NAGURSKI, BRONKO 1908-

FOOTBALL PLAYER

Man and Myth

Few athletes in the 1930s possessed as many golden age qualities as Chicago Bears running back Bronk o Nagurski. Son of Ukrainian immigrants, Nagurski moved to northern Minnesota as a young boy and played on a winless high-school team that often had to travel one hundred miles away to play a game. He was unheralded when he entered the University of Minnesota in 1926, but by the end of his college career he was on most all-American teams as either a fullback or a tackle, or both. He was possessed of extraordinary strength. He blocked punts, led interference, and ran over defensive backs, dragging players with him into the end zone. In a game against a superior Wisconsin team, he forced a fumble and then scored the game's only touchdown. He became a folk hero, and tales soon arose about his knocking down walls, pulling fenders off cars, or pointing with a plow to give directions.

Teaming Up with Grange

In 1930 Nagurski joined George Halas's Chicago Bears, a team that featured such greats as Bill Hewitt and Red Grange. Nagurski continued to play fullback and tackle and was an occasional quick passer. One coach said that to stop Nagurski you had to shoot him before he left the locker room. In the 1932 championship game against Portsmouth, he threw a jump pass to Red Grange more than five yards behind the line of scrimmage, a controversial play at the time that prompted an important NFL rule change the following year. Playing for the Bears between 1930 and 1937 (and 1943), Nagurski rushed for 4,301 yards in 872 carries for an average of almost 5 yards a carry (in an age when statistics were hardly scientific). He may have played harder and tougher and been more intimidating than any player before him.

Life After Football

Nagurski retired in 1937 after a contract dispute with Halas. Nagurski had become a professional wrestler in 1934. He toured the country until 1960, demonstrating his "flying block" maneuver and lending credibility to what was obviously becoming a rigged sport. In 1943 he filled the manpower shortage caused by the war by returning to the Bears as a tackle and scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the title game against the Redskins.