Ernie Nevers

Football Player

• Born: June 11, 1903
• Birthplace: Willow River, Minnesota
• Died: May 3, 1976
• Place of death: San Rafael, California

Sport: Football

Early Life

Ernest Alonzo Nevers was born to Nova Scotians George and Mary Nevers on June 11, 1903, in Willow River, Minnesota. Ernie was the youngest of eight children who spent their childhood living in northeastern Minnesota inns where their parents were innkeepers.

When Ernie was old enough to attend high school, his family lived in Superior, Wisconsin. At the time, Ernie was overweight and clumsy. As a member of Central High School’s football team, he was used as a tackling dummy. Day after day, his young teammates tackled him in a sawdust pile. He put up with it because he knew he could not run or dodge well. Meanwhile, he learned to be tough —an invaluable quality in the early days of football. Before long, Ernie’s football status improved. When his family moved to Santa Rosa, California, he became a star player at his new high school. At the same time, he also proved to be an outstanding basketball player.

The Road to Excellence

When Ernie graduated from high school, he enrolled at Stanford University and was soon earning letters in basketball, football, and baseball. In fact, he became Stanford’s greatest athlete and wore uniform number one—which was retired when he graduated. In football, Ernie was a relentless, hard-driving fullback, who ran over his opponents. People described him as a fury in football shoes because he was such an untiring, tough player. He also excelled at blocking, tackling, passing, and punting. Off the field, he was an example to all players; he always kept himself in prime condition and was obedient to his training.

As a senior, in 1925, Ernie first earned national recognition. He had broken his left ankle and had been sidelined for most of the season. When he finally was able to play again, he broke his right ankle. His coach, Glenn “Pop” Warner, made him a special brace so he could play in the Rose Bowl game against Notre Dame.

Stanford lost that game to the legendary Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, but not because of Ernie. His indomitable performance that day will be remembered as one of the finest in Rose Bowl history. On two broken, heavily taped ankles and a leg bandaged so tightly that his circulation was almost cut off, Ernie was like a knight leading his men to battle. He carried the ball thirty-four times in the full 60 minutes he played. He gained 114 yards. Single-handed, he nearly matched the total yardage production of all Four Horsemen combined. From then on, Ernie was known as the kind of player who would give one hundred percent of himself in every game. That year, he made consensus all-American.

The Emerging Champion

In 1926, after pitching for baseball’s St. Louis Browns, Ernie was invited to play professional football for the Duluth Eskimos. Although his professional career in the NFL was short, he gave everything he had. As a rookie, he missed only 29 minutes of play in his first twenty-nine games. Most of those minutes he missed because of an attack of appendicitis. When he saw his team fall behind, he put himself back into the game against doctor’s orders, made a touchdown pass, and won the game.

Ernie and his team—soon known as the Ernie Nevers Eskimos—took to the road and helped popularize professional football nationally. The “Iron Men from the North” played in rain and storm, covering seventeen thousand miles by train, with a team of only thirteen players. Ernie was the team’s star and coach. He was described as a one-man team: He could rush, pass, kick, tackle, and block. Wherever he and his team traveled, crowds gathered to greet them.

After the 1928 season, Ernie injured his back and was forced to stop playing football. In 1929, however, he signed on with the Chicago Cardinals as the first player-coach in big-league professional history. He demonstrated his talent as a fullback. He possessed an exceptional ability to cut and run once he had torn through the line of scrimmage. With amazing speed, he would dodge his way through the broken field. Not surprisingly, he made all-pro at fullback in 1929, 1930, and 1931.

On November 28, 1929, Ernie set a one-game scoring record that may never be surpassed. In a Thanksgiving Day game that pitted the Cardinals against the Chicago Bears, the final figures of the game read: Cardinals 40, Bears 6. In a remarkable performance, Ernie summoned all of his talents to make 6 touchdowns and kick 4 extra points; he personally scored every one of those 40 winning points. That day, he earned his place in history as a “one-man team.”

Continuing the Story

The following year, Ernie was seriously injured when a Green Bay lineman caused his wrist to snap. Although he usually made a comeback when battered and hurt, this time it was impossible. He retired in 1932 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Ernie stayed involved with football after his retirement, however. He worked as backfield coach for Stanford University and later at the University of Iowa. He coached the Cardinals again in 1939, but unsuccessfully.

During World War II, Ernie served in the South Pacific as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. During that time, his wife, Mary Elizabeth Heagerty, whom he had married in 1926, died of pneumonia. After the war, Ernie settled in Tiburon, California, near San Francisco, where he married Margery Luxem in 1947. He worked in public relations for a wholesale liquor company. On May 3, 1976, Ernie died at home in California.

The Golden Boy from California, who was America’s ideal of a sports hero, not only was handsome, courageous, and talented, but also, unlike most heroes, modest and uncontroversial. People everywhere liked him and his youthful spirit.

Summary

Ernie Nevers was one of the most versatile and talented football players, often single-handedly winning games as if he were a “one-man team.” Even when injured, he remained reliable. Ernie set a record for scoring the most points ever made by an NFL back in one game.

Bibliography

Frederick, Chuck. Leatherheads of the North: The True Story of Ernie Nevers and the Duluth Eskimos. Duluth, Minn.: X Communications, 2007.

Peterson, Robert. Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Scott, Jim. Ernie Nevers: Football Hero. Minneapolis: T. S. Denison, 1969.

Sugar, Bert R. The One Hundred Greatest Athletes of All Time. New York: Citadel Press, 1995.