NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 75 - Ewald Nyquist, Rockford

The 75th player on our list became far better known as a crusader for equal access in the educational system than he was for football.

Ewald Nyquist was a blocking back on the powerhouse Rockford Rabs football team from 1930 and then paved the way for the country's first Heisman Trophy Winner while playing at the University of Chicago.

The 1930 Rockford team was considered by many to be the greatest collection of football talent until the 1973-1974 East teams came along. The Rabs had six players off that team play major college football. The Rabs lost the first game to Chicago Bowen, 6-0, in the first night game in Beyer Stadium history. The Rabs then won their final eight games by a combined score of 276-18.

Nyquist was a little lost in all of the star power. He didn't score a single point and was named honorable mention all-conference. In 1931, the Rabs slipped to a losing record and Nyquist wasn't given any spot on the all-conference squad.

Still, the University of Chicago had seen enough to offer him a scholarship. Ewald, known by his friends as Joe, earned a starting spot as a sophomore and never relinquished it. Ewald rarely carried the ball. Instead, he helped open holes for Jay Berwanger.

With Nyquist leading the way for Berwanger, Chicago went 11-11-2 over three seasons. While that doesn't seem that impressive, Chicago had struggled to compete for years in the Big Ten. The Maroons would go just 6-23 in the four years after Nyquist and Berwanger graduated and would drop the sport entirely after the 1939 season. In 1935, Berwanger was the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, which would be renamed the Heisman Trophy the following year.

After graduation, Nyquist would remain at Chicago as an assistant coach before going into the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1951, he joined the New York education office and eventually was named commissioner of the entire New York state school system. He pushed for pre-kindergarten programs, special aid to urban districts and to improve health and nutrition in inner city schools. He also ordered school districts in Buffalo, Utica, Newburgh and Yonkers to develop desegregation plans and, when they failed to do so, he implemented plans of his own.

His continued push for desegregation eventually led an increasingly conservative board of regents to fire him in 1976.

No. 75 - Ewald Nyquist, Rockford
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1930	High School	Rockford	Honorable Mention All-Conference	0.5
			Winning Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
1931	High School	Rockford	Losing Team	0
1932	College	Chicago	Player on Power 5 Freshman Team	2
1933	College	Chicago	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1934	College	Chicago	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1935	College	Chicago	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
Total				22.5

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players

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