Bronko Nagurski

From New World Encyclopedia

Bronko Nagurski
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Nagurski during his years at University of Minnesota
Date of birth: November 3, 1908
Place of birth: Rainy River, Ontario
Date of death: January 7 1990 (aged 81)
Place of death: International Falls, Minnesota
Career information
Status: Not active
Position(s): FB/LB/OT
Height: Template:Convert/LoffAonDbSoff2
Weight: 226 lb (103 kg)
Jersey №: 3
College: Minnesota
High school: International Falls HS/Bemidji HS
Organizations
 As player:
1930-1937, 1943 Chicago Bears
Career highlights and Awards
  • NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
  • NFL 1930s All-Decade Team
  • Retired numbers (#72 and #3)
Career stats
Att     775
Yards     3,510
Avg     4.5
Rush TD     25
INT     7
GP-GS     97-75
Playing stats at NFL.com
College Football Hall of Fame, 1951
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1963

Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a versatile American football player of Polish- Ukrainian origin. In college, Nagurski earned the rare honor of being named All-America as a fullback and as a defensive tackle. As a professional in the NFL, he’s the only player in its history who was named All-Pro at three different positions (DL, OL and RB).[1]

He was also a famous professional wrestler, being one of the first football players to succeed as a professional wrestler. In professional wrestling he won the National Wrestling Association title twice, in 1939 and in 1941.

He was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the best all-around defensive college football player.

Youth and collegiate career

Nagurski was born near the small Canadian border town of Rainy River, just across from International Falls, Minnesota. His parents, Michael and Amelia Nagurski, were Ukrainian immigrants and farmers; Bronislaw was one of four children. Surrounded by wilderness and enduring long, cold winters] he grew up loving the outdoors and athletics. In high school, Nagurski took up wrestling and boxing.

In 1926 Nagurski entered the University of Minnesota. From 1927 through 1929, he starred at four different positions on that school's football team - end, guard, tackle and fullback. Nagurski established a fearsome reputation on offense and defense. For three seasons, he was named an All-American. He was the first college player in history to be named an all-star at two positions - fullback and defensive tackle.

Perhaps his greatest collegiate game was against the Wisconsin in 1928. Wearing a corset to protect cracked vertebrae, he recovered a Badger fumble deep in their territory and then ran the ball six straight times to score the go-ahead touchdown. Later in the same game, he intercepted a pass to seal the victory. During his time with the Gophers, the team went 18-4-2 and won the Big Ten Conference championship in 1927.

Sports Illustrated magazine named Nagurski one of the three greatest athletes in Minnesota state history (the other two were Dave Winfield and Kevin McHale). In 1993, the Football Writers Association of America created the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded annually to the best defensive player in college football. Notable winners include Warren Sapp, Charles Woodson, Champ Bailey, and Derrick Johnson. In 2007, Nagurski was ranked #17 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.

Professional football career

Nagurski turned professional to play for the Chicago Bears from 1930 to 1937. At 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 235 pounds (107 kg), he would have been a formidable presence in any era of the NFL, and in his day he was a dominant force in the league, helping the Chicago Bears win several division titles and two NFL championships.

Legendary Chicago Bears head coach George Halas scouted Nagurski and signed him in 1930 to a $5,000 contract. After returning home from the contract signing, Nagurski found an offer for $7,500 a season from the New York Giants.

After an excellent rookie season, Nagurski had to take a pay cut to $4,500 because the Great Depression was cutting into the Bears' revenue. Wearing the uniform number 3, Nagurski quickly became one of the National Football League's stars, but he did not complain when his salary was cut again, to $3,700.

The Bears were the top team of their era. With Red Grange and Nagurski the 1932 Bears finished first in their division.

He was probably the largest running back of his time, bigger than most linemen of the day, and a forerunner of the large fullbacks of the modern era. In an era where players were expected to play on both offense and defense he was a standout on both sides of the ball.

Professional wrestler

During his football career, he built a second athletic career as a professional wrestler, becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion.

During Nagurski's 1943 comeback season heled the Bears to their fourth NFL championship against the backdrop of World War II era Chicago. At this time professional football teams were short of players. He scored a touchdown in the Bears' championship victory against the Washington Redskins, served one season as backfield coach for UCLA in 1944, and finally returned to wrestling until his retirement in 1960.

Final years

After his retirement from wrestling, he returned home to International Falls and opened a service station. He retired from that in 1978, at the age of 70. He lived out a quiet life on the shores of Rainy Lake on the Canadian border.

He died in International Falls and is buried there in the Saint Thomas Cemetery.

Legacy

Nagurski was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member on September 7, 1963.

At the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities house of his fraternity, Sigma Chi, Nagurski's jersey and Significant Sig recognition certificate are on display.

After his death, the town of International Falls honored him by opening the Bronko Nagurski Museum in Smokey Bear Park. It is the only museum dedicated to a single football player [2].

In 1995, Nagurski was again honored when the Football Writers Association of America voted to have his name attached to college football's Defensive Player of the Year trophy (Bronko Nagurski Trophy).

A fictionalized eyewitness account of Nagurski's 1943 comeback is the subject of a dramatic monologue in the film version of Hearts in Atlantis. Another account is in the William Goldman novel Magic.

In 1999, he was ranked number 35 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking foreign-born player.

In 2000, he was voted the second-greatest Minnesotan sportsman of the 20th century by the sportswriters of the Star Tribune, coming in only behind Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

Professional Wrestling Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Association
  • NWA/NBA World Heavyweight Champion (2 times)
Other titles
  • World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time)
  • World Heavyweight Championship
  • World Heavyweight Championship (Minneapolis version) (2 times)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame - inducted in 1996

Notes

  1. [1] Coldhardfootballfacts.com. Retrieved October 17, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bronko Nagurski: World's Heavyweight Wrestling Champion! 1939. Minnesota: s.n. OCLC 23361924
  • Dent, Jim. 2003. Monster of the Midway: Bronko Nagurski, the 1943 Chicago Bears, and the greatest comeback ever. New York: T. Dunne Books. ISBN 0312308671
  • Gorn, Elliott J. 2008. Sports in Chicago. Sport and society. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252033179
  • Roberts, Kate. 2007. Minnesota 150: The People, Places, and Things that Shape our State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873515948
  • Vecchione, Joseph J. 1991. The New York Times Book of Sports Legends. New York: Times Books, Random House. ISBN 0812917987

External links


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