From a personal standpoint, I truly love the game of football…and to write about it. At times, it’s easy to slip back in time during my research of pro football topics to be captivated by some obscure player or fact from the history of the game itself. A few minutes searching for verification on a specific topic can quickly turn into hours as the stories and legends seem to spin off and blossom.
One of these obscure searches was prompted by my interest in determining the identity of the youngest player to ever play in the National Football League and I’ll share that discovery on this episode of “When Football Was Football” here on the Sports History Network.
Nagel Was 19-Years-Old
In my recent book, Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL’s Oldest Rivalry, the topic of the youngest man to ever play for the Arizona Cardinals was explored. This was a story that may have remained buried forever had it not been for the persistent efforts of the player’s family to share his gridiron journey.
His name was Ross Nagel, just a nineteen-year-old from Maplewood High School in Missouri when he played for the Cardinals in 1942. His daughter, Toni, shared this story with us: “We knew our dad played pro football at an early age, but just did not comprehend what that meant until we were much older.
My Dad talked about being recruited right out of high school, and then was called off to WWII. When he came back, he went to St. Louis University and played for the Billikens on the GI Bill. He is listed amongst those who played, stayed out the longest, and then came back after eight years. He played linebacker and tackle and was a great punter as well.”
During WWII, NFL teams were challenged to fill out their rosters with so many players being inducted into the military. From the early days of the NFL, including when Red Grange was snared by the Chicago Bears the day after his final football game with the University of Illinois, the professionals were expected to avoid signing college players until a player’s class had graduated.
But things were a bit different during the war, and the rules regarding the addition of student players apparently were relaxed as well. The Chicago Cardinals signed the talented Ross Nagel to the team’s roster and Nagel managed to appear in just one game with the Cardinals prior to his release on October 26, 1942. Since Nagel was born on June 12, 1923, he was indeed just nineteen-years-old when he was with the Cardinals for that one contest in 1942.
As mentioned, after the war, Nagel played for St. Louis University and eventually found himself back in the professional football ranks in 1951 when he played in nine games for the New York Yankees…nine years after his brief initial professional stint with the Cardinals!
We Opened The Season With 18 Bouncing Boys!
Recalling that rough 1942 season when the Cards finished with a disappointing 3-8 record after a promising 3-2 start (with Nagel and other untried players), Coach Jimmy Conzelman said: “We opened the season with high hopes and wound up with yard rationing. At the start, we had eighteen bouncing boys. Most of them are still bouncing!”
While researching this subject on the youngest players to ever take the field in the NFL, another Chicago Cardinals stalwart is usually listed as the fourth youngest to play in the league. This would be halfback Elmer Angsman, a native of the south side of Chicago who attended Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago and later the University of Notre Dame. Angsman was born on December 11, 1925, which would make him 20 years old when he played his first NFL game with the Cardinals in September of 1946.
Angsman, of course, was instrumental in the Cards capturing the 1947 NFL title when he scored two touchdowns and established a post-season rushing single-game record by averaging 15.9 yards per carry in the 28-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL championship game.
Amobe Okoye Was Drafted At Age 19
While Ross Nagel was the youngest man to ever suit up for the Cardinals, was he the youngest ever to play in the NFL? Once again, most modern lists point to Amobi Okoye, born June 10, 1987. After a playing career and an early graduation from Louisville, Okoye was drafted by the Houston Texans in April of 2007.
It is believed that he was the youngest player to ever be drafted in the NFL’s first round at the age of 19 and then the youngest player in history when the NFL season rolled around later in 2007 at the age of 20.
If anything can be determined by our search for the youngest player in the history of the NFL, it’s that there are many suggestions, but few that agree. Should we define the youngest person as one who was drafted? Or one who played a full season? Or, perhaps, one who was the youngest when he played a single NFL game, such as Ross Nagel?
For the answer to this bewildering search, we will identify the youngest player in the history of the NFL based on the criteria of his participation in at least one league game…and this name may surprise you! Many years ago, I discovered this curious milestone, and then fully explained it in my most recent book.
Was Red Grange The Youngest?
My initial search began with the great Red Grange, who played his first NFL game in November of 1925, immediately after playing his final game at Illinois. The thought process suggested that Grange might be the youngest since he was in the NFL during what we might consider his senior year in college. But since Grange was born on June 13, 1903, he was already 22 years old when he made his NFL debut.
Since records and rosters from the very early days of the NFL are often sketchy and/or incorrect, my observations and decision on the youngest player may very well be incorrect. As such, please contact us through the Sports History Network and let us know if there is another player that has been overlooked as the youngest player in the history of the National Football League. We would appreciate it!
Ultimately, the key to unlock this mystery was right in front of me. Literally…
Four Players Could Have Been the Youngest
The game in question took place in Chicago and there were four candidates from that contest that could have been the youngest player to ever participate in an NFL game, according to Total Football II, the comprehensive NFL reference book. They all participated in one NFL game in 1925 and that single event turned out to be one of the most controversial in league history—and for good reason.
For this was the infamous “battle” between the Milwaukee Badgers and the Chicago Cardinals on December 10, 1925, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. While the Cardinals stormed to an easy 58-0 win, the depleted Milwaukee roster was stuffed with four high school players from nearby Englewood High School in Chicago so that the Badgers would have enough players to start the game…thus prompting the controversy.
The prep players, who participated under assumed names in an effort to not be recognized, were William Thompson, Jack Daniels, James Snyder, and Charles Richardson. During the game, they were listed as Blood, Mooney, Mason, and Grant.
James Snyder Was The Youngest At Age 16
Of the four, Snyder was the youngest, born on March 10, 1909, making Snyder just 16 years old at the time of the Milwaukee game. Until proven otherwise, this would make James Snyder the youngest player to ever participate in an NFL game.
But there is much more to the James Snyder story, especially after he dropped his efforts to play football and devoted his athletic efforts to another sport under the name of Jimmy Snyder. In time, he became a star Indy Car driver who once sat on the pole position at the Indianapolis 500 and also managed to break the Indy Car track record.
Snyder graduated from Englewood in 1927 and enrolled in the University of Illinois where he was a member of the 1928 varsity football reserve squad. He later moved back to Chicago and, according to the 1930 census, became a milk wagon driver…a milk wagon driver who soon surrendered to his need for speed! By 1932, Snyder began participating in local auto races around Chicago.
Chicago Milkman Is New Star In Auto Racing
Arch Ward, the sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, who was the founder of both the Major League All-Star Game and the annual College Football All-Star contest, once talked about how Snyder initiated his auto racing career: “Jimmy Snyder, a former Chicago milkman, got his start as a driver when he bought a helmet and a pair of goggles in 1932.”
After beginning his career driving “midget” race cars, Snyder quickly found success. He grabbed the win in a 100-mile race on October 8, 1933, at the Roby Speedway in Hammond, Indiana, and later grabbed titles at the Evanston (Illinois) Motor Speedway. Following these victories, the Chicago Tribune described Jimmy Snyder as “a new star in automobile racing.”
By 1935, he was ready for the big time when he qualified for the Indy 500 in what would be the first of five straight entries in the 500 for Snyder. As such, the Chicago Tribune recalled his previous athletic successes in the Chicago area: “Among the qualifiers today was Jimmy Snyder of Chicago, former Englewood High School athlete, who raced all winter in midget races in Chicago indoor arenas. Snyder qualified with an average of 112.249 miles an hour.”
With his previous employment serving as the inspiration, Snyder became known as the “Flying Milkman.” He established new track records at Indy in both 1937 (when he was the first driver to exceed 130 mph in qualifying) and 1939, when he grabbed the prestigious pole position as the quickest racer in the field. Snyder led the field for 24 laps in 1937 and 92 laps in 1938 before experiencing mechanical issues in both races.
Jimmy Snyder Wins Indy 500 Pole Position
After the qualifying success and securing the pole position in 1939, the Indianapolis Star newspaper recognized Snyder’s impressive accomplishment: “Jimmy Snyder, the former Chicago milk wagon driver, broke all qualifying records as well as the one-lap mark, in winning the No. 1 berth in the front row for the 500-mile race to be held May 30 at the famous brick and asphalt oval.
He averaged 130.138 miles an hour for his 10-mile sprint and showed 130.757 m.p.h. on his second turn of the two-and-one-half mile course.”
Snyder, after leading the field for 65 laps, ended up in second place during the 1939 Indianapolis 500 as Wilbur Shaw captured the checkered flag, but there was no doubt that Jimmy Snyder, at the still young age of 30, was on his way to becoming one the most dominating drivers in Indy Car history. Unfortunately, on June 29, 1939, Jimmy Snyder was fatally injured during a midget car race in Cahokia IL.
Today, Jimmy Snyder is remembered as one of the greatest Indy Car drivers, although due to his unfortunate passing in 1939, he was never able to win the Indy 500.
However, few, if any, will recall that race car driver Jimmy Snyder also remains the youngest player to ever see action in an NFL game. Ironically the birth date of Elmer Angsman, the man who was once thought to be the youngest player in the history of the Cardinals, occurred on December 11, 1925, the day after Jimmy Snyder played his sole NFL game for the Milwaukee Badgers against the Chicago Cardinals.
Author and Host - Joe Ziemba
Joe Ziemba is the host of this show, and he is an author of early football history in the city of Chicago. Here, you can learn more about Joe and When Football Was Football, including all of the episodes of the podcast.
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