Ernie Nevers: NFL and MLB

Ernie Nevers is one of few athletes who played in the NFL and MLB. This is his story, as told through his legacy at the Pro Football HOF.

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Disclaimer: This is a story being told through the the artifacts, displays, and other items of and about Ernie Nevers at the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Photos are all my own.

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The Ernie Nevers Eskimos:

The Backstory:

During his time in college, Ernie Nevers became a national sensation for his athletic abilities. Most notably, this came through his being the star fullback for the Stanford Cardinals between his sophomore and senior years. Nevers would go on to become a 3rd team All-American as a sophomore (he missed most of his junior season with 2 broken ankles) and a 1st team All-American as a senior, in addition to 2 first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference (now the Pac-12) honors.

However, it was not just his prowess on the gridiron that made Ernie Nevers a national story. After his sophomore season of football, Nevers went on to become Stamford's best all-around basketball player, their best pitcher for the baseball team, a standout on the track team, and (according to some accounts) a great swimmer. (Though, it is unclear if he was part of the swim team.)

The Story:

Coming out of college in 1926, the Duluth Kelleys signed Ernie Nevers as a fullback. That same offseason, the Kelleys lost their sponsorship with the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store and they rebranded as the Eskimos. After the signing of the All-American, they rebranded to honor the name of their star player, becoming the Ernie Nevers (Duluth) Eskimos.

The Eskimos were a traveling football team in the early days of the NFL, representing the northern states of America. This allowed them to play many games as a barnstorming team, in addition to their games played in the NFL seasons. And though they had a home stadium in Duluth, they only ever played one game there in 1926. Sources vary, but it appears that their lone home game was the first of their 1926 season, and they would never return. Instead, the Eskimos would go on to play 28 more games and travel the country doing so, which makes the travel trunk a very interesting artifact.

For Nevers, he would play in all 29 of those games, and miss just a total of 29 minutes during those games. And, though not all of them are official NFL games, the Eskimos did well in the 1926 season, finishing 6-5-3 and 8th in the league. Nevers, for his performances, would be recognized as a first-team All-Pro player.

Nevers would then also become the head coach for the 1927 season, as ownership was trying to further capitalize on his status, though his team would go 1-8. However, Never was again the shining star of running backs and was again recognized with first-team All Pro honors.

Other Notes:

The Duluth Eskimos have a slight (though not recognized) tie-in to the modern NFL. The team broke up following the 1927 season, and in 1929 would go on to become the Orange Tornadoes, based in New Jersey (and then in 1930 become the Newark Tornadoes). The Tornadoes franchise would also quickly disband, and in 1932 the NFL awarded a new team contract to Boston, who created a team called the Braves. In 1933, they would become the Boston Redskins, and in 1937 they would move to Washington D.C.. So, in a way the Duluth Eskimos became today's Washington Commanders.

However, due to a 2 year dormancy of the franchises, the NFL doesn't officially recognize that the Tornadoes were the successors to the Eskimos. Nor, do they recognize that the Tornadoes would become the Braves, even though it was understood the 1932 sale of a new team contract to Boston was to include all assets of the Tornadoes franchise.

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The 40 Point Game:

The Backstory:

Even though Ernie Nevers had two successful seasons with the Duluth Eskimos, their status as a travelling team in early NFL did not allow them to succeed. So, Nevers' professional football career ended after just 2 seasons as Nevers decided to go back to coach with "Pop" Warner at Stanford. However, this lasted until the Chicago Cardinals came calling in 1929.

The Story:

On November 28th, 1929, Ernie Nevers set an NFL record for points scored by a single player with 40. This record is still standing today. And, in the process of doing so, Ernie Nevers scored, and ran for, 6 touchdowns. In the entire history of the NFL, this feat has also never been beaten, though it has been matched 3 times (with the most recent coming on Christmas Day of 2020 by Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints).

However, you may be thinking: how did Nevers score 40 points? A touchdown is worth 6 points, and if Never scored 6 of them, that would leave 4 points unaccounted for. Well, I forgot to mention that Ernie Nevers was a triple-threat player. He was known for his ability to run the ball, to pass the ball, and to kick the ball. From his 6 touchdowns, Nevers scored an addition 4 points from kicking successful PAT's (point after touchdowns). This is what makes the record so hard to break.

Further Notes:

After the 1929 season, Never would again be crowned an All-Pro, and being a part of a true franchise (not a travelling franchise), had Nevers stick around professional football as a player for another 2 seasons afterwards. In both 1930 and 1931, Nevers would again be an All-Pro. And, interestingly enough, the Chicago Cardinals made him the head coach on both of those teams.

Nevers would retire from his playing days after the 1931 season, and go back to be an assistant coach to "Pop" Warner at Stanford for another 4 seasons from 1932-1935. Following this, he would become the head coach of Lafayette College in 1936, a backfield coach at Iowa in 1937 and 1938, the head coach (again) with the Chicago Cardinals in 1939, and then a number of years later as a backfield coach with the Chicago Rockets in the AAFC in 1946.

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Nevers and the MLB:

The Backstory: Now, why did I even decide to learn about Ernie Nevers and take all these photos at the Professional Football Hall of Fame? What does he have to do with baseball (and, more importantly, the New York Yankees)?

Well, as a proud alumnus of Lafayette College, I learned in the weeks leading up to my trip to Canton, Ohio that he was a former Head Coach for the Leopards! And, he is the only person in the Professional Football Hall of Fame with a close tie to my alma mater (either has a player, or coach). There are other athletes and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame- including Nevers as well- but none for professional football.

Side-Note: If Steve Spagnuolo (former New York Giants Head Coach & current Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator) ever makes the hall of fame- though unlikely due to their being no other coordinators in the hall- he also worked at Lafayette College, from 1984-1986 as a defensive and special teams coach. I know I'm rooting for him!

After I learned about Nevers tie to my alma mater, I did some research about him and found he also played in the MLB for the St. Louis Browns.

The Story:

In 1926, before Ernie Nevers' became an NFL player, he began his true professional sporting career in baseball, as a signee of the St. Louis Browns. (He did play two "professional" football games for a team in Jacksonville, Florida in 1925, but that team folded after those two games.)

As a pitcher, Nevers would go on to pitch in 11 games (starting 7) in 1926 while totaling 74.2 innings to a 4.46 ERA and a 2-4 record. The highlight of his first MLB season was a complete game victory against the Detroit Tigers on August 13th. That line-up featured the likes of Ty Cobb, Heinie Manush, Charlie Gehringer, and Harry Heilmann.

Nevers would continue to play in the MLB in between his football seasons with the Eskimos, pitching again for the Browns in 1927. This season was not as successful for Nevers, as he would pitch in 27 games (starting 5) and total 94.2 innings with a 4.94 ERA and a 3-8 record. The highlight of this season involving Nevers (and the sole reason why I was able to write this whole article about him for the blog, and have it be related to the Yankees) was that he would give up 2 home runs to Babe Ruth, during the Bambino's 60 home run season.

Nevers would play one final MLB season in 1928, pitching in 6 games and 9 innings to a 3.00 ERA and a 1-0 record with the Browns. However, that was because Nevers' contract was sold to the Mission Bells/Reds of the PCL, where he would go on to pitch a full 206 inning season over 29 games, to a 14-11 record and a 4.37 ERA. He would also bat to a .374 average across 91 at-bats.

In 1929, Nevers would play his final professional baseball season- again with the Mission Bells/Reds of the PCL- pitching 148 innings over 41 games to a 4.56 ERA and a 7-8 record.

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Learn More:

(You can still see this video - click the link to view it directly on YouTube.)

#89: Ernie Nevers | The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players (2010) | NFL Films

Two Minutes of Pro Football History: Nevers Again