Hall of Fame
Brower Pernet, an end, played a key role in Shippensburg’s football resurgence in the mid 1930s. Shippensburg had a losing team in 1932 (3-5) and 1933 (1-6-1), Pernet’s freshman year. In 1934, with key roles filled by many freshman and sophomores, including Pernet, Shippensburg won its first five games before losing two at the end of the season.
In 1935 Pernet, a junior, served as team captain. Shippensburg won the Pennsylvania Conference championship with a 7-1 record. The team had six shutouts and allowed only 19 points.
The following year Pernet was elected captain again. He was the last player to serve as team captain two years in a row until Tim Ebersole and Rich Pryor in 1981 and 1982 and Dave Szlahetka in 1985 and 1986. Only one other player in the modern era (Since 1926, when Shippensburg became a four-year college), Ernest Byers in 1928 and 1929, served as captain two years in a row. In his senior season, Shippensburg was again 7-1, narrowly missing another conference title and an undefeated year. The team set a school record for fewest points allowed with 15 and shutout the opposition six times.
Playing in an age when 60 minute men were the rule rather than the exception, Pernet excelled both offensively and defensively. Defensively his play at end was a crucial part of the Red Raiders vaunted defense. Offensively, the teams emphasis was on the ground but Pernet broke free for two touchdowns in 1936, his senior season.
Pernet went on to have an impressive career in education and military service. Following graduation from Shippensburg, he taught school in Mifflin County from 1937-39 and then returned to his native Montgomery County in 1939 to teach in the Horsham School District until World War II.
Serving in the Army Air Force during World War II, Pernet was stationed in Newfoundland as part of the North Atlantic Wing of the Air Transport Command. He served in the Air Force reserve until 1973 and retired as a lieutenant colonel.
After the war, Pernet returned to teaching in the Colonial School District in Montgomery County and later became principal at the Lafayette Consolidated School and in 1967 was administrative assistant to the superintendent. He retired from the Colonial School District in 1979 and served in the Montgomery County Retired Educators’ Association and the Pennsylvania State Retirees Association.
