 Nagler on a 1955 Bowman football card | |
| Born |
February 23, 1932 Marysville, California |
Gern Nagler (born February 23, 1932) is a former American football end who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Nagler attended Marysville High School in Marysville, California.[1] He later played college football at the University of Santa Clara, and was a captain of the varsity football team in his senior year.[2]
He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.[3] Prior to the season starting, the Browns completed a fifteen-player trade -- which set the NFL record for the largest trade ever executed -- that sent Nagler and nine other players to the Baltimore Colts.[4] The Colts then waived him prior to the start of the 1953 NFL season. He was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cardinals.[5] In his rookie season, Nagler set the Cardinals team record for receptions in a rookie season, with 43.[6]
Nagler missed the 1954 NFL season due to military service. While posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Nagler helped coach the base football team to a perfect 12-0 record and the All-Service Championship,[7] winning the 1954 Poinsettia Bowl.[8]
He returned to the Cardinals in 1955, spending the next four seasons with the club. Nagler earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1958.[9]
Following his Pro Bowl year, Nagler was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent one season with the team.[10] He was moved to the Cleveland Browns as part of a four-player New Year's Eve trade that included Steelers quarterback Len Dawson.[11] Nagler finished his playing career after the 1961 NFL season, after two seasons with the Browns.[10]
Nagler was involved with the early efforts to organize a players' union, and was a key figure in the creation of the first players' pension. Nagler and Cleveland Browns end Billy Howton presented NFL Commissioner Bert Bell with a draft antitrust lawsuit, threatening to file if the NFL did not immediately establish a pension for its players.[12] The gambit worked, and the pension was formally established three years later.[12]
Personal life[]
Nagler had three children with his first wife, Diana Swift Nagler.[1]
He was named to the Santa Clara Hall of Fame in 1987.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Diana Swift Nagler". Yuba-Sutter Appeal Democrat. July 9, 2017. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/appealdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=diana-swift-nagler&pid=186024655.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gern Nagler '53". Santa Clara University. https://www.scu.edu/athletics/broncobench/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-inductees/nagler-gern/.
- ↑ "1953 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1953/draft.htm.
- ↑ "Trick or Trade". profootballhof.com. https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/trick-or-trade/.
- ↑ "Nagler Joins Football Cards". New York Times. New York City. September 29, 1953. https://www.nytimes.com/1953/09/30/archives/nagler-joins-football-cards.html.
- ↑ Mihoces, Gary (January 5, 1988). "Offensive rookie;R obert Awalt, tight end, St. Louis". USA Today. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0ED02A3DA3504D94?p=AMNEWS.
- ↑ Jacobs, Herb (September 13, 2015). "Football Was Once Big Happening At Fort Sill". Lawton Constitution. https://swoknews.com/local-sports/football-was-once-big-happening-fort-sill.
- ↑ "Poinsettia Bowl Captured by Ft. Sill". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. December 20, 1954. https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=11717037&fcfToken=63625249565a2b38337a784d53694a4c427668454f706c2b5744734e6444694a65656372705532566c72306e6d7a377768454b42516b5132772b33683575566d734a752f6f4336674d546b3d.
- ↑ "Eastern All-Stars' Last-Period Touchdown Turns Back West in Pro Bowl". New York Times. New York City. January 12, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/12/archives/eastern-allstars-lastperiod-touchdown-turns-back-west-in-pro-bowl.html.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Gern Nagler". Pro Football Reference. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NaglGe00.htm.
- ↑ "Steelers, Browns swing 4-man deal; Dawson and Nagler Shipped to Cleveland Eleven for Carpenter and Wren". New York Times. New York City. January 1, 1960. https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/01/archives/steelers-browns-swing-4man-deal-dawson-and-nagler-shipped-to.html.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Canzano, John (August 7, 2006). "Old-timers cast aside by the NFL". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/113716832A5E11C0?p=AMNEWS.
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