Known as the toughest player in the National Football League in the 1930s, Bronko Nagurski (1908-1990) was a legendary two-way star during the formative years of professional football. His name became synonymous with tenacity. Nagurski also had a long and successful career as a wrestler.

Red Grange, the biggest star in the early decades of professional football, called Nagurski, his teammate on the Chicago Bears, the "best football player of all time." Nagurski became a legend as a fullback, and it was said that no single opponent could bring him down. But he also played on defense his entire career, as an intimidating lineman with a reputation for mayhem. "You could have played him at any position," claimed sportswriter Grantland Rice.

Versatile All-American

Nagurski was born on November 3, 1908 near the small Canadian border town of Rainy River, just across from International Falls, Minnesota. His parents, Michael and Amelia...