“Never before has the Eskimos’ story been told
with such drama and detail. A great read!”
— Hall-of-Fame Minnesota Vikings Coach Bud Grant

Written by Duluth News Tribune columnist Chuck Frederick, Leatherheads of the North tells the fascinating story of Nevers and the Eskimos and their notorious exploits on and off the field, from the early years sponsored by Kelley-Duluth Hardware through their storied 1926-1927 barnstorming season and beyond.


The true story behind Leatherheads

starring George Clooney, Rene Zellweger
& John Krasinski of TV’s The Office
(in theatres December 2007;
scroll down to discover more).

(Image from www.clooneystudio.com.)

Writer, director, and star of Leatherheads George Clooney seen on the North Carolina movie set in February 2006

Hollywood’s comic take on the Duluth Eskimos

Leatherheads starring George Clooney & Rene Zellweger
(in theatres April 2008)

In December 2007, Hollywood is sheduled to release Leatherheads, a romantic comedy starring George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, and John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) loosely based on the 1926–1927 Eskimos. The names have been changed (“Duluth Bulldogs”), but the movie essentially tells the story of Eskimos’ owner Ole Haugsrud bringing Ernie Nevers from Stanford to Duluth at a time when professional football wasn’t very, well, professional—a move that was credited as saving the troubled NFL in the 1920s.

Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, player-coach of the Bulldogs, who convinces college great and World War I hero Carter Rutherford (Krasinski) to play for Duluth. Lexie Littleton (Zellweger) is a Chicago reporter who finds herself in a love triangle with Connelly and Rutherford.

Discover where history and Hollywood collide here.

Meet the Author:

Chuck Frederick will be signing copies of his book at the following dates & locations:

Twin Ports:

• Saturday, April 5 • 1 - 2 p.m. • Northern Lights, Canal park

• Sunday, April 6 • 1 - 2 p.m. • Barnes & Noble • Miller Hill Mall, Duluth

• Saturday, April 12 • 12 - 1 p.m. • Bookstore at Fitger’s • Fitger’s Complex, Duluth

• Sunday, April 13 • 1 - 2 p.m. • Waldenbooks • Miller Hill Mall, Duluth

Twin Cities:

• TBA

The Kelley-Duluth & Duluth Eskimos Teams:

• Both the Kelley-Duluth team and the Eskimos featured Duluth’s Wally Gilbert, the Duluth Denfeld High graduate and famed Brooklyn Dodgers’ third baseman, who once drop-kicked a 61-yard field goal for Kelley-Duluth.

• The Kelley team and the Eskimos both boasted the Rooney brothers—Joe, Bill, and Cobb—of Hibbing, Minnesota. In 1924 and 1927 all three brothers played for Duluth—the only times three brothers played on one NFL team the same season.

• The 1925 Kelley-Duluth team featured Bobby Marshall, the second black man to ever play in the NFL. Marshall played college ball at the University of Minnesota and, when he played for Duluth, strapped washboards under his uniform to protect his ribs.

• The 1924 Duluth-Kelley team beat Green Bay the only time the Packers played in Duluth (the Eskimos never beat the Pack).

• The Eskimos sent three players to the Professional Football Hall of Fame: Ernie Nevers, Walt Kiesling, & Johnny “Blood” McNally.

• The Eskimos were reportedly the first NFL team to hold preseason training camp—in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

• The Eskimos were the first NFL team to sport a logo on their uniforms.
.
• The 1926-27 Eskimos team traveled 17,000 miles playing 14 regular-season games and 15 non-league games in 4 months—but played at home only once!
.
• During the Eskimos’ 29-game “road trip,” Nevers played all but 29 of a possible 1,740 minutes the Eskimos were on the field.

• The 1926-27 Eskimos played with a roster of only 16 players and often took the field with just 13 players.

• The 1926-27 Eskimos took two showers after games—the first with their uniforms on (no time for laundry!).

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