Live at 5 p.m. Wednesday: Who are Minnesota's most iconic athletes?
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When Bronk was No. 2 on the Star Tribune's Top 100 of the millennium, here's what Patrick Reusse wrote:The name resonated raw power, and that's what Nagurski brought to
the football field. The folklore surrounding Nagurski was that Doc
Spears recruited him to Minnesota after seeing Bronko working a
field in northern Minnesota. Spears asked for directions, and the
young man pointed by raising his plow.
Playing for the Gophers in 1929, Nagurski became the lone player
named an All-America at two positions - fullback and tackle. After
Nagurski graduated from college, George Halas gave him $5,000 to
sign with the Chicago Bears. Nagurski was a two-way star for the
Bears, playing fullback on offense and tackle or linebacker on defense.
Nagurski returned to his hometown of International Falls in 1936,
when Halas refused to give him a raise to $6,000. "My greatest
thrill in football was the day Bronko Nagurski retired," said Clark
Hinkle, a Hall of Famer with the Green Bay Packers. Nagurski
engaged in pro wrestling for a time following his football
retirement but did not enjoy the circus atmosphere. Nagurski, a
member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, was 81
when he died in 1990.
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Also, here's your Round 1 recap via Brian Stensaas
- Kirby Puckett (Chris Miller, pro sports editor)
- George Mikan (Ken Chia, copy editor)
- Kevin Garnett (Casey Common, homepage editor)
- Randy Moss (Randy Johnson, Puck Drop editor)
- Patty Berg (Jerry Zgoda, soccer and golf writer)
- Herb Brooks (Rachel Blount, Olympics writer)
- Harmon Killebrew (Brian Stensaas, night sports web editor and golf writer)
- Lindsay Whalen (Michael Rand, senior digital writer)
- Dave Winfield (Marcus Fuller, Gophers writer)
- Bronko Nagurski (Pete Steinert, Sunday sports editor)
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This one will turn some heads but so what. I looked for his name in the Strib Top 100 and did not see it. The Bud Grant Vikings are not represented on this list yet, so I am going to fix that. When I think of the Vikings playing at the Met, I think of this guy -- bloodied uniform, steam coming from his mouth, ready to go another down in the falling snow. Jim Marshall epitomized those teams. He showed up for every game, was a leader, and part of one of the great nicknames ever, The Purple People Eaters. Even his wrong way return is stuff of legend (sorry to bring it up, Mr. Marshall).
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With my last pick, I'll go with another one of the all-time Gophers. Kevin McHale was arguably the best Minnesota high school player out of Hibbing before he was an All-American at the U and the No. 3 pick in the 1981 NBA Draft to the Boston Celtics. The Hall of Famer was part of maybe the greatest NBA teams ever with Larry Bird and company. Not to mention he did draft Kevin Garnett out of high school with the Wolves. Forget about what happened later under his direction haha.
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We did the Gophers basketball all-time player list when the Final Four was in Minneapolis last year. McHale was the captain. What do you think? https://www.startribune.com/greatest-gophers-introducing-your-maroon-and-gold-dream-team/506842551/
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Well, unless you guys know of another St. Paul-born player who went No. 1 overall in the MLB draft to the hometown Twins, passing up a chance to play QB for college powerhouse Florida State, all after a pretty good prep basketball career ... and then went on to win three batting titles and an MVP as a catcher ... I'm gonna take Joe Mauer. Haters gonna hate, but Joe is an all-time great.
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Rand stole my pick, but I half expected it. Mauer lasted waaaaaay too long.
With that, another icon in Minnesota sports I did not expect to last this far is also the last running back to win NFL MVP. And that was all of a sudden seven years ago. It hasn't been rosy in that time since but when you think of Minnesota icons, how can you not think of Adrian Peterson? I'd ask him for a handshake for making this pick but A) COVID and 2) I enjoy my metacarpal bones not being crushed.
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There are so many reasons to pick Alan Page. He's a fellow Notre Dame alumnus. He was a Minnesota Supreme Court justice. The junior high school in my neighborhood is named for him. (Go Rhinos!) He delights runners at the Twin Cities Marathon every year by serenading them with his tuba on a Kenwood street corner. But before all that, he was a great, great player, a defensive lineman known for his head and his heart as much as his stout play. If that's not an icon, I don't know what is.
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