Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Hi all, I made it into the forum and this my first post. I'm hoping someone can help me a recall a story I believe I read it once online and I've spend hours trying to recover it and can't find it. As best I can recall, it took place in about 1920, the inaugural NFL (actually American Pro Football Association as it was called then if you want to split hairs), while Jim Thorpe was playing for Canton and some opposing player (I don't recall the name) was giving them trouble. Canton was kicking off, and this guy was set to return the kickoff, so Thorpe asked his teammates not to tackle but let him come through so that he, Thorpe, could make the tackle. So Thorpe makes a huge tackle and both he and the returner were knocked unconscious. I may not have the year right, or I may have hallucinated the entire affair. Can anyone vouch for this incident? Or if I am totally nuts, please be gentle. Thank you in advance.

There is a similar story on the back dust jacket of the late Richard Whittingham's 1984 book What a Game They Played involving Knute Rockne playing against Thorpe, thinking Thorpe was washed up, and then Thope leveling him. I will see if I can dig out my copy.

Halas Hall wrote:There is a similar story on the back dust jacket of the late Richard Whittingham's 1984 book What a Game They Played involving Knute Rockne playing against Thorpe, thinking Thorpe was washed up, and then Thope leveling him. I will see if I can dig out my copy.

That's not really the same story, though. It's the old "let Old Jim run" story. But I guess the point is kind of similar.

The story this is bringing to mind is about Bronko Nagurski (retold in Monster of the Midway by Jim Dent, which I can't seem to find at the moment).

Bronk was the up-back in punt formation, the last line of defense for the punter.
An opposing player, famous for his toughness and aggression, wanted to test the Bronk and asked the Bears lineman who was blocking him to allow him to get through so he could have a shot at Nagurski.
He said something along the lines of "I promise not to block the punt, I just want to see how tough the old guy really is."

The lineman smiled and agreed to his request, the famous tough guy got through the line and... Bronko levelled him.
The opponent sought out the lineman who had allowed him to get by and said "Don't EVER do that again!"

What I can't remember for the life of me is who the opponent was...

I think all the stories in the Nagurski book are pretty much fabricated: http://profootballdaly.com/jim-dent-bro ... y-license/ Sorry Jay. I liked the book, but it definitely made me hesitant believing any book about early football that gets too specific especially without really transparent sourcing.

By 1920, Thorpe wasn't starting much - he was 33. The hope was that he could come in fresh in the 2nd half and have an impact. I'd lean toward it being apocryphal, but I'm not sure. Welcome to the board though!

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I think all the stories in the Nagurski book are pretty much fabricated: http://profootballdaly.com/jim-dent-bro ... y-license/ Sorry Jay. I liked the book, but it definitely made me hesitant believing any book about early football that gets too specific especially without really transparent sourcing.

I felt that way about Dent's book as I read it...
I remember wondering "How does he know what someone was thinking and how does he know what was said in a huddle in 1934?"

However, I have heard that story about Nagurski many times before and from several sources... there might be a kernel of truth in there somewhere.

There's a lot of great stories and memorable quotes in all sports, but I've learned to my dismay that most of them--often the best ones--are pretty much bullshit. I've interviewed a few sportswriters who were active at some point from the 1920s through the '50s, and they readily admitted that many quotes and a good deal of the anecdotes were made up at the typewriter on a dull day or when they were on deadline. None ever expressed any regrets about the practice. As long as they were innocuous ("Philadelphia is a tough team and I'm gonna have my hands full") or funny the athletes themselves didn't care. There are plenty of long interviews in newspapers back then that were wholly fabricated. Again, players didn't care as long as the piece didn't make them look bad. Most were probably happy not to waste time actually being interviewed.

A little off-topic---who was the athlete who claimed he was misquoted in his own autobiography? Iverson?

RichardBak wrote:A little off-topic---who was the athlete who claimed he was misquoted in his own autobiography? Iverson?

Charles Barkley.

JuggernautJ wrote:

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I think all the stories in the Nagurski book are pretty much fabricated: http://profootballdaly.com/jim-dent-bro ... y-license/ Sorry Jay. I liked the book, but it definitely made me hesitant believing any book about early football that gets too specific especially without really transparent sourcing.

I felt that way about Dent's book as I read it...
I remember wondering "How does he know what someone was thinking and how does he know what was said in a huddle in 1934?"

However, I have heard that story about Nagurski many times before and from several sources... there might be a kernel of truth in there somewhere.

Making shit up for a book was the least of Dent's problems. He and I had the same Dallas-based literary agent for many years, so I got updates on Dent's wacky behavior in real time. I can't sort out all the details from all the stories I heard, but here's a good magazine piece describing his woes. It's been a wild ride, to be sure.

https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... -jim-dent/

Cal Hubbard is the player who supposedly wanted to test Nagurski, cutting a deal with Red Grange.
Wikipedia cites Hubbard's obituary as the source.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5339533 ... -obituary/