Joe Ziemba Presents: To Bataan and Back: How the NFL Survived WWII

Mario “Motts” Tonelli became a national celebrity as a bruising fullback at Notre Dame and for the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals. Tonelli willingly gave up his football career and volunteered for the U.S. Army prior to World War II where he spent the entire conflict as a Japanese prisoner. With hundreds of players in the service during the war, the NFL struggled to survive until they came up with creati