In 1982, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) held the first Prep Bowl at the Metrodome. The idea for playing five championship football games on a single day in the former downtown Minneapolis stadium was one that Marv Helling helped bring to fruition.
As an associate director for the league from 1972 to 1985, Helling oversaw football and worked with the Minnesota Football Coaches Association to create a playoff system that gave all member schools a chance to play in the postseason. Section champions advanced to the state tournament, with title games played during the Prep Bowl.
"He was absolutely a visionary that produced not only the playoffs, but so many things that happen in high school football," said Ron Stolski, executive director of the coaches' association and longtime head football coach at Brainerd High School. "He moved the game forward. We lost an icon and a great friend of high school athletics."
Helling, of Englewood, Fla., and previously of Shoreview, died Nov. 30 at age 91. He had suffered a small stroke in September, said his wife of 67 years, Marcia.
Athletics had been a part of Helling's life since childhood. At Luverne High School in southwestern Minnesota, he played football and basketball and was runner-up in the hurdles at the 1941 state track meet. At Macalester College, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education, he was a fullback, co-captain of the Scots' 1947 MIAC championship team and an all-conference selection.
His teaching and football coaching career in Minnesota included Jackson, Detroit Lakes and Minneapolis Washburn high schools. With an overall record of 72-14-1 and several conference championships, he jumped to the collegiate ranks in 1957 when he became the head coach at the University of North Dakota.
In his 10 years at the helm, the team won two bowl games and three North Central Conference championships. Several of his players won all-conference honors and nine were named All Americans. Some went on to play in the National Football League, including former Viking Dave Osborne. Helling was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.
"Coach Helling left a lasting legacy with the program and remained a strong supporter throughout his lifetime," said UND's current head football coach, Bubba Schweigert. "His efforts and contributions to UND football will always hold a special place in our hearts."
Along with being a coach who liked to win, Marv Helling was like a father to many of his players, Marcia Helling said.
"Dad often said that his generation of coaches felt obligated to give back to their sports in honor of the teachers and coaches who supported them when they were youths," said his son Mark, of River Falls, Wis.
Helling managed the high school hockey tournament for the MSHSL and served as chairman of the national rules committee for hockey, swimming and diving for the National Federation of State High School Associations. He was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Hall of Fame in 1999.
"He was an incredibly knowledgeable person about the sports he was involved with," MSHSL Executive Director David Stead said. "People would look to him for guidance when issues came up. He made sports a positive experience for our students."
Helling was equally proud of his service in World War II as a commanding officer of a combat ship in the South Pacific.
Besides his wife and son, Helling is survived by another son, Steven, of Amery, Wis.; a daughter, Karen MacCarter, of Boise, Idaho; a sister, Doreen Sickles, of Laguna Beach, Calif., seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. April 10 at Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
