Bronko Nagurski Bronislau " Bronko " Nagurski ( November 3 , 1908 – January 7 , 1990 ) was a Canadian - born American football player . He was also a successful professional wrestler , recognized as a multiple - time world heavyweight champion . Youth and collegiate career . Nagurski was born in Rainy River , Ontario , Canada , of Polish - Ukrainian descent , and his family moved to International Falls , Minnesota , when he was still a boy . His parents , " Mike " and Michelina Nagurski , were immigrants , from Western Ukraine ( Halychyna / Galicia ) . Young Bronislau grew up working on his parents ' farm and sawmill , delivering groceries for his father ' s grocery store and in his teens laboring at nearby timbering operations , growing into a powerfully muscular 6 footer . Nagurski was discovered and signed by University of Minnesota Head Coach Clarence " Fats " Spears , who drove up to International Falls and arriving watched Nagurski out plowing a field . According to legend Spears asked directions to the nearest town , and Bronko lifted his plow and used it to point in the direction of town . He was signed on the spot to play for the Golden Gophers . Spears admitted he concocted the story on his long drive back to the University of Minnesota in St . Paul . 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 ballcarrier . On the first drill two All - Big Ten linemen and a 6 - foot two , 220 pound fullback nicknamed the " Owatonna Thunder " charged at Bronko , who promptly split the blockers and drove the big fullback into a blocking dummy . Spears sent in three more players , blew his whistle and watched Bronko produce the same explosive results and after a third try with the same conclusion realized what a super player he had recruited . Nagurski became a standout playing both tackle on defense and fullback on offense at Minnesota from 1927 to 1929 . In 1929 , after leading the nation in rushing with 737 yards he was a consensus All - American at fullback , and despite playing fewer games at the position also made some All - American teams at tackle . The preeminent sportswriter of the day Grantland Rice listed him at the two positions in picking his 1929 All - America team . Rice later wrote , " Who would you pick to win a football game - eleven Jim Thorpes - eleven Glen Davises - eleven Red Granges - or eleven Bronko Nagurskis ? The eleven Nagurskis would be a mop - up . It would be something close to murder and massacre . For the Bronk could star at any position on the field , with 216 pounds of authority to back him up . " His greatest collegiate game was against the University of Wisconsin in 1928 . Wearing a corset to protect cracked vertebrae , he recovered a Badger fumble deep in their territory and then ran the ball six straight times to score the go - ahead touchdown . Later in the same game , he intercepted a pass to seal the victory . During his time with the Gophers , the team went 18 - 4 - 2 and won the Big Ten Conference championship in 1927 . " Sports Illustrated " named Nagurski one of the four greatest athletes in Minnesota state history ( the other three were Dave Winfield , Kevin McHale , and Joe Mauer ) . In 1993 , the Football Writers Association of America created the Bronko Nagurski Trophy , awarded annually to the best defensive player in college football . Notable winners include Warren Sapp , Charles Woodson , Champ Bailey , and Derrick Johnson . In 1999 Nagurski was selected by " Sports Illustrated " as a starting defensive tackle for their " NCAA Football All - Century Team " . The other starting defensive tackle on that list was Rich Glover . In 2007 , Nagurski was ranked # 17 on ESPN ' s Top 25 Players In College Football History list . Professional career . Nagurski turned professional to play for the Chicago Bears from 1930 to 1937 . At 6 feet 2 inches ( 1 . 88 m ) and 235 pounds ( 107 kg ) , he would have been a formidable presence in any era of the NFL , and in his day he was a dominant force in the league , helping the Bears win several division titles and two NFL championships . Nagurski has the largest recorded NFL Championship ring size at 19½ and wore a size 8 helmet . He was probably the largest running back of his time , bigger than most linemen of the day , and a forerunner to large fullbacks like Marion Motley , John Henry Johnson , Jim Brown , often dragging multiple tacklers with him . In a time when players were expected to play on both sides of the ball , he was a standout defensive lineman as well playing ranging tackle or " The Monster . " Following an injury , instead of sitting on the bench , he would sometimes be put in as an offensive tackle , making him the only player in NFL history to be named All - Pro at three non - kicking positions . In a 1984 interview with " Sports Illustrated " writer Paul " Dr . Z " Zimmerman , when asked what position he would play if he were coming up in the present day , he said , " I would probably be a linebacker today . I wouldn ' t be carrying the ball 20 or 25 times a game . " A time - honored and perhaps apocryphal story about Nagurski is a scoring gallop that he made against the Washington Redskins , knocking two linebackers in opposite directions , stomping a defensive halfback and crushing a safety , then bouncing off the goalposts and cracking Wrigley Field ' s brick wall . On returning to the huddle for the extra point try , he reportedly said : " That last guy hit me awfully hard . " During his football career , he built a second athletic career as a professional wrestler and became a major box office attraction . Tony Stecher , brother of former world champion Joe Stecher , introduced Nagurski to wrestling in 1933 and became his manager . Nagurski defeated Tag Tagerson in his ring debut . Hitting his peak in the late 1930s , Nagurski won a limited version of the world championship by defeating Dean Detton on June 29 , 1937 ; but he finally achieved full recognition with his first NWA world title by defeating Lou Thesz on June 23 , 1939 . Losing the title to Ray Steele on March 7 , 1940 , he regained it from Steele one year later on March 11 , 1941 , but lost it only three months later to Sandor Szabo on June 5 , 1941 . During World War II , professional football teams were short of players and in 1943 Bronko Nagurski returned to the Bears for one season . He scored a touchdown in the Bears ' championship victory against the Washington Redskins , served one season as backfield coach for UCLA in 1944 , and finally returned to wrestling until his retirement in 1960 . After his retirement from wrestling , he returned home to International Falls and opened a service station . He retired from that in 1978 , at the age of 70 . He lived out a quiet life on the shores of Rainy Lake on the Canadian border . He died in International Falls and is buried there in the Saint Thomas Cemetery . Personal life . Nagurski married his childhood sweetheart Eileen Kane December 28 , 1936 , and the couple had a child Christmas Day 1937 , whom they named after his father . Legacy . Nagurski was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member on September 7 , 1963 . At the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities house of his fraternity , Sigma Chi , Nagurski ' s jersey and Significant Sig recognition certificate are on display . After his death , the town of International Falls honored him by opening the Bronko Nagurski Museum in Smokey Bear Park . In 1995 , Nagurski was again honored when the Football Writers Association of America voted to have his name attached to college football ' s Defensive Player of the Year trophy . A fictionalized eyewitness account of Nagurski ' s 1943 comeback is the subject of a dramatic monologue in the film version of " Hearts in Atlantis " . The film ' s screenwriter , William Goldman , repeated much of this rendition from his earlier account of the same story in his novel " Magic " . In 1999 , he was ranked # 35 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players , the highest - ranking foreign - born player . In 2000 , he was voted the second - greatest Minnesotan sportsman of the 20th century by the sportswriters of the " Star Tribune " , coming in only behind Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett . His son , Bronko Nagurski Jr . , would go on to play football at Notre Dame and become an all - star with the Hamilton Tiger - Cats of the Canadian Football League . In 2009 , he was an honorary team captain , represented by his son , Bronko Nagurski Jr . , at the opening game of TCF Bank Stadium . His home town International Falls high school nickname is the Broncos in his honor .