Gus Sonnenberg
- Columbus Tigers (1923 )
- Buffalo All-Americans (1923 )
- Pottsville Maroons (1924 )
- Detroit Panthers (1925, 1926)
- Providence Steam Roller (1927, 1928, 1930)
- 5x All-Pro selection (1923, 1925-1928 ) 1 2 team
- NFL Champion (1928 )
Gustave Adolph Sonnenberg ( March 6, 1898 in Ewen, Michigan, USA, † September 9, 1944 in Bethesda, Maryland), nicknamed Dynamite, Iron Duke or The Goat, was an American American football player and wrestler. He played as a tackle in the National Football League ( NFL), among others, at the Providence Steam Roller.
Youth
Gus Sonnenberg was born as the son of German / Swedish couple Fred and Caroline Sonnenberg in Ewen. He grew up on a farm and first attended a small country school before he moved in with an older sister to Marquette to 1912 to attend the local high school. On the High Scholl, he also played American football, first at the position of a Guards before he was retrained to Tackle from 1914. 1915 won his team undefeated high school championship. In addition to American football, he also played basketball at school and brought it here with his team to championship honors.
Sports career
College career
In 1916, Sonnenberg received various scholarships offered and decided to accept the offer of Dartmouth College. It succeeded Sonnenberg to join the football team of the college and in the same year he was elected to the national team of College Football. Sonnenberg broke after a year off his studies and returned to Marquette. There he played in a teacher team basketball and coached two high school football teams. In 1919 he continued his studies at Dartmouth College, and moved in 1921 to the University of Detroit, where he completed his law degree in 1922. At both colleges, he played again successful American football.
Professional career
In 1923, the Green Bay Packers made him a contract offer, but he joined the Columbus Tigers, which he still left in the same year to play a game with the Buffalo All-Americans. 1924 wrote Sonnenberg at the Pottsville Maroons, who were in the Anthracite League, a rival league to the NFL, settled. Sonnenberg won the championship with his team. In the years 1925 and 1926, he returned to the NFL and hired at the Detroit Panthers, who had to adjust their game operation 1926. In 1927 Sonnenberg along with his Detroit Head Coach Jimmy Conzelman to the Providence Steam Roller. The team was able to commit the same year Wildcat Wilson, who was considered one of the best running backs of the time. The team from Providence won the NFL championship in 1928. The team of Sonnenberg had eight of eleven games won and only lost one game.
How many football players also saw Gus Sonnenberg, the opportunity to secure professional wrestling a lucrative income opportunity. On January 24, 1928, he was in a fight against Ivan Ludlow his victorious debut. In a hard-fought title fight he lost on June 30, 1928 title fight against Ed Lewis, he could, however, defeat the repetition fight on 4 January 1929. Sonnenberg played in 1929 a game for the Steamroller, but continued his financially lucrative wrestling career. Alone his first title fight in the National Wrestling Association earned him a salary of 7,500 U.S. dollars. On December 10, 1930, he lost his powers from the American Wrestling Association title against Ed Don George in Los Angeles. On March 16, 1939 Sonnenberg could win his second title. He defeated Marvin Westerberg, however, had the title on March 29, 1939 after a defeat against Steve Casey give back.
After the career
Sonnenberg remained until 1942 professional wrestler and then joined the U.S. Navy at. He died at a hospital in Bethesda from leukemia and is buried in the Park Cemetery in Marquette.
Honors
Gus Sonnenberg was five times elected as a football player for the All Pro. He is a member of the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.