By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - It was a perhaps inadvertent but still strikingly accurate bit of foreshadowing on the part of the editors at The Record 60 years ago this month.

The sports section of the Nov. 24, 1961 edition of Saint John's University's student newspaper featured a well-written profile of two-sport standout Bernie Kukar '62 – then preparing for his second season as the captain of the Johnnies basketball team.

The 1958 graduate of the old Gilbert (Minn.) High School was an All-MIAC selection in both basketball and football. He was the first freshman to lead the Johnnies basketball team in scoring and led the MIAC in scoring as a sophomore.

He went on to lead SJU in scoring as a senior on the gridiron as well.

But the then-senior was not shown on either the basketball court or the football field in the photo that accompanied the story in The Record. Rather, he was pictured seated in the bleachers wearing what appeared to be a striped referee shirt and a whistle around his neck (left).

Fitting for a guy who went on to a long and successful career as an official, including 22 seasons (1984 to 2005) in the NFL where he officiated two Super Bowls and was an alternate for another.

As it turns out, he had already started down his future path while still a student at SJU.

"That was one of my jobs back then," said Kukar, who stepped away from officiating following the 2005 season and these days splits his time between residences in Edina and at Lutsen on the North Shore.

"Back in those days, when you didn't have enough money to afford Saint John's on your own even after adding in grants and scholarships, they gave you a job. And mine was officiating intramural basketball games, as well as pulling out all the bleachers (in the Old Gym, now known as Guild Hall) before varsity basketball games."

That last task meant Kukar, who later that evening would be playing a starring role for the home team, had to arrive hours early to the empty gym and get it ready for spectators.

"I'd have to show up at 4 p.m. and there was a lot of pulling out to do," said Kukar, whose father died when he was 13. His mother worked late and sometimes dangerous hours in the mines, jumping into train cars to test iron ore quality in order to support he and his older sister.

"Fortunately, I was able to get a few of my buddies to help with that," he said.

On the intramural courts, Kukar said he was often able to use his status as a visible athlete on campus to quell any disputes that arose.

"These were dorm teams I was officiating basically, and when guys would start to squawk after a call, I'd tell them to quiet down and concentrate on the game," he said. "I told them I played basketball and I never yelled at the referee. That usually shut them down pretty quick."

Kukar spent a year after graduation at Saint John's helping coach both football and basketball, while at the same time starting to officiate nearby high school basketball games.

That continued (and began to also include high school football) when he moved to the Twin Cities to work for Control Data. Before long, he was working college games – including in the MIAC where he occasionally crossed paths with his old football coach John Gagliardi, who later joked that Kukar had "gone bad on me" by crossing over to the officiating ranks.

"They tried to keep me away from Saint John's as much as possible, but I remember I did have a nonconference game up there," he recalls. "And John treated all officials the same way, even guys who had played for him.

"There was a play in front of the Saint John's bench and it was a question of whether or not the guy had picked up a first down. I came running over and signaled that he did. John disagreed and said something about checking my eyes. I said 'John, I always seemed to have pretty good eyesight when I was playing for you.' 

"He smiled and laughed and that was the end of that."

Kukar, who worked for a number of years in the insurance business and also ran a wilderness camp for youth boys outside Ely, eventually worked his way up to the Big Ten, then to the NFL where he worked as a back judge from 1984 to 1990 before being promoted to referee at the start of the 1991 season.

He was an alternate for Super Bowl XXX between the Steelers and Cowboys in January of 1996 before being selected to the officiating crew for Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami in January of 1999.

The only hitch was a rule preventing officials from working a Super Bowl if a team from their home state was playing. 

With the Vikings going 15-1 and boasting a record-breaking offense during the 1998 season, his prospects appeared dim until Minnesota was upset by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game – a loss that still stings for many fans of the Purple.

"Jerry Seeman (a fellow Minnesotan and the NFL's Senior Director of Officiating) called me up and told me 'you're the top-ranked official, but you know darn well that if the Vikings win that game, you can't go,'" Kukar said.

"I was watching the game with my wife and the Vikings were rolling along, so I told her it looked like we weren't going anywhere. Then Gary Anderson missed that field goal late (the first field goal or extra point he had missed all season), it went to overtime and the Falcons won.

"I was probably the only guy in Minnesota rooting against the Vikings that day."

Kukar went on to work Super Bowl XXXVI between the then-St. Louis Rams and the New England Patriots in February of 2002 in New Orleans – the first Super Bowl to be played after the 9/11 attacks.

"That was an unbelievable experience," he said. "Super Bowls are really hard to explain. There's so much that happens in the week leading up to the game. There are the parties and the meetings. You have to meet with the TV people. You have to be on-hand at the commissioner's press conference in case an officiating question comes up.

"There's a lot to do before you even step on the field."

Kukar – whose son Matt is now an official in the Big Ten – has remained connected to SJU over the years.

"Saint John's has really given me everything I have," he said. "They took me in and helped me when I didn't think I could afford it and I'll always be grateful for that. If I hadn't come to Saint John's, I'm not sure where I would have ended up."

5 years ago (2016) - Guard David Stokman '19 scored 31 points and the SJU basketball team shot 63 percent from the field in the second half en route to opening its season with an 89-79 win Nov. 15 at Wisconsin-Superior.

11 years ago (2010) - Four Johnnies scored in double figures as host Saint John's opened its 2010-11 season with a 70-65 upset of No. 8 (Division II) St. Cloud State on Nov. 15. The win was the first for SJU at home against the Huskies since Nov. 30, 1983 (a span of six meetings in Collegeville). Senior Sam Blank '11, the reigning MIAC Sixth Man of the Year, led the Johnnies with 18 points, including 12 in the first half. Aaron Barmore '12 added 14, 12 of which came in the second half. 

13 years ago (2008) - SJU earned its 30th conference championship, the 26th title under head coach John Gagliardi and the 13th in the last 18 seasons, with a 14-10 comeback victory at Carleton. Starting on its own 38-yard line, quarterback Joe Boyle '11 connected with running back Jeff Schnobrich '09 for passes of nine and eight yards, respectively, before hitting tight end Josh Overman '11 for a 23-yard gain to the Knights' 22-yard line. Boyle then found a wide-open Schnobrich in the end zone on the very next play to take the lead, 14-10, with 16 seconds remaining. 

20 years ago (2001) - Josh Nelson '04 rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown as the SJU football team defeated St. Norbert (Wis.) 27-20 in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs at Clemens Stadium.

80 years ago (1941) - Under the direction of future U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy '35, beginning his one season as head coach, the SJU hockey team prepared to start its season. Doc Hickner, Don Norman, Clarence Sebesta and Henry Strobel were the lone returning lettermen.