By Justin R. Lessman, Contributing Editor

One look at Glenn Presnell’s photo album will attest that he is not your ordinary 97-year-old.

Aside from the fact that the pictures span nearly a century of history, even more impressive are the images that the photos capture.

One of the pictures was taken just after he and the 1925 Cornhuskers football team shut out an Illinois team with Red Grange14-0. Another photo shows him as a Detroit Lion kicking that record 54-yard field goal in 1934 to beat Green Bay 3-0. Still another is of Presnell and the 1935 Lions after they won their first NFL Championship.

But way in the back of his album is a tattered photograph that not many other former NFL greats can claim to have. It is the 1925 composite photograph of Presnell and 25 other members of the Kappa Chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho at the University of Nebraska.

Before Presnell was an NFL great, football world champion, NFL record-holder, all-pro, head coach of two college teams and one of Sports Illustrated’s Top 50 Sports Figures from Nebraska, he was a Vice Noble Ruler officer in AGR.

Presnell, the oldest living former NFL player, currently resides with his wife Mary in the southern Ohio town of Ironton, not far from the Kentucky and West Virginia borders.

His road to success began in 1905 in Gilead, Neb. The son of a section foreman on the Rock Island Railroad, Presnell worked the tracks as a young boy. After starring in football at DeWitt High School, he set his sights on the University of Nebraska.

That is when he first heard of AGR.

“I joined Alpha Gamma Rho in 1924,” he said. “Several boys from my hometown belonged at the time. I had always heard it was a pretty good deal from my pals so I figured I would join.”

AGR was an important and enjoyable part of Presnell’s college experience. However, football remained his true calling, and he answered it in grand fashion.
As a sophomore, playing in his first college game, Presnell and the Cornhuskers shut out Grange’s Illinois team, the only time the two legends met on the college gridiron.

“It wasn’t too bad of a game, for the first one I ever played in,” Presnell said. “It was a big thrill, anyway.”

Presnell said an even greater thrill was knowing that many of his fraternity brothers were in the stands cheering him on.

“There were quite a few of the boys who were fans,” he said. “I’m sure they came to watch and I appreciated the support.”

With a historic and memorable first college game under his belt, Presnell continued to excel on the football field.

And he only got better.

As a senior, Presnell led the nation in total yards gained. He was also named to the all-Big Six and all-Missouri Valley Conference teams.

After graduation, Presnell signed with the semi-pro Ironton Tanks. As no college draft had yet been instituted, he was allowed to sign with any team he wanted.

It did not take long for Presnell to establish himself as an exceptional player. He was a 190-pound single wing halfback-quarterback. He played brilliant defense as a middle safety. Yet, that is not where his contribution to the team ended. He also simultaneously coached the Tanks to success.

A prime example of that success came in 1930 when Presnell scored twice in a game against the Chicago Bears, besting Grange once again with a crushing 88-yard touchdown.

After the Tanks folded that year in the midst of the Great Depression, Presnell entered the NFL as a Portsmouth Spartan. As expected, he became an instant standout. He was named all-pro twice, serving as first-team quarterback in 1933, the year he led the league in scoring and was second in passing.

Four years later, the Spartans were moved west to Michigan and Presnell became one of the first members of the Detroit Lions. Interestingly enough, he left his permanent mark on the franchise long before he even stepped on the playing field, thanks to team owner George Richards and a little help from Presnell’s wife.

“When I went to Detroit to sign my contract, Mr. Richards said there were some samples of different colors of jerseys out on a table in the next room,” he said. “My wife was there. He asked us to pick out which one we liked best. We saw that Honolulu blue and silver and said we liked it best.”

The Lions wear the colors to this day.

Presnell may have had his best days on the field in Detroit. He played in the first ever Thanksgiving Day game on Nov. 29, 1934, losing to Bronko Nagurski’s Chicago Bears team by three.

That year, Presnell also kicked a 54-yard field goal to defeat Green Bay 3-0, a record that stood in the NFL for 19 years and as a team record until 1995.

“It was quite thrilling to kick that and win the game,” he said. “I remember that day very well. The weather was beautiful.”

The next year, Presnell was the starting quarterback for the Lions and led them to the NFL Championship.

After his playing days were over, Presnell embarked on a variety of new ventures that included head football coach at Nebraska and Eastern Kentucky, athletic director at EKU and a stint in the United States Navy. He retired in 1971.

Presnell takes life easy now, working a little in the yard and garden and even golfing on occasion. He also enjoys watching college and pro football on television, though he says the game has changed a bit since the days when he duked it out with Grange and Nagurski.

“The game is more open now,” he said. “There’s a lot more passing. Before, you ran it until you needed that long gain, and then you passed. Now, you pass on every down.”

Glenn Presnell has lived a life that not many would even dare to dream of. He has seen and experienced more in his 97 years on this earth than most people could hope for. And he credits much of that to AGR.

Though he found it difficult to keep up steady correspondence with other members of the Kappa Chapter over the years, he said they would no doubt always hold a special place in his memory and heart.

“Not much contact, but a whole lot of memories,” he said. “And that’s what’s important.” n

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