Bill Irgens

Einar Magnus "Bill" Irgens (June 26, 1883 – October 28, 1947) was an American football player.

Bill Irgens

Personal information
Born:	(1883-06-26)June 26, 1883 Stavanger, Norway
Died:	October 28, 1947(1947-10-28) (aged 64) Hennepin County, Minnesota
Height:	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:	175 lb (79 kg)
Position:	Halfback, quarterback
Career history
Minneapolis Marines (1921–1923)
Career NFL statistics
Games: 11

A native of Stavanger, Norway, he played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) as a halfback and quarterback for the Minneapolis Marines. He appeared in 11 NFL games, seven as a starter, from 1921 to 1923.^[1][2]

Sav Rocca is sometimes cited as the oldest NFL rookie at age 34.^[3] Irgens tops Rocca's mark by four years, having made his NFL debut at age 38.^[1]

Irgens was also the first Norwegian-born player in the NFL. The second Norwegian-born player, Halvor Hagen, did not debut in the NFL until 1975.^[4]

In later years, Irgens worked as a painter in Minneapolis.^[5] He died in 1947 in Minneapolis.^[1]

References

1. "Bill Irgens". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
2. "Einar Irgens". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
3. "NFL's oldest rookie? Divorced college dropout from Owosso finds unlikely new life as a kicker". USA TODAY High School Sports. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
4. "Players Born in Norway". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
5. World War II Draft Registration Card for Einar Magnus Irgens, born June 26, 1883, in Norway. Available at Ancestry.com.