Gern Nagler

Robert Gern Nagler (February 23, 1932 – April 9, 2020) was an American football end who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Gern Nagler
Nagler on a 1955 Bowman football card
Born:(1932-02-23)February 23, 1932
Marysville, California, U.S.
Died:April 9, 2020(2020-04-09) (aged 88)
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)End
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

Early life

Nagler was born in Marysville, California and raised in nearby Arboga[1] He attended Marysville High School (class of 1949), where he was an all-league selection in football his junior and senior years.[1][2] He attended the University of Santa Clara (class of 1953), majoring in history,[1] and was a captain of the varsity football team in his senior year.[3]

NFL career

Nagler was drafted in the 14th round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.[4] 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.[5] The Colts then waived him prior to the start of the 1953 NFL season. He was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cardinals.[6] In his rookie season, Nagler set the Cardinals team record for receptions in a rookie season, with 43.[7]

Nagler missed the 1954 NFL season due to service in the United States Army. While posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, lieutenant Nagler helped coach the base football team to a perfect 12-0 record and the All-Service Championship,[8] winning the 1954 Poinsettia Bowl.[9][10]

He returned to the Cardinals in 1955, spending the next four seasons with the club. Nagler earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1958.[11]

Following his Pro Bowl year, Nagler was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent one season with the team.[12] He was moved to the Cleveland Browns as part of a four-player New Year's Eve trade that included Steelers quarterback Len Dawson.[13] Nagler finished his playing career after the 1961 NFL season, after two seasons with the Browns.[12]

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 antitrust lawsuit, threatening to file if the NFL did not immediately establish a pension for its players.[14] The gambit worked, and the pension was formally established three years later.[14]

Personal life and death

Following retirement from the NFL, Nagler worked in various aspects of the farming and agriculture industry, splitting time between southern California and the Hillsboro, Oregon area.[1] Nagler was married three times, to Diana Swift (divorced 1975), Barbara Bertolini (1976-1995), and Jan Anacker (1998-2020).[1] He and Diana had three children together.[2]

He was inducted into the Santa Clara Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Marysville High School Hall of Fame in 2019.[3][1]

Nagler died in his home in Palm Desert, California on April 9, 2020.[15][1]

References
  1. "Robert Nagler Obituary". Yuba-Sutter Appeal Democrat. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  2. "Diana Swift Nagler". Yuba-Sutter Appeal Democrat. July 9, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  3. "Gern Nagler '53". Santa Clara University. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  4. "1953 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  5. "Trick or Trade". profootballhof.com. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  6. "Nagler Joins Football Cards". The New York Times. New York City. September 29, 1953. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  7. Mihoces, Gary (January 5, 1988). "Offensive rookie;R obert Awalt, tight end, St. Louis". USA Today. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  8. Jacobs, Herb (September 13, 2015). "Football Was Once Big Happening At Fort Sill". Lawton Constitution. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  9. "Poinsettia Bowl Captured by Ft. Sill". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Associated Press. December 20, 1954. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  10. "Sill Honors Grid Champs", The Lawton Constitution, Lawton, Oklahoma, volume 53, number 118, January 18, 1955, page 10. (subscription required)
  11. "Eastern All-Stars' Last-Period Touchdown Turns Back West in Pro Bowl". The New York Times. New York City. Associated Press. January 12, 1959. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  12. "Gern Nagler". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  13. "Steelers, Browns swing 4-man deal; Dawson and Nagler Shipped to Cleveland Eleven for Carpenter and Wren". The New York Times. New York City. United Press International. January 1, 1960. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  14. Canzano, John (August 7, 2006). "Old-timers cast aside by the NFL". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  15. "Former NFL All-Pro, Palm Desert resident Gern Nagler dies at 88". 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
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