As part of our ongoing series, here is a look at four of the most accomplished Golden Gopher football players of all time. Despite its recent status as an also-ran in the Big Ten, Minnesota experienced multiple streaks of dominance between the early 1900’s and the 1960’s, and sent some excellent players to the NFL. This is by no means a definitive top four- there are several other players and coaches for whose inclusion you could make a legitimate argument. But aren’t those arguments half the fun?
The Mount Rushmore of Minnesota Golden Gopher Football
Bronko Nagurski
Hall-of-Famer Bronko Nagurski played both defensive tackle and fullback for the University of Minnesota from 1927-29. During his three seasons, the Gophers went 18-4-2 and won the 1927 Big Ten championship. Nagurski played for the Chicago Bears from 1930-37; he was a First Team All-Pro every year from 1932 through 1936, and was named to the NFL All-Time teams chosen to celebrate the league’s 50th and 75th anniversaries. His number 72 jersey is retired at the University of Minnesota, as well as his number 3 jersey from his time with the Bears. Nagurski also holds the distinction of having the largest NFL Championship ring ever recorded- size 19 1/2.
Bud Grant
Bud Grant played football, baseball, and basketball for the Golden Gophers, lettering in all three, and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection in football. He was drafted in both the NFL and NBA, and played two seasons for the Minneapolis Lakers (1949-1951). He then switched to football, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles first as a defensive end, then moving to wide receiver for the 1952 season. Grant finished with 997 yards and seven touchdowns but, his contract up, the Eagles didn’t make a satisfactory offer and Grant left for Winnipeg of the Canadian Football League. After the 1957 season, Grant moved from playing to coaching the Bombers, becoming the youngest head coach in CFL history at 29. After a ten-year, 118-64-3 career as the coach in Winnipeg (including four championships), the NFL’s expansion Minnesota Vikings came calling. Grant led the Vikes to a pre-merger NFL Championship in 1969, followed by a loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. (The Vikings made it to, and lost, Super Bowls VIII, IX, and XI as well). Between his time at the University and with the Vikings, Grant is still beloved in Minnesota, and is revered in Winnipeg as well. He was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 1983 and the NFL Hall of Fame in 1994.
Bobby Bell
Defensive lineman Bobby Bell was a two-time All-America selection and the winner of the 1962 Outland Trophy, given annually to the country’s best interior lineman. He also finished third in that season’s Heisman voting. Bell played in a very successful era for the Gophers; they won the National title in 1960 and made it to the Rose Bowl the next two seasons, winning it in 1962. He went on to play as an linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963-74, winning Super Bowl IV over Bud Grant’s Vikings. Bell was also a three-time Pro Bowler in the early 1970’s, and is tied with Derrick Brooks for the most career interceptions returns for touchdowns by an outside linebacker, with six. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and finished his degree at Minnesota in 2015, at the age of 74.
Carl Eller
Carl Eller’s ties to the Twin Cities run deep, as he played for both the Golden Gophers and for Bud Grant’s Purple People Eaters of the 1970’s. He was a sophomore on the U of M team that won the Rose Bowl in 1962 and spent the next two seasons as a full-time, two-way player. A standout on defense, Eller was the Outland Trophy runner-up as a junior and an All-America selection in both his junior and senior seasons. Drafted by the Vikings in 1964, Eller played on three NFC Championship teams, was a six-time Pro Bowler, and the 1971 Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the Vikings’unofficial franchise sack leader, with 130 1/2. (Sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982). He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
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