Old-Time Football Legends

Red Grange

Jim Thorpe

Ernie Nevers

Statistics and Records

Red Grange-  1925, (1926-AFL) 1927, 1929-1934 (ALL-AFL Team 1926,  ALL-NFL team 1929-32) - Hall of Fame
Jim Thorpe-  1919-1926, 1928 (plus 1915-1918 with Canton) (ALL-NFL team 1917, 1923) - Hall of Fame
Ernie Nevers-  1926-1927, 1929-1931 (ALL-NFL team 1926-1927, 1929-1931) - Hall of Fame

Red Grange Rushing Receving Passing
Year Team (League) Gms Att Yds   TDs Rec Yds TDs Att Cmp Yds TDP Punt Ret. Yds Ints TDs Punt Tot TDs XPs FGs Pts
1925 Chicago Bears (NFL) 17 204 1024 2 4 54 0 13 4 92 0 8 90 2 1 - 3 0 0 18
1926 NY Yankees (AFL) 16 191 961 4 - - 3 - - - 2 0 55 2 1 - 8 2 0 50
1927 NY Yankees (NFL) 14 154 762 1 5 77 0 21 11 206 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 0 0 6
1928 DNP - Hurt Knee - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1929 Chicago Bears (NFL) 14 130 552 2 8 119 0 9 4 64 3 1 13 1 0 - 2 0 0 12
1930 Chicago Bears (NFL) 14 77 470 6 7 101 2 16 8 164 3 0 0 3 0 - 8 1 0 49
1931 Chicago Bears (NFL) 13 111 599 5 7 106 2 17 9 158 1 0 0 1 0 - 7 0 0 42
1932 Chicago Bears (NFL) 12 57 136 3 11 168 4 13 5 96 0 0 0 - 0 - 7 0 0 42
1933 Chicago Bears (NFL) 12 81 277 1 3 74 0 33 13 169 2 0 0 - 0 - 1 0 0 6
1934 Chicago Bears (NFL) 12 32 156 1 2 46 2 25 6 81 1 0 0 - 0 - 3 0 0 18
110 1039 4937 25 47 745 13 147 60 1030 12 9 158 10 2 - 40 3 0 243
Jim Thorpe Rushing Receving Passing
Year Team (League) Gms Att Yds   TDs Rec Yds TDs Att Cmp Yds TDP Punt Ret. Yds Ints TDs Punt Tot TDs XPs FGs Pts
1914 DNP (Baseball) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1915 Canton Bulldogs (Ohio) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1916 Canton Bulldogs (Ohio) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1917 Canton Bulldogs (Ohio) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1918 No League - WW1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1919 Canton Bulldogs (Ohio) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1920 Canton Bulldogs (APFA) 9 18 82 0 0 0 0 24 8 159 0 3 71 1 0 33.9 0 0 3 9
1921 Cleveland Tigers (APFA) 5 6 116 1 2 48 0 5 2 45 1 0 0 1 0 - 1 2 1 11
1922 Oorang Indians (NFL) 5 11 83 3 0 0 0 7 7 148 1 0 0 1 0 - 3 0 0 18
1923 Oorang Indians (NFL) 9 15 54 0 1 11 0 43 20 283 1 0 0 1 0 31.8 0 0 1 3
1924 Rock Island Ind. (NFL) 9 36 96 0 3 75 0 11 6 108 1 0 0 1 0 37.8 0 1 2 7
1925 Rock Island-NYG (NFL) 5 8 28 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21.5 0 0 0 0
1926 Canton Bulldogs (NFL) 9 12 46 2 0 0 0 17 9 130 0 2 53 1 0 33.8 2 0 0 12
1927 Portsmouth  Steel-Shoes (Ohio) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1928 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0
52 106 505 6 6 134 0 109 52 873 4 5 124 6 0 34.2 6 3 7 60
Ernie Nevers Rushing Receving Passing
Year Team (League) Gms Att Yds   TDs Rec Yds TDs Att Cmp Yds TDP Punt Ret. Yds Ints TDs Punt Tot TDs XPs FGs Pts
1926 Duluth Eskimos (NFL) 14 122 506 8 0 0 0 159 67 913 3 0 0 7 0 34.4 8 11 4 71
1927 Duluth Eskimos (NFL) 9 83 306 4 0 0 0 197 89 1362 5 1 6 3 0 36.8 4 7 0 31
1928 DNP  (Baseball) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1929 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 11 91 378 12 0 0 0 82 36 641 6 0 0 4 0 37.0 12 10 1 85
1930 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 11 81 326 6 0 0 0 55 25 447 5 0 0 2 0 36.9 6 9 1 48
1931 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 9 125 411 8 0 0 0 80 40 649 6 0 0 2 0 34.4 8 15 1 66
54 502 1927 38 0 0 0 573 257 4012 25 1 6 18 0 35.8 38 52 7 301

 

Jim Thorpe's Major League Baseball Statistics
Year Team G AB   R H 2B 3B HR RBI Avg. BB SO    SB Pos
1913 NY Giants (NL) 19 35 6 5 0 0 1 2 0.143 1 9   2-  2 OF
1914 NY Giants (NL) 30 31 5 6 1 0 0 5 0.194 0 4   1-  1 OF
1915 NY Giants (NL) 17 52 8 12 3 1 0 1 0.231 2 16   4-  6 OF
1916 Minor Leagues - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1917 Cincinnati (NL) 77 251 29 62 2 8 4 36 0.247 6 35 11-11 OF
NY Giants (NL) 26 57 12 11 3 2 0 4 0.193 8 10   1-  1 OF
1918 NY Giants (NL) 58 113 15 28 4 4 1 11 0.248 4 18   3-  3 OF
1919 NY Giants (NL) 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.333 0 0   0-  0 1B
Boston (NL) 60 156 16 51 7 3 1 25 0.337 6 30   7-  7 OF
6 Year   Totals 289 698 91 176 20 18 7 82 0.252 22 127 29-31 -
Notes : Thorpe was 14 for 65 (.215) career as a Pinch-Hitter
World Series
Year Team G AB   R H 2B 3B HR RBI Avg. BB SO SB Pos
1917 NY Giants (NL) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 OF

 Note: Also played in Minor Leagues in 1909 (Rocky Mount - .253 avg, 44 gms, 9-10 pitching record), 1910 (Rocky Mount - .236 avg, 16 gms, 10-6 pitching record), 1920 (Akron - .360 avg), 1921 (Toledo - .358 avg). and 1922 (Portland (.306 avg). He played Minor League Baseball up to 1928 when he finally retired from Akron.

Ernie Nevers' Major League Baseball Statistics

Pitching                          
Year Team G W L Pct GS CG ShuO Sv IP Ks BBs ER ERA
1926 St Louis Browns (AL) 11 2 4 0.333 7 4 0 0 75 16 24 37 4.46
1927 St Louis Browns (AL) 27 3 8 0.273 5 2 0 2 95 22 35 52 4.94
1928 St Louis Browns (AL) 6 1 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 9 1 2 3 3.00
Totals 44 6 12 0.333 12 6 0 2 179 39 61 92 4.64
                           
Batting                          
Year Team G AB   R H 2B 3B HR RBI Avg. BB SO    SB Pos
1926 St Louis Browns (AL) 12 27 0 5 1 0 0 0 0.185 0 8 0 P
1927 St Louis Browns (AL) 27 32 2 7 1 0 0 1 0.219 0 9 0 P
1928 St Louis Browns (AL) 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 1 0 P
Totals 45 60 2 12 2 0 0 1 0.200 0 18 0 -

 

As a Stanford baseball player, he once pitched 37 consecutive scoreless innings.

After Stanford, he also signed a basketball deal and played professional basketball in 1927, in the same year as he played professional football and baseball. He came to the major leagues in 1926, and also to the NFL in 1926. Appearing in 44 games as a pitcher in 1926-28 with the St. Louis Browns, he went 6-12 with an ERA that was slightly above the league average. However, his ERA each year was better than the team's ERA. He was somewhat wild, throwing 5 wild pitches in 27 appearances in 1927. He gave up two of Babe Ruth's 60 home runs in 1927. As a hitter, Nevers once hit a double off of Walter Johnson.
 

#77

Red Grange's Wheaton High School Records (1919-21)
75 TDs, 84 PATs, 532 Total Points

Red Grange's College Records at Illinois University
1923 - Record 8-0-0  PF-136, PA-20 (National Champs)
1924 - Record 6-1-0  PF-204, PA-71
1925 - Record 5-3-1  PF-98, PA-59
Totals 19-4-1 record - 438 PF - 150 PA

College Statistics - University of Illinois

TC Yds TDs Com Att Yds TDPs Rec Yds TDs PR Yds TDs KR Yds TDs INT Yds TDs ALL-Purp. Tot TDs Pts
1923 129 723 8 4 9 36 0 10 178 1 15 212 1 1 7 0 3 140 1 1260 12 72
1924 113 743 12 26 44 433 2 2 40 0 11 83 0 4 136 1 2 24 0 1164 13 78
1925 146 605 3 10 29 106 1 2 35 1 22 191 1 10 310 1 6 83 0 1213 6 36
388 2071 23 40 82 575 3 14 253 2 48 486 2 15 453 2 11 247 1 3637 31 * 186

* Note-1 TD from a recovered blocked punt

Best Games:
1924 vs Michigan - 5 TDs, 402 all purpose yds on 21 touches (19.1 avg)
1924 vs Chicago - 3 TDs, 311 all purpose yds, 150 yds passing
1924 - 212 yds -12 attempts (17.7 avg)
1925 vs Penn - 363 all purpose yds on 36 touches (10.1 avg)
1925 - 237 yds -16 attempts (14.8 avg)

Unofficial totals -  High School/College/Pros - 4013 carries - 33820 yds and had 2366 points in 247 games

Red Grange's Honors
1923- 1st Team All-American selection by Walter Camp
1923 - Finished Runner-up in College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year voting (behind George Pfann-Cornell)
1924- 1st Team All-American selection by Walter Camp
1924 - Helms Athletic Foundation (Citizen's Savings) College Football Player of the Year
1924 - Frank A. Toomey Trophy by the Veteran Athletes of Philadelphia for National player of the Year
1924 - College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year
1924 - Dan Jenkins retroactive Heisman Trophy Winner
1924 - Named MVP of the Big Ten Conference
1926 - Member of Grantland Rice’s The Eternal All-America team 1906-26
1928 - Member of Grantland Rice’s 2nd All-Time Team, players from 1918-28
1929 - Member of George Trevor’s All-Time Team, 1919-29
1936 - Member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) College Football Modern First Team, 1919-1936
1949 - Member of Grantland Rice All-Time team (Sport Magazine)
1950 - Member of Associated Press All-Time All-American Football Team
1950 - Named to Helms All Time College Football  Team
1951 - Elected into College Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1951 - Inducted into Citizen's Savings (Helms Athletic Foundation) Hall of Fame
1963 - Elected into Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1963 - Named to Pro Football's All Decade team for the 1920's
1969- Named to FWAA All-Time All-American College Football Team - unanimous selection
1969 - Voted #1 in the NCAA Coaches Greatest All Time Players Voting (tied with Jim Thorpe-Carlisle)
1999 - Named to The Sporting News All-Time College Football Team
1999 - Named to Walter Camp's All-Century College Football Team

Associated Press (AP) Football Player of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#2. Red Grange - 138 points

Associated Press (AP) Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#4. Red Grange

CNN/Sports Illustrated College Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#2. Red Grange

ABC's College Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#1. Red Grange

-------------------------------

Associated Press (AP) Athlete of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#7. Red Grange (3 first place votes)  - 57 total points

Associated Press (AP) Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#27. Red Grange - 905 total points

ESPN Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#28. Red Grange

 

Jim Thorpe's College Records at The Indian Industrial School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania

TC Yds TDs Com Att Yds TDPs Rec Yds TDs PR Yds TDs KR Yds TDs INT Yds TDs Tot-Off ALL-Purp. Tot TDs PATs FGs Pts
1907 16 67 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 77 77 6 0 0 30
1908 113 781 4 8 13 212 1 0 0 0 14 144 0 2 50 0 0 0 0 993 975 4 13 6 57
1911 113 899 14 1 4 15 0 0 0 0 9 108 0 2 34 0 1 0 0 914 1041 14 19 7 110
1912 191 1869 29 8 18 103 0 2 40 0 26 259 0 9 184 0 4 95 0 1972 2447 29 38 4 224
433 3616 53 17 35 330 1 2 40 0 52 521 0 13 268 0 5 95 0 3956 4540 53 70 17 421

Notes (1907-08, 11) - TDs worth 5 points each, (1907-08) FGs worth 4 points each
24 TDs @ 5pts, 29 TDs @ 6pts - 6 FGs @4 pts, 11 FGs @3 pts

Some Highlights
1907- Reserve Player
1908- 3rd Team All-American selection by Walter Camp (5 TDs in 1 game)
1911- 1st Team All-American selection by Walter Camp
- vs Harvard - 173 yds rushing, 4 FG'ss and 1 TD, scored all 18 points in 18-15 win
- vs Dickinson - 17 points scored in 17 miinutes
1912- 1st Team All-American selection by Walter Camp
- vs Army - scored 22 of team's 27 points
- vs Pittsburgh - scored 28 of team's 34 ppoints
- vs Washington & Jefferson - Interceppted 4 passes

1907 - Record 10-1-0    PF-267, PA-62
1908 - Record 10-2-1    PF-222, PA-55
1911 - Record 11-1-0    PF-298, PA-49
1912 - Record 12-1-1    PF-505, PA-120
Totals 43-5-2 record - 1292 PF - 286 PA

Ran 100 yd dash at Carlisle in 9.8 Seconds

1912 Olympics, Stockholm, Sweden
Gold Medal - Decathlon
1500m - 4:40.1 (1st)
110m High Hurdles - 13.6 (1st)
High Jump - 6' 2" (1st)
Shot Put - 42' 5" (1st)
Long Jump - 22' 2" (3rd)
Pole Vault - 10' 8" (3rd)
Discus - 121' 4" (3rd)
100m - 11.2 (3rd)
400m - 47.6 (4th)
Javelin - 149' (4th)

Gold Medal - Pentathlon
200m - 22.9 (1st)
1500m - 4:44.8 (1st)
Long Jump - 23' 3" (1st)
Discus - 116' 8" (1st)
Javelin - 153' 3" (3rd)

Incomplete Early Professional Statistics (Ohio League, Canton Bulldogs)
1916 - (4 gms) - 10 TDs (7 rush, 2 PR, 1 rec), 2 TDPs, 3 FGs, 5 XPs, 74 pts
 - vs Buffalo All Stars (W 77-0) - (4 TDs, 3 FGs, 5 XPs) - 38 points
1919 - (5 gms) - 4 TDs (all rush), 2 TDPs, 3 FGs, 3 XPs, 36 pts

Jim Thorpe's Honors
1924 - Helms Athletic Foundation (Citizen's Savings) College Football Player of the Year
1912 - Dan Jenkins retroactive Heisman Trophy Winner
1918 - Member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) College Football Early First Team, 1869-1918
1949 - Member of Grantland Rice All-Time team (Sport Magazine)
1950 - Member of Associated Press All-Time All-American Football Team
1950 - Named to Helms All Time College Football  Team
1951 - Elected into College Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1951 - Inducted into Citizen's Savings (Helms Athletic Foundation) Hall of Fame
1961 - Elected into Pennsylvania Hall of Fame
1963 - Elected into Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1963 - Named to Pro Football's All Decade team for the 1920's
1969- Named to FWAA All-Time All-American College Football Team - unanimous selection
1969 - Voted #1 in the NCAA Coaches Greatest All Time Players Voting (tied with Red Grange-Illinois)
1975 - Elected into National Track & Field Hall of Fame
1983 - Elected into United States Olympic Hall of Fame
1999 - Named to The Sporting News All-Time College Football Team
1999 - Named to Walter Camp's All-Century College Football Team
2000 - Named by the Associated Press as the 3rd best Athlete of the 20th Century
2001 - Named by ABC's Wide World of Sports as the best Athlete of the 20th Century

Associated Press (AP) Athlete of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#1. Jim Thorpe (252 first place votes)  - 875 total points

Associated Press (AP) Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#3. Jim Thorpe (3 first place votes)  - 1471 total points

ESPN Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#7. Jim Thorpe

CNN/Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#3. Jim Thorpe

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#1. Jim Thorpe

United States Congress Athlete of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#1. Jim Thorpe

-------------------------------

Associated Press (AP) Football Player of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#1. Jim Thorpe - 170 points

Associated Press (AP) Summer Olympian of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#8. Jim Thorpe

ABC's College Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#6. Jim Thorpe

#1

Ernie Nevers' College Records at Stanford University
1923 - Record 7-2-0  PF-284, PA-46
1924 - Record 7-1-1  PF-179, PA-69
1925 - Record 7-2-0  PF-231, PA-71 
Totals 21-4-1 record - 694 PF - 186 PA

1925 Rose Bowl Co-MVP
Notre Dame with the 4 Horsemen beat Stanford 27-10
(Ernie Nevers with 2 broken ankles rushed for 114 yds on 34 carries, also had an interception)

NFL's Oldest Record Record
Scored 40 points in 1 game (6 TDs, 4 XPs)
(This record may never be broken)
Named NFL All-Pro all 5 seasons (1926, 27, 29, 30, 31)

Ernie Nevers' Honors
1923- 3rd Team All-American selection by Walter Camp
1923 - Finished 3rd in College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year Voting (behind George Pfann-Cornell and Red Grange-Illinois)
1924 - Finished 3rd in College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year Voting (behind Red Grange-Illinois, Elmer Layden/Harry Stuhldreher-Notre Dame)
1925- 1st Team All-American  selection by Walter Camp (710 yds rushing, 9 TDs)
1925 - Helms Athletic Foundation (Citizen's Savings) College Football Player of the Year
1925 - College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year
1925 - Dan Jenkins retroactive Heisman Trophy Winner
1926 - Member of Grantland Rice’s The Eternal All-America team 1906-26
1928 - Member of Grantland Rice’s 2nd All-Time Team, players from 1918-28
1929 - Member of George Trevor’s All-Time Team, 1919-29
1936 - Member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) College Football Modern First Team, 1919-1936
1950 - Member of Associated Press All-Time All-American Football Team
1951 - Elected into College Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1951 - Inducted into Citizen's Savings (Helms Athletic Foundation) Hall of Fame
1962 - Named All Time Best College Football Player by Sports Illustrated
1963 - Elected into Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member
1963 - Named to Pro Football's All Decade team for the 1920's
1969- Named to FWAA All-Time All-American College Football Team
1969 - Voted #4 in the NCAA Coaches Greatest All Time Players Voting
1991 - Elected into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1999 - Named to The Sporting News All-Time College Football Team
1999 - Named to Walter Camp's All-Century College Football Team

Associated Press (AP) Football Player of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#4. Ernie Nevers - 7 points

ABC's College Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#25. Ernie Nevers

 

 

Back to the APFA Old Time Football Web Page

 

===============================================

Bronko Nagurski (Minnesota, 1927-29)    - 135-557 rushing, 6 TDs
1929 - College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) Player of the Year (Tied with Chris Cagle-Army)
1949 - Member of Grantland Rice All-Time team (Sport Magazine)
1950 - Member of Associated Press All-Time All-American Football Team
1969 - Voted #2 in the NCAA Coaches Greatest All Time Players Voting

Associated Press (AP) Football Player of the First Half Century (1900-1950) Voting
#3. Bronko Nagurski - 38 points

ABC's College Football Player of the Century (1900-1999) Voting
#17. Bronko Nagurski

Other APFA Links:

Bob Braunwart & Bob Carroll's Ohio Football League Web Page

Bob Carroll's Professional Football Researchers Association Web Site

Extinct Sports Leagues Home Page

©1998 Steve Dimitry, all rights reserved.

Email: sdimitry@verizon.net