About Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski was a Canadian-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski was considered to be the most dangerous fullback of his era, and was also a successful professional wrestler, recognized as a multiple-time World Heavyweight Champion. Nagurski was discovered and signed by University of Minnesota head coach Clarence Spears, who had originally driven to International Falls to meet another player. Legends aside, on his first day of practice Spears decided to test Nagurski in the "Nutcracker" drill, where a defensive player had to take on two blockers and try to tackle a following ball carrier. On the first drill, two All-Big Ten linemen and Herb Joesting charged at Bronko, who promptly split the blockers and drove the big fullback into a blocking dummy. During his three varsity seasons at Minnesota, the Gophers went 18–4–2 (.792) and won the Big Ten Conference championship in 1927.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.