Ernie Nevers

Ernie Nevers

Career history
Duluth Eskimos Chicago Cardinals
Record at Pro Football Reference
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 - May 3, 1976) was an American football fullback who played for the Duluth Eskimos and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League.

Nevers attended Santa Rosa High School, in Santa Rosa, California, where he excelled in football. In 1920, as a senior, he led the team to the NCS Championships. In 1925 the 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 dollar refurbishment of Nevers Field was completed. The improvements included an artificial turf, an all-weather 8-lane track, new bleachers, a snack bar and ticket booth, restrooms, and lights for night games.

Nevers went on to attend Stanford University, where he was an All-American, and played in the 1925 Rose Bowl. Former coach Pop Warner called Nevers "the football player without a fault", and he was often compared to Jim Thorpe. Although 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), he signed a contract with the Eskimos. The Eskimos were a unique team, 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 the 1928 season. 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 cross-town rival Chicago Bears. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Nevers' son, Gordie Nevers, played minor league baseball for the Kansas City A's organization and his grandson, Tom Nevers, was a first round draft pick by the Houston Astros baseball team in the 1990 draft. Austin Nevers is also a distant family member of Ernie Nevers.

External links

• Nevers' entry in the HOF
• Nevers' career baseball pitching statistics
• Ernie Nevers Profile at Rosebowl Legends