Photo Courtesy Andy Bruinewood |
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Bronko Nagurski was the first Canadian to be part of an NFL championship team.
Born in 1908 in the small border town of Rainy River, Ontario to parents Michael and Amelia Nagurski, the youngster grew up an athlete in Minnesota, having to run four miles each day to school and back to the family farm, where he lived with his parents and three siblings. He loved wrestling and boxing as a teen, but his mother tried to dissuade him, frightened that he might get hurt.
But Bronko wouldn't be stopped. He was an All-American at the University of Minnesota from 1927 to 1929, and was the only player in U.S. college history to make all-star at two positions -- fullback and tackle. In 1930, he was signed by George Halas to the Chicago Bears, and helped the Bears to championships in 1932 and 1933.
New York Giants coach Steve Owen once said "The only way to stop him is to shoot him before he leaves the clubhouse" and that "Bronko runs his own interference."
Another player, Ernie Nevers, once said "Tackling Bronko was like trying to stop a freight train running downhill."
The tenacity payed off in the wrestling ring too.
Nagurski hit his peak during the late '30s, early '40s, when he held the NWA World title twice, beating Lou Thesz June 23, 1939 for his first win. Nagurski would lose the title to Ray Steel March 7, 1940, and regain it from Steele a year later on March 11, 1941. Sandor Szabo finally took the gold from Nagurksi on June 5, 1941.
Nagurski retired from wrestling in 1960 a physical wreck, and for the last years of his life, he ran a gas station in International Falls, Minnesota. He died Jan 8, 1990.
Nagurski married his childhood sweetheart Eileen Kane December 28, 1936 and the couple had a child Christmas Day 1937, who they named after his father. Junior would go on to play eight seasons with the Hamilton Ti-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
