
He played for Clark’s team in 1948 and the Huskers went 2-8. In 1949 playing under Glassford, the Huskers had a record of 4-5. Mullen thought that 1950 was his senior year, he and Rocky Mueller were co-captains, as were Charlie Toogood and Don Bloom. The Cornhuskers enjoyed a solid season, going 6-2-1.
“I thought my career was over after that,” Mullen recalled. “But Glassford said, ‘Moon, we checked it, and you didn’t play in any conference games in 1947. You can play another year.’ So 1951 was my fifth year.”
That would not have happened under today’s rules. But, in 1951, Mullen served as co-captain with Frank Simon. The team was ranked No. 12 at the start of the season, but posted a 2-8 record.
Mullen got to see the juggernaut Oklahoma Sooners of Bud Wilkinson up close in 1950. Nebraska supplied Oklahoma with one of the Sooners’ sternest tests during the 1950 campaign in a game that found the Sooners outlasting the Huskers, 49-35, to clinch the Big Seven title and a Sugar Bowl invitation.
“Wilkinson has a really great ball club,” Mullen opined. “The Sooners are big, fast, possess both depth and determination. They’re a deliberate team. The minute you make a mistake against them, they capitalize on it and score against you. We thought we had them on the run a couple of times this year. But we made several mistakes. And when we did, boy, did bounce back and make the most of them.”
Mullen captured All Big Seven second team honors two years in a row at Nebraska and was picked on several All-America honorable mention lists.
After completing his college football career, Mullen went into the insurance business and became a great ambassador for Nebraska football as president of the Alumni “N” Club.
Years later, Mullen recalled arriving in Lincoln and never leaving.
“I arrived not knowing one soul,” he said. “Football gave me an opportunity. I developed a great love for the state of Nebraska.”
Mullen was elected to the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. Former Nebraska coach and College Football Hall of Famer Bob Devaney had this to say about Mullen at the time: “He was one of the first people I met in Nebraska and he had been one of the good players and good alums. I was impressed with his great enthusiasm for Nebraska football. In the years after that he was never a second-guesser. I don’t think he has many enemies in the world. I’ve never known anyone to say anything bad about the guy.”
Mullen died December 26, 2003, at the age of 78. His wife, Peg, died in an auto accident in 1973. They had four children.
“That was my biggest loss,” Mullen said of losing Peg. “But you’ve got four kids, and what do you do, crawl into a hole? You just have to meet the challenge.
“I’ve talked to a lot of kids and told them that life is a playing field. You can never have a defeatist attitude.”