Robert Arthur “Nasty” Nash (December 16, 1892 – February 1, 1977) was an Irish- American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played in the

American Professional Football Association The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

(APFA) for the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars fr ...

Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons were an American football team based in Rochester, New York from 1898 to 1925. The team was a founding member of the National Football League (NFL), in which they played from 1920 to 1925. History Formed as an amateur ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Prior to joining the AFPA, Nash played in the "

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct p ...

" for the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the " Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championshi ...

. He was considered by sports historians as one of the greatest offensive tackles of his era. Nash was born in Ireland and raised in

Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville (Melisurgo, Len NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 23, 2017. Accessed December 1, 2024. "Same goes with the neighboring borough of Bernardsville. (It should be pronounced BERN-ards-vil.)") is the northernmost borough in Somerset C ...

,Staff
"Robert Nash Dies at 84"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 2, 1977. Accessed July 11, 2018. "Born in Ireland, Mr. Nash spent his early years in Bernardsville, N. J." where he played high school football at

Bernards High School Bernards High School is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School Distr ...

.Bob Nash Stats
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed July 11, 2018. "High School: Bernards (NJ)" Prior to playing professional football, Nash played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and at

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, where he received

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1914. He was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame in 1988.

Professional career

On Sunday, October 10, 1920, Nash is credited with the first fumble recovery for a touchdown in a game featuring two league teams. On Sunday, October 24, 1920, Nash picked up a blocked punt in the first quarter and ran eight yards for the only score of the day as the Pros defeated the Cleveland Tigers, 7–0. On Sunday, October 31, 1920, according to Ike Roy Martin; on a punt return

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

had instructed Martin to let Nash get by him. Thorpe had wanted to run into Nash, which he did. The collision resulted in them both being knocked out and they were carried off the field. Nash was also a part of the first APFA player deal, in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

, when Akron sold Nash to Buffalo for $300 and five percent of the gate receipts during a game between the two clubs. However, since Nash was a part of the Akron Pros during their championship season, he is credited as belonging on their championship team. Nash was also the very first captain of the New York Giants.

References

External links

1917 All-Pros

Ivy League Sports

Scarlet Knights in the Pros

Pioneer in Pro Football by Jack Cusack

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Bob 1892 births 1977 deaths American football ends American football tackles Akron Pros players Bernards High School alumni Buffalo All-Americans players Cornell Big Red football players Massillon Tigers coaches Massillon Tigers players New York Giants players Rochester Jeffersons players Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players People from Bernardsville, New Jersey People from Winsted, Connecticut Players of American football from Litchfield County, Connecticut Players of American football from Somerset County, New Jersey Irish emigrants to the United States