It was way back, November 3rd in 1908 to be exact, when the little town of Rainy River, Ontario welcomed its most famous child. Bronko Nagurski was the oldest of four children. He was born to Eastern European immigrants of Ukrainian and Polish descent. His family moved to International Falls when Nagurski was 5 years old. He worked hard as a youngster. He delivered groceries from his parent's store, helped work on their farm, and labored in the timber industry.
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| Rainy River in the early 1900's |
In International Falls Nagurski played both football and basketball. He transferred to Bemidji as a senior but was declared ineligible for football. He did play high school basketball there.
Nagurski was "discovered" by University of Minnesota football coach Clarence Spears. It was reported that Spears saw him plowing in a field, and that when he asked for directions Nagurski picked up the plow and pointed it the way that Spears should go. Spears later admitted to fabricating the story.
Legends aside, on his first day of practice Spears decided to test Nagurski in the "Nutcracker" drill, where a defensive player had to take on two blockers and try to tackle a following ball carrier. On the first drill two All-Big Ten linemen and Herb Joesting charged at Bronko, who promptly split the blockers and drove the big fullback into a blocking dummy. Spears sent in three more players, blew his whistle and watched Bronko produce the same explosive results and after a third try with the same conclusion realized what a super player he had recruited.
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| Nagurski at University of Minnesota |
While in college Nagurski played both full back and defense. Hi most notable game was the season finale in 1928 against Wisconsin. In that game he recovered a fumble, ran it 6 times in a row to score a touchdown, and then sealed the win with an interception. Nagurski also lead the Gophers to the 1927 Big 10 Championship.
Nagurski turned professional to play for the Chicago Bears from 1930 to 1937, and again for a season in 1943. At 6 feet 2 inches tall and 235 pounds, he was a formidable presence, and in his day he was a dominant force, helping the Bears win several division titles and two NFL championships. He ended his eight-year stint with 3,947 rushing yards on 856 attempts, completed 36 of 80 passes, and scored a total of 236 points.
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| Nagurski running through people for the Bears |
Nagurski ended up retiring from football in 1937, but he had other things in mind. He had already been doing professional wrestling for part of the year while he was playing football. He continued wrestling professionally until 1960. On June 23, 1939 Nagurski defeated Lou Thesz to win the National Wrestling Association World Title.
Bronko Nagurski passed away in 1990. He is one of the most famous people to come from northwest Minnesota/Ontario. People today can visit the Bronko Nagurski museum in International Falls.
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| Outside the Bronko Nagurski museum |
Among Nagurski's lesser known football plays was the erratic running play, "Flight of the Bumblebee; the suspense building tenets of Balero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4wb11w0ZHQ after receiving the two minute warning; and the Brigadoon Special Day play when the Bears demolished high game scores long held by an opposing team and danced across the field, two by two, holding hands singing "Almost Like Being in Love."
ReplyDeleteDid you know Nagurski owned and operated a gas station in da Falls in his later life? Better ask Chairman Joe about that one, though. I might be lying.
ReplyDeleteI did know that. I also heard that OJ Simpson and Bronko led police on a chase.
DeleteThat was true, but they weren't in the same car nor in the same year. O.J.'s episode was June 17, 1994, a date that will live in infamy, of course. And Bronko's episode, a mere sixty-one years earlier actually inspired O.J. when, during an exciting Bears football championship game Bronko was chased by police himself when, like Forrest Gump in the movie of the same name, he ran through the end zone and knocked over a police person on a horse eating a hot dog, the hot dog crashing to the ground, in violation of that particular state's wanton meat waste act. Bronko laughed at the charge, as he lifted the horse and its rider back on its hooves, then took off back into the stadium and was swallowed up by his adoring fans.
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