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Gern Nagler

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Gern Nagler
Nagler on a 1955 Bowman football card
Date of birth (1932-02-23) February 23, 1932 (age 92)
Place of birthMarysville, California
Career information
Position(s)End
US collegeSanta Clara
NFL draft1953 / round: 14 / Pick 167
Career history
As player
1953–1958Chicago Cardinals
1959Pittsburgh Steelers
1960–1961Cleveland Browns
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowls1
Career stats

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. 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[3] The Colts then waived him prior to the start of the 1953 NFL season. He was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cardinals[4]. In his rookie season, Nagler set the Cardinals team record for receptions in a rookie season, with 43[5].

Nagler missed the 1954 NFL season due to military service. While posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Nagler helped coach the base football team to the All-Service Championship[6], winning the 1954 Poinsettia Bowl[7]

He returned to the Cardinals in 1955, spending the next four seasons with the club. Nagler earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1958.

Following his Pro Bowl year, Nagler was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he spent one season. He was moved to the Cleveland Browns as part of a four-player New Year's Eve trade that included Steelers quarterback Len Dawson[8]. Nagler finished his playing career in 1961, after two seasons with the Browns.

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 anti-trust lawsuit, threatening to file if the NFL did not immediately establish a pension for its players[9]. The gambit worked, and the pension was formally established three years later.

Personal life

Nagler had three children with his first wife, Diana Swift Nagler[1] -- David, Craig and Lori. After Nagler retired from football, he farmed almonds in Sutter, California. Nagler currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

He was named to the Santa Clara Hall of Fame in 1987[2].

References

  1. ^ a b "Diana Swift Nagler". Yuba-Sutter Appeal Democrat. July 9, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Gern Nagler '53". Santa Clara University. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "TRICK OR TRADE". profootballhof.com. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "Nagler Joins Football Cards". New York Times. New York City. September 29, 1953. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  5. ^ Mihoces, Gary (January 5, 1988). "OFFENSIVE ROOKIE;Robert Awalt, tight end, St. Louis". USA Today. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Jacobs, Herb (September 13, 2015). "Football Was Once Big Happening At Fort Sill". Lawton Constitution. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  7. ^ "Poinsettia Bowl Captured by Ft. Sill". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Associated Press. December 20, 1954. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "STEELERS, BROWNS SWING 4-MAN DEAL; Dawson and Nagler Shipped to Cleveland Eleven for Carpenter and Wren". New York Times. New York City. United Press International. January 1, 1960. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Canzano, John (August 7, 2006). "Old-timers cast aside by the NFL". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
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