Ernie Nevers pro football debut was exhibition game in 1926

On Jan. 2, 1926 — one hundred years ago today — Willow River native and Superior Central High School standout athlete Ernie Nevers made his pro football debut in an exhibition game in Jacksonville, Florida. He represented the Jacksonville All Stars in a much-hyped game against Red Grange’s Chicago Bears.

Nevers had just finished his collegiate years at Stanford, where he earned All-American honors and the nickname “America’s all-time one-man team” for his dominance at fullback and various other positions.

The All Stars lost 19-6 to the Bears in a game that drew an estimated 6,000 fans, a crowd much smaller than expected for what was promoted as the “world’s greatest football game.”

A recent story in the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, tells the full story of the game. Below is a summary of the Nevers highlight.

It happened four plays after Jacksonville’s Red Barron had intercepted a Bears pass, returning it to the Chicago 38. After Nevers rushed for a gain of 5, Bears guard Jim McMillen and All Stars lineman Russ Stein squared off. The Times-Union called it an “altercation.” Then it started to grow.

“The field became crowded with spectators, as officials put both players out of the game,” the Times-Union reported. “The game was delayed several minutes before play was resumed, police and spectators were seen in a fist fight, and the crowd focused its attention on the gloveless participants.”

One play later, the All Stars got their highlight. Nevers threw complete to Charley Bowser, who missed out on a touchdown only because Grange downed him at the 1. Then Nevers plunged across the line to cut the deficit to 19-6.

Nevers played professional baseball in the summer of 1926 for the St. Louis Browns, then joined the Duluth Eskimos for his first regular season National Football League game on Sept. 19. He scored the games’s only touchdown and kicked the extra point in a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Cowboys. The team posted a 19–7–3 record that year.

Nevers’ NFL career continued until 1931. He was inducted into the charter class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.