Robert Gern Nagler (February 23, 1932 – April 9, 2020) was an 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 was an

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

for eight seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

(NFL). He 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 ...

for the

Santa Clara Broncos The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the ...

Early life

Nagler was born in Marysville,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and raised in nearby

Arboga Arboga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Arboga Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,989 inhabitants in 2020. Overview The city of Arboga is known to have existed as a town since the 13th century but the are ...

He attended Marysville High School (class of 1949), where he was an all-league selection in football his junior and senior years. He attended the

University of Santa Clara Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

(class of 1953), majoring in history, and was a captain of the varsity football team in his senior year.

NFL career

Nagler was selected in the 14th round of the

1953 NFL draft The 1953 National Football League draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the Baltimore Colts, since the Dallas team had moved to Baltimore. ...

by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. 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 The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. The Colts then waived him prior to the start of the

1953 NFL season The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National divisions were changed back to the Eastern and Western divisions. The season ended on December 27 with the NFL Championship ...

. He was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

. In his rookie season, Nagler set the Cardinals team record for receptions in a rookie season, with 43. Nagler missed the

1954 NFL season The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game. Draft The 1954 NFL draft was held on January 28, 1954, at Phil ...

due to service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. While posted at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

, Oklahoma, lieutenant Nagler helped coach the base football team to a perfect 12-0 record and the All-Service Championship, winning the 1954

Poinsettia Bowl The Poinsettia Bowl was an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California, from 2005 to 2016. The game was originally played from 1952 to 1955 between military services teams; in 2005 it was re-created by the organizers of the ...

."Sill Honors Grid Champs"
''

The Lawton Constitution The ''Lawton Constitution'' is a daily newspaper published in Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately ...

'', Lawton, Oklahoma, volume 53, number 118, January 18, 1955, page 10. He returned to the Cardinals in 1955, spending the next four seasons with the club. Nagler earned a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. Following his Pro Bowl year, Nagler was traded to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and spent one season with the team. He was moved to the

as part of a four-player New Year's Eve trade that included Steelers quarterback

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the K ...

. Nagler finished his playing career after the

1961 NFL season The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's founders declined to be charter members of the new American Fo ...

, after two seasons with the Browns. 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 William Harris Howton (born July 3, 1930) is an American former professional football player who was an end for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and expansion Dallas Cowboys. As a r ...

presented

NFL Commissioner The commissioner of the National Football League is the chief executive officer of the National Football League (NFL). The position was created in 1941. The current commissioner is Roger Goodell, who assumed office on September 1, 2006. Until 1 ...

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the fifth chief executive and second commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 until his deat ...

with a draft

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

NFL career statistics

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 Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

area. Nagler was married three times, to Diana Swift (divorced 1975), Barbara Bertolini (1976-1995), and Jan Anacker (1998-2020). He and Diana had three children together. He was inducted into the Santa Clara Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Marysville High School Hall of Fame in 2019. Nagler died in his home in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The popula ...

on April 9, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagler, Gern 1932 births 2020 deaths American football ends Chicago Cardinals players Cleveland Browns players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Military personnel from California Sportspeople from Marysville, California Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Yuba County, California Santa Clara Broncos football players United States Army officers American military sports coaches