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Bronko The Legendary Story of the NFL's Greatest Two-Way Fullback
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Description
The remarkable biography of a small-town athlete who became one of the greatest players in NFL history.
Bronislau “Bronko” Nagurski was a superstar for the NFL in the 1930s and one of the pioneer players of the league. He led the Chicago Bears to success on the gridiron as a larger-than-life personality, helping raise the popularity of the NFL during the Great Depression.
In Bronko: The Legendary Story of the NFL’s Greatest Two-Way Fullback, NFL Films historian Chris Willis tells the remarkable story of how Bronko became an NFL legend. Throughout his nine-year NFL career, Bronko’s name became synonymous with power football. While the new league fought to gain respect and recognition, Bronko immediately captured the attention of sports fans in Chicago and across the country. The bruising fullback could do everything: run, block, tackle, and even throw the occasional pass.
With the complete cooperation of the Nagurski family and unlimited access to personal letters, family scrapbooks, and photos, Bronko is the definitive biography of a true sports pioneer and NFL great.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Better Life
Chapter 2:Bronislaw to Bronko
Chapter 3: International Falls
Chapter 4: School of Hard Knocks
Chapter 5: On His Own
Chapter 6: Off to College
Chapter 7: Mr. All-American
Chapter 8: Eileen
Chapter 9: East-West Shrine Game
Chapter 10: Joining the Chicago Bears
Chapter 11: State of the National Football League
Chapter 12: Rookie
Chapter 13: On the Doorstep
Chapter 14: NFL Champions!
Chapter 15: I’ll Try Wrestling
Chapter 16: Back-to-Back
Chapter 17: Not a Hollywood Star
Chapter 18: Sneakers Spoil Perfection
Chapter 19: Lost Season
Chapter 20: Return to Glory
Chapter 21: Wrestling Champion of the World
Chapter 22: Double Duty
Chapter 23: Stepping Away & Fatherhood
Chapter 24: Returning to the Bears
Chapter 25: Goodbye to Football
Chapter 26: Nagurski’s Pure Servicenter
Chapter 27: Pro Football Hall of Fame
Chapter 28: Hard Working Family
Chapter 29: Super Bowl XVIII Coin Toss
Chapter 30: Losing Bronko
Chapter 31: The Legacy of Bronko Nagurski
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Product details
Published | 10 Aug 2022 |
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Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 280 |
ISBN | 9781538150634 |
Imprint | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |
Illustrations | 24 b/w illustrations |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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The legend of Bronko Nagurski as one of pro football’s pioneer stars is detailed like never before in this outstanding retrospective narrative by Chris Willis. The background of Nagurski’s life before, during, and after his playing days, is both insightful and entertaining. Chris Willis has previously written some great books about a variety of NFL teams and players. This book might be his very best, and that is saying a lot.
Joe Zagorski, Pro Football Writers of America
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A well-researched and extremely informative book about the early days of the NFL and one of its greatest players.
Robert W. Cohen, author of The 50 Greatest Players in Chicago Bears History
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This book on Bronko Nagurski is full of original and unique research and details we'd never heard before. It covers Nagurski's life—pre-football, his career, and his post-NFL playing days and does it well. Willis is always so fluent in his writings of the Pre-World War II era and can make it relatable to younger readers who may not be enthralled with the NFL from that far back. Willis enjoyed the cooperation of the Nagurski family with access to loads of personal files and records and the inclusion of details from those documents makes the book more enriching and vivid. This is a fine, fine book and highly recommended.
Pro Football Journal
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[T]he most comprehensive look at Bronko Nagurski's life before, during and after his playing career with the Chicago Bears…. Willis does an excellent job in developing what Nagurski was like in both sports and off the field as a devoted family man…. Willis captured his intensity and sincerity of him both on and off the field. He created a great tribute to this pioneer of the early gridiron game. Chris Willis has a great ability to bring the person, subject, game,and/or event to life giving realismto the subject he is writing aboutthat I find missing in other books by other authors on football. Without a doubt, his new book isa must-read and should be a partof your football library as well hisother books. I highly recommend it.
Gridiron Greats
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The phrase meticulously researched came to mind almost immediately, and suits it perfectly. Willis hits the right note between telling stories about Bronislau “Bronko” Nagurski and the personal details that we crave in an autobiography. Having the support of the Nagurski family, and The Bronko Nagurski Museum in International Falls, Minnesota, Willis is able to cram the book full of great facts…. Bronko: The Legendary Story of the NFL’s Greatest Two-Way Fullback is an incredible book for football fans.
Slam Wrestling