Early years Reino Nori was born February 26, 1913 in
DeKalb, Illinois. He was active in the
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as a boy. He attended
DeKalb High School. He attended
Northern Illinois State Teachers' College in DeKalb, where he was a multi-sport athlete, earning a total of 17 athletic letters in
football,
basketball.
track and field, and
wrestling. While at the school he gained the nickname "The Flying Finn." He was briefly on the team's roster but on October 6, 1936, he was reassigned by head coach
Potsy Clark to the
Springfield Bicos, a Lion
farm team in the newly organized
Midwest Football League. He had better success during the
1937 season, when he landed a place on the NFL's
Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in a total of six games for the Dodgers, including one start. Unfortunately for Nori, there were also twenty rookies reporting to camp, including several prospects to play under center. Nori served in the US Army for three years and served overseas. He later pursued a
Master's degree, which he received from the
University of Alabama. He was for many years a high school athletic coach in various school districts around
Illinois.
Death and legacy Nori died October 8, 1988, in DeKalb, Illinois. Nori is a member of the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame. His 17 athletic letters earned at the school still stands as a school record. ==References==