He played college football for the Chicago Maroons for three years, being a top player under head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.

[5] Playing halfback, Kernwein was reported by the Chicago Tribune as "displaying considerable brilliance at finding the holes [in the line].

"[6] He was "used considerably" by head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, with The Pantagraph writing that Kernwein "is regarded as the best bet to succeed John Thomas and Willis Zorn" in 1924.

[8] In 1925, The Daily Times reported that "Kernwein has been playing left half-back for the Maroons since the season opened and his stellar open-field running in the Big Ten games that Chicago has played so far this season has enabled Coach Stagg's proteges to defeat Purdue, Northwestern and tie Ohio State.

In the interim between the time the game started and Kernwein was carried out, the 170 lb, back was an Atlas that held the Maroon team shoulder high.

Then after the leg had been all but broken, Kernwein took the ball and started one of the greatest rallies in Maroon history by smashing around Dartmouth's left end and swinging back through the center of the Green backfield for a touchdown.

[11]After graduating in 1926, Kernwein was awarded the Big Ten Conference Medal, given to a senior in each school who "has shown superiority in athletics and in scholarship.

"[12] A report in The Capital Times wrote "Kernwein was an important cog in the Maroon grid machine of 1925 and 1926[sic], his fast running and clever dodging, combined with his kicking and tackling, making him an exceptionally valuable man to Chicago.

[13] According to The Daily Times, Kernwein was "popular in university activities," and was chosen as a delegate of his fraternity for a national convention held in Denver.

[13] He made his NFL debut against the Hammond Pros in week one, winning 6–3, with his "brilliant open field running practically w[inning] the game for the Tornadoes.

[19] A profile in the Green Bay Press-Gazette said of Kernwein: "A fast, slippery man who has proven the most consistent ground gainer on the Tornado squad.

[3] After his football career, Kernwein was an orthopedic surgeon at Rockford for 32 years, being rated one of the top bone specialists in the country.

[1] He wrote many papers of medical literature and was writing a book on surgical procedure when he died in 1983, at the age of 78 in Rochester, Minnesota.