Ernie Nevers - Professional Career

Professional Career

Nevers excelled in several sports, including basketball and baseball. In 1926 he went to Jacksonville, Florida, where he organized the Jacksonville All-Stars, the city's first attempt at a professional football team. The All-Stars played two exhibition games against NFL opponents: the Chicago Bears, led by Red Grange, on January 2, and the New York Giants on January 9. However, meager crowds forced the team to fold after only two games, and Nevers signed a contract with the St. Louis Browns baseball team. Nevers debuted as a pitcher with the Browns in the 1926 season, and thereafter spent parts of three seasons with the Browns, most notably giving up two home runs to Babe Ruth in his 60-homer season of 1927.Holds record for most rushing touch downs in a game with 6.

Nevers would have better fortune in football, though. Despite reports that Red Grange and the newly formed AFL had signed him, Nevers's childhood friend and Duluth Eskimos owner Ole Haugsrud had actually signed him. The Eskimos were unique, as they had no actual home and played all their games on the road. Many consider that if Nevers had signed with the AFL, the NFL may have been driven out of business. 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. In 1929, Nevers set a record for individual points in a single game, scoring all six of the Cardinals' touchdowns and kicking four extra points, racking up 40 points against the crosstown rival Chicago Bears - a record that has never been beaten. 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, while NFL Network named him #89 on their Top 100 Greatest Players.

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.