2025 PFRA CONVENTION
July 10-13, 2025
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Watch this space for additional details about the convention.
The 2025 PFRA (Professional Football Researchers Association) Convention will be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN at the Drury Plaza Hotel located at 175 10th St. E in Downtown St. Paul during the weekend of July 10-13, 2025. The Convention sessions will take place during the evening of Friday July 11 and all day Saturday July 12 with add-on activities on Thursday July 10, Friday July 11, and Sunday July 13. The theme of the 2025 Convention will be A Celebration of Minnesota’s Pro Football Legacy. The fee for the Convention will be $75 for PFRA members and member spouses and $100 for non-members. The fee includes admission to the Convention, a Friday evening meal, and Saturday luncheon. To register for the 2025 Convention click on the Paypal link above. Convention logo T-shirts will be available for purchase at a later date.
The Convention host hotel also will be the Drury Plaza Hotel in Downtown St. Paul. The Drury Plaza Hotel will charge the PFRA a special group discount rate of $134 per night for their standard rooms (1 King or 2 Queen beds for up to 4 people).
Parking at the hotel is free.
Hotel amenities include the following:
Complimentary Hot Breakfast – Enjoy scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit, potatoes, pastries, the all-important coffee and more. Hot, fresh, and, best of all, free. Free hot breakfast is served daily from 6:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. on weekends.
Complimentary Evening Drinks and Snacks** - Join us from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. every evening to enjoy complimentary hot food and cold beverages at our 5:30 Kickback®. The Hotel features a rotating menu of hot food, beer, wine, mixed drinks and soft drinks.
Complimentary Wi-Fi Throughout the Hotel - Get the score, check social media, or respond to emails from anywhere in the hotel.
On-Site Facilities - Take advantage of the business center, fitness center or pool while away from home. Print boarding passes, finish a presentation or check e-mail in the hotel’s business centers.
To book the Drury Plaza Hotel at the special group discount rate go to the following link…
Drury Hotel St. Paul
Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and referring to the PFRA group number 10109244.
Individual reservations must be cancelled prior to 12:00 p.m. on the day before the reservation's confirmed date of arrival in order to avoid a non-refundable fee equal to one night’s room rate plus tax. Hotel requires a valid payment card and photo ID to be presented at check in. Check In Time: 3:00 p.m. Check Out Time: 11:00 a.m. Arrangements may be made for baggage storage with the Hotel’s front desk staff. June 8, 2025 is the cut-off date for the special group discount rate. Reservations made after that date will be subject to prevailing rates and availability.
The Convention itinerary will include our usual mix of speakers and tours.
The following speakers have agreed to make presentations at the Convention. Additional speakers will be added.
Chuck Frederick will make a presentation about his book Leatherheads of the North: The True Story of Ernie Nevers & the Duluth Eskimos. Chuck has dedicated nearly three and a half decades of his life to telling the stories of people as a newspaper reporter, editor, and author. He is currently Editorial Page Editor for the Duluth News Tribune in Northeastern Minnesota. His series of stories that helped to get a toddler a life-saving kidney transplant earned him a Citizen of the Month award from Superior, Wisconsin — even though he lives in Duluth, Minnesota. He is a two-time winner of the Herman Roe Editorial Writing Award (2017 and 2023) from the Minnesota Newspaper Association and has received numerous other state and national writing prizes, including from the Associated Press and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists.
Chuck has a passion for local history and is the author of two other books.
Chuck also has been tapped as an actor for the big screen. He played a race official in the 1994 Walt Disney movie, “Iron Will” and was featured in the short films “Just Coffee” (2017) and “Hate Storm: A Prologue” (2018).
Raised in Greenfield, Wisconsin, on the south side of Milwaukee, Chuck first moved to Minnesota as a student at Winona State University, from which he graduated with a degree in Mass Communications-Journalism. He has written for a number of Minnesota newspapers, including the Winona Daily News and the Daily Journal of International Falls, in addition to the Duluth News Tribune.
Despite all his quality time in Minnesota, he admits that he still bleeds green and gold when it comes to his support of the Green Bay Packers. Chuck and his wife, Julie, have been married since 1991 and have three daughters, Claire, Charleigh and Regine.
Ashley LaVigne will make a presentation about the Bronko Nagurski Museum. Ashley joined the Koochiching County Historical Society (KCHS) and Bronko Nagurski Museum in May of 2016. In November of 2019, she took over the role of Executive Director for the organization and oversees the day-to-day operation, programming development, collections, and exhibit design. During her time with KCHS, the museum has been named one of the top 3 Historical Societies to visit in the state of Minnesota, and has earned numerous local awards for community involvement. Prior to her role in International Falls, she worked with Glensheen Mansion of Duluth, MN and the Maritime Museum, also of Duluth, MN.
Terry McConnell will make a presenation about his book Breaking Through The Line: Bobby Marshall, The NFL’s First African American Player. Terry served in public education for forty years as a secondary social studies teacher, school librarian, video production teacher, track and cross-country coach, and special education worker. He is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. Terry lives with his lovely wife, Carol McConnell, in western Massachusetts. Terry has eight grandchildren, and is the author of two other books. He does breath training with clients to help them manage asthma and other ailments, runs 20 miles a week, plays guitar, and writes and performs his own songs. Terry can be reached at runnerwithasthma@gmail.com.
Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver (1981-1991) and executive Leo Lewis will speak during our player panel discussion.
Two add on activities have been added to the schedule, one for early arrivals on Thursday afternoon and one on Friday afternoon. A Sunday add on is also planned.
The Thursday July 10 add on activity for early arrivals is a tour of Vikings Museum in nearby Eagan, MN from 2:00-4:00. The fee for the tour is $12. Parking is free. Deadline for reservations for the Thursday add on is July 3, 2025. To register for the Thursday add on use the PayPal link mentioned above.
To register for the Thursday add on use the PayPal link above.
The Friday July 11 afternoon add on activity is a tour of the of Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota from 1:00-3:00 including the President's Suite, Indoor Clubroom (a common event space & most expensive ticket on game days), Club Cambria (biggest event space & most popular space on game days), Hall of Fame, Gopher Football Locker Room, and the Field (weather permitting). Fee for the tour is $10 plus parking. Deadline for reservations for the Friday add on is June 27, 2025. To register for the Friday add on use the PayPal link mentioned above.
Please stay tuned to The PFRA Coffin Corner Magazine, PFRA Website, and PFRA Forum for additional details and announcements. If you have any questions regarding the PFRA, the 2025 Convention, Convention add ons, or hotel reservations please contact 2025 Convention Organizer George Bozeka by email at sundaygolfer48@aol.com, or by phone at 330-867-1950 or 330-571-0112.
