SUPERIOR, Wisc. (Northern News Now) - Behind me is what used to be known as Ole Haugsrud Memorial Field back when UWS still had a football team.
Haugsrud was one of the founding fathers of the Minnesota Vikings but decades before that he had a hand in NFL football in Duluth.
In 2008, George Clooney and Renee Zellweger came to Duluth to promote their Leatherheads movie that was very loosely based the Twin Ports’ 1920’s NFL team.
The real deal was the work of Ole Haugsrud.
“Ole was from Superior, graduated high school in Superior and went on to become a businessman.” said Upper Midwest Emmy Chapter Silver Circle inductee Tom Hansen who currently serves Northern News Now as live sports coverage coordinator.
In 1922, the Duluth Kellys were sponsored by the Kelly-Duluth Hardware Store.
The scrappy team surprised everyone by beating the powerhouse Packers 6 to 2.
“They had some local players that were stand outs from this area and certainly made a difference on the national level in the NFL.” said Hansen.
One of those local players was a guy from Willow River who had become a standout on the Stanford football team - Ernie Nevers.
“The perfect football player, Ernie Nevers.” stated the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
In 1926, Ole Haugsrud signed superstar Nevers and even named the team after him - Ernie Nevers’ Eskimos.
Chuck Frederick’s book on the team talks about Neversmania.
“Ernie was so popular that fans came to see him and the team play over the years.” said Hansen.
They weren’t around for too many years.
Duluth’s cold climate and open air field kept the team on the road far more than it ever played at home. Haugsrud sold the fierce but tiny team in 1927.
“Put it this way, Green Bay is the smallest professional sports market by a mile and it is over twice the size of Duluth and Superior.” said NNN sportscaster Blake Hornstein.
Ole Haugsrud had a clause that he got part ownership of any NFL team that ever came back to Minnesota and more than 30 years later, he cashed that IOU in on a piece of the Vikings.
Holding on to Twin Ports football history in Superior, Dave Anderson, Northern News Now.
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