Ernie Nevers Outstanding Hall of Fame Running Back

Born June 11, 1902, in Willow River, Minnesota, was Ernie "Big Dog" Nevers the Stanford University fullback from 1923 to 1925. He was an All-American according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and excelled at basketball and baseball as well as football. Nevers gained national attention on New Year's Day 1925 at the Rose Bowl.

Ernie and his Cardinal teammates were matched against the powerful Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad that featured the 7 Mules, the Four Horsemen backfield and a legendary coach in Knute Rockne. Ernie’s performance was memorable and courageous as he was only five days removed from having a cast removed on a broken ankle, and with his foot bound tightly in a brace, Nevers dominated the game. Nevers established a Rose Bowl record with 34 carries as he gained 114 yards, only 13 less than the combined total for Notre Dame's legendary backfield. His brilliance in the contest did not stop there as Nevers averaged 42 yards punting as a bonus.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal faithful, the Irish were just a bit too much as Stanford fell 27-10. The FootballFoundation.org bio of Nevers goes on to say that Hall of Fame coach Glenn "Pop" Warner, who coached Nevers and the legendary Jim Thorpe picked Nevers over Thorpe as his personal choice as the "greatest football player of all time." In 1969, Nevers was named to Football's All-Time Team, which was part of college football's Centennial celebration. Big Dog was Stanford's captain in 1925 when he led a 24-17 upset of arch rival California. He handled the ball on all but three offensive plays as Stanford posted its first win over Cal in eight seasons.

Ernie Nevers received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971. His bio on the ProFootballHOF.com explains that after college Nevers signed pro basketball and baseball contracts and, in fact, was destined to throw two homerun pitches to Babe Ruth in his historic 60-home run season in 1927. But pro football also beckoned. In 1926, the Duluth Eskimos convinced Nevers to join their ranks over lucrative offers of the other sports. The Eskimos had a unique existence as they played all but one of their games on the road during Never’s time there. Ernie reportedly played all but 29 of a possible 1,740 minutes in 29 games as a running back, kicker & quarterback. He got hurt and that fact forced him to miss the 1928 season but he came back with a vengeance in 1929 with a new team the Chicago Cardinals. He stayed with the Cards for a few seasons and was even coaching the squad during the 1930 and 1931 seasons. His biggest pro game was with Chicago in 1929 against their cross town rivals the Bears on Thanksgiving Day when Nevers scored all 40 of the Cardinals points in a Red Bird romp 40-7. Check out more on Ernie Nevers with our friend Joe Ziemba on the Sports History Network and in his great book, When Football Was Football. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined the Big Dog Ernie Nevers in 1963.