Despite His Reputation, There Was a Gentle Side to Bronko

Bronko Nagurski, who died Sunday at 81, was a terror on the field when he played for the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Bears. But at times he was merely a 6-foot-2, 235-pound teddy bear.

Vern Peaslee of San Gabriel was a team manager for Minnesota when Nagurski played for the Gophers in the late 1920s. Peaslee recalls that Nagurski played defensive tackle until the fourth quarter of most games, when he would become a running back.

When Minnesota played Iowa in 1929, Nagurski was matched against All-American Willis Glassgow of Iowa. Says Peaslee: “Bronko faced him across the line and said, ‘I don’t care how great you are, sometime during this game I’m gonna go back to carry the ball. I don’t care where the play’s called for, I’m coming through you.’ And he did.”

But he also had a soft side. The Gophers’ quarterback was Shorty Almquist, and Nagurski worried that Almquist would get hurt when he carried the ball.

Peaslee recalls the time Almquist was at the bottom of a pile of players when Nagurski approached in tears. “Bronko peeled the guys off that pile like he was peeling an artichoke,” Peaslee said.

“Finally he got to Shorty. He picked him up by the back of the sweater with one hand, set him on his feet and said, ‘Are you OK, Shorty?’ He really was a pussycat.”

Trivia time: When Bud Carson of the Cleveland Browns was the football coach at Georgia Tech 20 years ago, which future NFL coach was one of his assistants?

One from the heart: Randall Cunningham, Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback, and teammate Cris Carter often attend services at St. John Baptist Church in East Camden, N.J. Cunningham doesn’t belong to the church but has become fond of it.

Cunningham displayed his affection by presenting church officials with a $100,000 check during services Sunday.

“They were rejoicing,” said Elva Smith, a church member for 30 years. “They started clapping and singing and praying and thanking the Lord for someone being so nice.”

Michael Brown, a friend of Cunningham’s, announced he was making the donation on behalf of the quarterback. Brown said Cunningham stood, bowed to the congregation and quickly sat.

Sign of the times: At $8, this year’s Super Bowl program costs more than a ticket to the first Super Bowl, between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967.

Trivia answer: Jerry Glanville, who resigned Saturday as coach of the Houston Oilers.

Quotebook: Jean Perron, former coach of the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques, on his job as a radio sports commentator: “It’s a good change--a good step backwards.”