Gary Reinmuth`s recent story about Bronko Nagurski brought back many memories. For about two seasons, beginning in September, 1935, Bronko lived in the room next door to me at the West Side Professional YMCA on Congress and Wood Streets. (It later was torn down to build the Congress Street
Expressway). I was a student at the Chicago College of Dental Surgery at the time. The ”Y” was all Bronko could afford on the salary the Bears were paying him. We became good friends.
The part of the story I enjoyed most was that he supplemented his income by earning a whopping $50 from endorsing Wheaties. He and I frequently ate breakfast at the ”Y” cafeteria and when we opened the sports pages of the Tribune and saw the ad showing Bronko eating and endorsing Wheaties, we had a good laugh. All he ever ate for breakfast were rolls and coffee.
He received cases of Wheaties from the company but he never ate them. When I`d go home for the weekend, he`d frequently give me a case (12 boxes) to take home. After awhile we were inundated with Wheaties and my mother asked me to stop bringing them home.
He was a great guy and Gary Reinmuth`s story awakened many remembrances of those days.
