(1909-1996)
Inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1988
Raised in New Britain, Bromberg lettered in football, baseball and basketball at New Britain High School and was a member of the state championship football team in 1926. At Dartmouth College, he received varsity letters in football and track all four years. He was one of the leading shotputters on the track team. He also received academic awards, joining several honors societies. In 1930, he was awarded one of Dartmouth’s most prestigious scholarships for outstanding upperclassmen using the same qualifications of academic and athletic accomplishment required for Rhodes Scholars.
An All-America guard, Bromberg played football at Dartmouth in the late 1920s before the school was a member of the Ivy League. In 1928, Bromberg was named AP All-East honorable mention while Dartmouth had a record of 5-4-0. In 1929, he was AP All-America honorable mention and the Big Green finished with a record of 7-2-0. That year, they outscored their opponents 305-56, with shutouts the first four games of the year. In 1930, Gabriel had his most successful season as he was named AP All-America third team, and AP All-East first team. With Bromberg on board, Dartmouth also had its best season ever, finishing 7-1-1, outscoring their opponents 301-43, and allowing only two points (to Harvard) in the first six games of the year. After graduation he served for several years as a scout for the Dartmouth football program. He had been invited to play for the Detroit Lions, but the $500 they offered him for the season was not enough and he declined.
Bromberg served with the 100th Infantry Division, seeing action in North Africa, France, and Germany. After hostilities, he was a pitcher for the military police platoon which reached the semifinals, as well as a football coach for the Division’s football team in Germany after the war. After his discharge he joined the family business, the Sanitary Laundry and the Latimer Laundry, where he was active until the company was sold in 1974.
Bromberg was inducted into Dartmouth’s “Wearers of the Green” hall of fame in 1984.