Ernie Nevers

For other people named Nevers, see Nevers (disambiguation).

Ernie Nevers
Nevers c. 1930s
Born
Ernest Alonzo Nevers

(1902-06-11)June 11, 1902
Willow River, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1976(1976-05-03) (aged 73)
Greenbrae, California, U.S.
American football career
No. 4, 11, 44
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Superior Central
(Superior, Wisconsin)
College:Stanford (1923–1925)
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
NFL records
  • Most points scored in a game: 40
  • Most rushing touchdowns in a single game: 6 (tied)[a]
Career NFL statistics
Rushing touchdowns:38
Points scored:301
Head coaching record
Career:NFL: 12–27–2 (.317)
College: 1–8 (.111)
Player stats at PFR
Coaching stats at PFR
Baseball career
Pitcher
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 26, 1926, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
May 4, 1928, for the St. Louis Browns
MLB statistics
Win–loss record6–12
ERA4.64
Strikeouts39
Saves2
Batting average.200
Hits12
RBI1
Teams

Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog",[2] was an American football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, he played as a fullback and was a triple-threat man known for his talents in running, passing, and kicking. He was inducted with the inaugural classes of inductees into both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team.

Nevers played four sports (football, basketball, baseball, and track and field) for Stanford University from 1923 to 1925 and was a consensus first-team All-American in football in 1925. He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Duluth Eskimos in 1926 and 1927 and the Chicago Cardinals from 1929 to 1931. In 1929, one week after defeating the Dayton Triangles, who were playing in their final game before moving to Brooklyn to embark on their long and tenuous history through the league, he set an NFL record that still stands by scoring 40 points in a single game. In the same game he subsequently set another NFL record by scoring six rushing touchdowns in a single game against the Chicago Bears, a record that remained unequaled until the 2020 season in which New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara also accomplished the feat, scoring six touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day.[3] Nevers also played professional baseball as a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns of the American League from 1926 to 1928 and the Mission Bells of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 1928 and 1929.

Nevers also had a long career as a football coach, including stints with the Stanford Indians (assistant, 1928, 1932–1935), the Chicago Cardinals (head coach, 1930–1931, 1939), Lafayette Leopards (head coach, 1936), Iowa Hawkeyes (assistant, 1937–1938), and the Chicago Rockets (assistant, 1946).

  1. ^ 2019 NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). New York: National Football League. 2019.
  2. ^ Liebendorfer, Don E. (1952). "Stanford's Greatest Back ... Ernie Nevers". Scout.com. Daily Polo Alto. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference singlegametie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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