Biography

Beise was a native of Mound, Minnesota

Mound, Minnesota

Mound is a settlement in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. ZIP code: 55364. The population was 9,052 at the 2010 census. Mound is the birthplace of the Tonka truck, named after Lake Minnetonka. Mound is also the birthplace of actor Kevin Sorbo, who portrayed Hercules on the television...

, where he was an all-around athlete, winning varsity letters in basketball, track, baseball and football at Mound High School. Beise began his collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin during the 1931-1932 academic year. After one year, he transferred to the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

. Beise played at the fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 position for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Minnesota Golden Gophers football

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...

 teams from 1933–1935 and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1935 by the North American Newspaper Alliance (chosen by Andy Kerr

Andrew Kerr

Andrew "Andy" Kerr IV was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Stanford University , Washington & Jefferson College , Colgate University , and Lebanon Valley College , compiling a career college football record...

 of Colgate, Dan McGugin

Dan McGugin

Daniel Earle McGugin was an American football player, coach, and lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from 1919 to 1934, compiling a record of 197–55–19. He played college football at the University...

 of Vanderbilt, James Phelan of Washington, and Gus Dorais

Gus Dorais

Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913, and then professionally with the Fort Wayne Friars and Massillon Tigers...

 of Detroit) and the Central Press Association

Central Press Association

The Central Press Association was an American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers.-History:Virgil Venice...

 (based on a poll of college football captains taken). He was also named as a second-team All-American by the Associated Press, United Press, Newspaper Editors Association and New York Sun. Beise played on Bernie Bierman

Bernie Bierman

Bernard W. "Bernie" Bierman was an American football player and coach. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces...

's national championship teams of 1934 and 1935 and never played in a losing game for Minnesota. Beise was considered "a powerful plunger and one of the most effective blockers in the Bernie Bierman era of single wing football." He has been described as a "battering ram fullback," and one contemporary account notes that Minnesota's winning streak in the 1934-1935 seasons was "due in no small measure to Biese's powerful drive." In addition to the All-American honors in 1935, Beise was an All-Big 10 Conference fullback for three consecutive years. He was also selected to play in the East-West Shrine game in San Frandsco after the 1935 season. Beise also participated in baseball, basketball and track at the University of Minnesota.

After graduating, Beise served as a backfieid coach and physical education instructor at the University of Minnesota. He also coached football at Holy Cross University. After retiring from football, Beise worked in the insurance business. He was insurance superintendent for the Western Life Insurance Co., an affiliate of St. Paul Fire and Marine.

Beise was killed in an automobile accident in 1960. Beise was driving on Minnesota's Highway 7 when his car left the highway ten miles west of Minneapolis and hit a tree. He was alone in the car and suffered a fractured skull. He reportedly fell asleep at the wheel while driving to his home in rural Excelsior, Minnesota

Excelsior, Minnesota

Excelsior is a settlement on Lake Minnetonka in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,188 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

. Upon learning of Beise's death, Bierman told reporters, "This comes as a great shock to me. Shelly was a great football player, a real personal friend and a grand fellow in every way." Beise was survived by wife and two children, Barbara and Grant.

Beise was posthumously inducted into the University of Minnesota's "M" Club Hall of Fame in 2006.