Chippewa football star from North Dakota was one of the Untouchables sent to bring down Al Capone

Editor’s observe: That is the second and ultimate story from InForum columnist Curt Eriksmoen on the lifetime of William Jennings Gardner. To catch up,

learn Curt’s first story on Gardner’s early years

as a star soccer participant.

Throughout the Nineteen Twenties and early Thirties, gangster and bootlegger Al Capone was in a position to perform his legal actions in Chicago with impunity, both by means of intimidation or bribery of prohibition brokers. In 1931, prohibition agent Eliot Ness was directed to place collectively a staff of trustworthy and fearless brokers who might take down Capone and implement Prohibition within the metropolis. Ness began with six males, and one of many first he selected was William Jennings Gardner, a Chippewa man from the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. As a result of these brokers couldn’t be intimidated or bribed, they turned generally known as the Untouchables.

Previous to changing into a Prohibition agent, Gardner had

established a repute as an All-American

soccer participant, a university soccer, basketball, and baseball coach, and a lawyer who was nominated to be a North Dakota county decide. On Aug. 15, 1917, Gardner enlisted within the U.S. Military at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and was assigned to the 338th Infantry Division. He was promoted to captain and despatched to Camp Custer, Michigan, to coach new recruits to turn into expert troopers earlier than being despatched to Europe to combat the Nazis.

The corporate of troopers that Gardner was ordered to coach was from a Polish neighborhood in Detroit and most of the troopers couldn’t communicate English. Gardner spoke English and was possible aware of French and Algonquian, the language of the Chippewa, however not Polish. Gardner tasked certainly one of his lieutenants with studying Polish. The lieutenant discovered Polish instructions, which he would dictate in Polish after Gardner gave the instructions in English. The Polish troopers appreciated Gardner’s work to bridge the language barrier.

After the lads had been skilled, Gardner stated, “My firm gained’t take a again seat for any firm within the new military, even when they did need to be taught soldering by means of an interpreter. They’re the best-drilled males in camp right this moment.” Whereas at Camp Custer, Gardner additionally put collectively a soccer staff and performed finish on the staff. His feats on the sphere had been so spectacular that Walter Camp, later chosen Gardner as a member of his “All-American Service Eleven.”

Captain Gardner together with different members of the 338th had been despatched to Europe on July 14, 1918, and “billeted within the cities of Nevers and Cosne” in central France. Though he reportedly was concerned in restricted motion, Gardner was gassed and suffered life-long issues. Gardner returned to the U.S. on March 28, 1919, married Alene French on July 8, and was discharged at Fort Sheridan on Oct. 11.

In an article about Gardner within the July 17, 1921, version of the Waco Information Tribune, there was a sentence that jumped out at me: “Following the shut of the conflict he turned one of many coaches on the College of North Dakota.” I used to be unable to substantiate this, so I despatched a request to Curt Hanson, head of particular collections on the UND’s Chester Fritz Library. He checked “the Dakota Scholar newspaper, the Dacotah annual, the UND listing, the Grand Forks metropolis listing, the College Archives,” and different doable sources and “discovered no point out of Gardner in 1919.”

Paul Davis was the top coach in 1919 and Reinhold Jacobi was an assistant coach. For the reason that first UND recreation was performed on the College of Minnesota on Oct. 4, one week earlier than Gardner’s discharge, he clearly was not with the staff in the beginning of the season. Gardner could have provided some help to Davis later within the 12 months.

Gardner and his spouse moved to Devils Lake the place he started practising legislation. He apparently had a following as a result of, in 1920, he was nominated to run for Ramsey County Choose towards the incumbent, George Griffin. Nevertheless, sports activities remained Gardner’s main ardour and when he obtained a proposal to educate all athletics at St. Edwards Faculty (now St. Edward’s College) in Austin, Texas, he withdrew his candidacy for county decide.

Previous to relocating to Austin, Gardner made a cease in Ohio as a result of his good pal and former teammate at Carlisle, Jim Thorpe, was the top coach and star participant for the Canton Bulldogs within the American Skilled Soccer Affiliation, which might turn into the Nationwide Soccer League in 1922. Thorpe inserted Gardner into the lineup for one recreation and he, and Marshall Jones, who performed for the Detroit Heralds and Hammond Execs in 1920, turned

the primary two athletes from North Dakota to play skilled soccer

on the highest stage. On the age of 36, Gardner additionally turned one of many oldest rookies to ever play skilled soccer. Most file books record 35-year-old Otis Douglas, a quarterback for the 1946 Philadelphia Eagles, because the oldest rookie in NFL historical past.

As the top soccer coach at St. Edward’s in 1920, Gardner’s staff ended the season with a 7-7 file. He additionally resurrected a baseball program that had not fielded a staff since 1908, and the brand new staff posted a 7-2 file in 1921. Thirty miles north of Austin is town of Georgetown, the place Southwestern College is situated. Soccer groups from each schools had been main rivals within the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Affiliation and Southwestern wanted an athletic director and head soccer coach and employed Gardner. In 1921, Gardner’s Southwestern Pirates completed the season with an 0-6 file with one tie. The staff improved to 4-6 in 1922, fell again to 2-5 in 1923, and bounced again to 4-5 in 1924. Pissed off at not having the ability to provide you with a profitable season, Gardner turned in his resignation at Southwestern in 1925.

In 1926, Gardner went to work for the Treasury Division and was assigned as an agent within the Bureau of Prohibition. He quickly developed a repute as being expert in undercover work. When Ness was directed to place collectively a staff of Prohibition brokers to analyze Capone’s operation, one of many first brokers he recruited was Gardner. Ness not solely appreciated Gardner for his undercover work but in addition knew that he couldn’t be bribed or intimidated. As a result of all of the brokers employed by Ness had these qualities, Charles Schwarz, a reporter for the Chicago Each day Information started calling them the “untouchables.” This turned the unofficial title of the Ness-led Prohibition squad.

In 1931 the Chicago Outfit was damaged up and Capone was arrested. As an alternative of charging him for his Prohibition violations, Capone was charged and convicted of tax evasion. One of many jurors defined, “Folks like to drink, however they hate individuals who cheat on their taxes.” With the repeal of Prohibition on Dec. 5, 1933, Gardner labored for different businesses inside the Treasury Division for a few years.

In keeping with Chris Serb in his e book Warfare Soccer, “After his stint with the Treasury Workplace, Gardner’s life sank right into a downward spiral of alcohol, playing, and a damaged marriage.” He and his spouse, Alene, divorced in 1943 and Gardner spent a lot of his time with buddies and kin on the Turtle Mountain Reservation. William “Birdie” Jennings Gardner died on June 15, 1965 of coronary heart illness and he was additionally affected by cirrhosis of the liver. Gardner was the real-life inspiration behind Abel Fernandez’s character of Agent William Youngfellow on the tv collection, “The Untouchables,” which ran on ABC from 1959 to 1963.