Inducted 2005. Standout in Baseball, Basketball During Early 1930’s. Class of 1934.
The QND Hall of Fame already has welcomed two other members of the Bernbrock family — brothers Greg and Mark — but now it’s time to make room for the patriarch of the family.
Bernbrock, a 1934 graduate of Quincy College Academy, played basketball and baseball for all four years in high school and he also ran track during his junior year. He was the co-captain of the basketball and baseball teams as a senior.
During his senior year, he led the basketball team to a 14-3 record and a third-place finish in the Illinois State Catholic High School Association Tournament in Jacksonville. Bernbrock was the leading scorer on the team, was named to the all-tournament team and was the most valuable player at the state tournament.
He also was a standout second baseman for the CYO All-Star team. He had four hits, including a two-run homer, against Alton in the semifinals of the diocesan tournament, then had three hits in the diocesan championship over Granite City. His team placed second in the state after a 1-0 loss to St. Romans, the Chicago CYO champions, in a game played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park.
Bernbrock went on to the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the freshman basketball team for the 1934-35 season. He returned home after that season and went on the play and coach at Gem City Business College. He was the first president of the inaugural Christian Brothers High School Fathers Club.
Bernbrock ran the men’s department at Carson Pirie Scott for 19 years and had been the director of public relations for Quincy Peoples Savings for three years when he died March 3, 1963. He is survived by his wife Mary, daughters Barbara and Joan and sons Mark and Greg.
We are truly appreciative of this Hall of Fame honor. If he were here, he would recognize his first coach at the academy, Mart Heinen. He would also recall his playing days with the athletes of his time, including Don Weibring, Mac McClain, Ray Meyer as well as many others. He loved the time and all the effort he put into athletics, but more important, he valued the relationships and friendships he formed through the games they played. He was a very outgoing guy who later enjoyed coaching the youngsters in the CYO and teaching them the basics of sports and life. — The Harry Bernbrock family