Ernie Nevers

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Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1903, Willow River, Minnesota - May 3, 1976) was an American football fullback who played for the Duluth Eskimos and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League.

[edit] High School

Nevers attended Superior Central High School (Superior, Wisconsin) and Santa Rosa High School (Santa Rosa, California), where he excelled in football. In 1920, as a senior, he led the team to the NCS Championships. In 1925, the American football field at Santa Rosa High School was renamed Nevers Field in his honor. In 2004, just in time for the homecoming game, a $2 million refurbishment of Nevers Field was completed. The improvements included artificial turf, an all-weather eight-lane track, new bleachers, a snack bar and ticket booth, restrooms, and lights for night games.

[edit] Stanford University

Nevers went on to attend Stanford University, where he was All-America and played in the 1925 Rose Bowl against Notre Dame and the famous Four Horsemen backfield. He played all 60 minutes in the game and rushed for 114 yards, more yardage than all the Four Horsemen combined. He was named the 1925 Rose Bowl Player of the Game. Former coach Pop Warner called Nevers "the football player without a fault," and Nevers often was compared to Jim Thorpe.

[edit] Professional career

Nevers excelled in several sports, including basketball and baseball (as a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, he gave up two home runs to Babe Ruth in his 60-homer season of 1927). But Nevers signed a contract with the Eskimos. The Eskimos were unique, as they had no actual home and played all their games on the road. After two seasons for Duluth, during which he played almost every minute on offense and defense, he did not play in 1928. However, he returned to the NFL to play fullback and coach the Chicago Cardinals from 1929 to 1931. During one game in 1929, Nevers set a record that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. Not only did Nevers score every touchdown (6), but he kicked four extra points, giving the Cardinals 40 points over the crosstown rival Chicago Bears. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. ESPN ranked Nevers #25 on its Top 25 Players in College Football History.

It has been reported that Nevers is the father of Gordy Nevers, who played minor-league baseball in the Kansas City Athletics organization, and the grandfather of Tom Nevers, who was a first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros baseball team in the 1990 draft.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nevers' entry in the HOF
• Nevers' career baseball pitching statistics
• Ernie Nevers Profile at Rosebowl Legends
• Profile at Baseball-reference.com