Paul Kromer
Encyclopedia
Paul S. Kromer was an American football
player. A native of Lorain, Ohio
, Kromer enrolled at the University of Michigan
where he played halfback
for the Michigan Wolverines football
teams from 1938 to 1927. With Kromer at left halfback and Tom Harmon
at right halfback, Michigan's backfield pair became known in 1938 as the "Touchdown Twins."
in approximately 1917. His father, Frank T. Kromer, was an Ohio native and a motor man for an electric railway. His mother, Olive Kromer, was also an Ohio native. He attended The Kiski School
, a private preparatory school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania
. Kromer became a highly-regarded football player at Kiski. In October 1930, he scored a touchdown to give Kiski a 7–0 win over the Penn State freshman football team. He had outstanding speed as a teenager, and was beaten by only one foot in a 100-yard dash against Jesse Owens
when he was 16 years old. Kromer could run the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds. In December 1936, he announced that he would enroll at the University of Michigan
.
in 1937. He came to Michigan as a heralded football star from Ohio. As a freshman in 1937, Kromer played for Michigan's All-Freshman football team.
As a sophomore, Kromer was given jersey No. 83, the number assigned to one of Michigan's famed plays, and played left halfback for the 1938 Michigan Wolverines football team
. He became known as the "Lorain tornado." Under first-year head coach Fritz Crisler
, the 1938 Wolverines finished with a 6–1–1 record and outscored opponents 131 to 40. Crisler called sophomores Tom Harmon
and Kromer "the finest halfbacking combination he has ever coached." Crisler called Kromer "the more instinctive runner of the two." Harmon and Kromer did much of the ball-carrying for Michigan in 1938, and some observers recalled that "Paul probably played as well, if not better, than Harmon." A profile of Harmon and Kromer noted: "Kromer, 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds, is just the opposite. He's the shifty type the kind who'll give you a leg and take it away while you're grabbing at thin air. ... He's just as fast as Harmon and equally able on the pitching end of the pigskin." The backfield duo of Kromer and Harmon gave the Michigan offense a spark in 1938, as the two became known as the "Touchdown Twins." The Michigan Alumnus in November 1940 recalled the efforts of Kromer and Harmon: "In that season of two years ago two boys flashed brilliantly across the gridiron horizon. Tom Harmon and Paul Kromer, Sophomores, halfbacks, teamed to give to Michigan the promise of the greatest backfield combination in football history."
As a junior in 1937, Kromer was injured in the first game of the season with the result that "his football effectiveness was over" for the 1939 season. He started only three games during the 1940 season. Kromer left school for a time in the fall of 1939 after suffering his injury. His departure led to speculation in the national media that he was leaving the Michigan football team, but he returned in late November and said he had gone home to get some money from his parents.
Kromer announced in the spring of 1940 that he intended to retire from active competition due to the knee injury he sustained in the 1939 season opener. However, Kromer did return to football during the 1940 season. Though his playing time was limited, Kromer had the most spectacular play of his career in the final game of the 1940 season, Kromer's final appearance with the Michigan Wolverines. Playing against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio
, Kromer got the start at left halfback. He returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, as the Wolverines shut out the Buckeyes 40 to 0. The 1940 Michigan team finished the season with a 7–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press
poll. The Michigan Alumnus described Kromer's run as follows: "He grabbed Scott's fine punt on his own 20-yard line, feinted to the left and then cut over toward the center of the field. Harmon spilled the nearest Buckeye with a strenuous block and Rogers put another one out of action. Kolesar swung into action and two more Buckeyes went out of action. Wistert disposed of another — and then it was just a case of Kromer's outrunning the hopelessly pursuing remainder. Though lacking about fifty percent of his old speed and agility, Kromer sped down the side of the field and over for the score — the climax of his Varsity career." The 1941 Michiganensian called him "the touchdown twin who came back despite a gelatin knee."
and was appointed as an aviation cadet. He was assigned to the athletic office at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida
. He suffered a broken neck in an automobile accident near Tupelo, Mississippi
, on Christmas Eve 1941, and was hospitalized at the Marine Corps hospital at Memphis, Tennessee
. In 1942, he was assigned to the Navy's inactive list because of the injuries he sustained in the accident.
In June 1943, he was signed to play professional football for the Detroit Lions
. At the end of August 1943, Lions head coach Gus Dorais
placed Kromer on the team's reserve squad.
, at 787 Crescent Drive, Largo, Florida
. He died at Largo, Florida, at age 90 in 2008.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. A native of Lorain, Ohio
Lorain, Ohio
Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
, Kromer enrolled at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams from 1938 to 1927. With Kromer at left halfback and Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
at right halfback, Michigan's backfield pair became known in 1938 as the "Touchdown Twins."
Early years
Kromer was born in Lorain, OhioLorain, Ohio
Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
in approximately 1917. His father, Frank T. Kromer, was an Ohio native and a motor man for an electric railway. His mother, Olive Kromer, was also an Ohio native. He attended The Kiski School
The Kiski School
The Kiski School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. It is the oldest remaining non-military all-male boarding school in the United States....
, a private preparatory school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania
Saltsburg, Pennsylvania
Saltsburg is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 955 at the 2000 census. The town was based on the construction of salt wells and the canals and railroad tracks that passed through it.-Geography:...
. Kromer became a highly-regarded football player at Kiski. In October 1930, he scored a touchdown to give Kiski a 7–0 win over the Penn State freshman football team. He had outstanding speed as a teenager, and was beaten by only one foot in a 100-yard dash against Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
when he was 16 years old. Kromer could run the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds. In December 1936, he announced that he would enroll at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
University of Michigan
Kromer enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1937. He came to Michigan as a heralded football star from Ohio. As a freshman in 1937, Kromer played for Michigan's All-Freshman football team.
As a sophomore, Kromer was given jersey No. 83, the number assigned to one of Michigan's famed plays, and played left halfback for the 1938 Michigan Wolverines football team
1938 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1938 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1938 college football season. The team's head coach was Fritz Crisler...
. He became known as the "Lorain tornado." Under first-year head coach Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
, the 1938 Wolverines finished with a 6–1–1 record and outscored opponents 131 to 40. Crisler called sophomores Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
and Kromer "the finest halfbacking combination he has ever coached." Crisler called Kromer "the more instinctive runner of the two." Harmon and Kromer did much of the ball-carrying for Michigan in 1938, and some observers recalled that "Paul probably played as well, if not better, than Harmon." A profile of Harmon and Kromer noted: "Kromer, 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds, is just the opposite. He's the shifty type the kind who'll give you a leg and take it away while you're grabbing at thin air. ... He's just as fast as Harmon and equally able on the pitching end of the pigskin." The backfield duo of Kromer and Harmon gave the Michigan offense a spark in 1938, as the two became known as the "Touchdown Twins." The Michigan Alumnus in November 1940 recalled the efforts of Kromer and Harmon: "In that season of two years ago two boys flashed brilliantly across the gridiron horizon. Tom Harmon and Paul Kromer, Sophomores, halfbacks, teamed to give to Michigan the promise of the greatest backfield combination in football history."
As a junior in 1937, Kromer was injured in the first game of the season with the result that "his football effectiveness was over" for the 1939 season. He started only three games during the 1940 season. Kromer left school for a time in the fall of 1939 after suffering his injury. His departure led to speculation in the national media that he was leaving the Michigan football team, but he returned in late November and said he had gone home to get some money from his parents.
Kromer announced in the spring of 1940 that he intended to retire from active competition due to the knee injury he sustained in the 1939 season opener. However, Kromer did return to football during the 1940 season. Though his playing time was limited, Kromer had the most spectacular play of his career in the final game of the 1940 season, Kromer's final appearance with the Michigan Wolverines. Playing against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Kromer got the start at left halfback. He returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, as the Wolverines shut out the Buckeyes 40 to 0. The 1940 Michigan team finished the season with a 7–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll. The Michigan Alumnus described Kromer's run as follows: "He grabbed Scott's fine punt on his own 20-yard line, feinted to the left and then cut over toward the center of the field. Harmon spilled the nearest Buckeye with a strenuous block and Rogers put another one out of action. Kolesar swung into action and two more Buckeyes went out of action. Wistert disposed of another — and then it was just a case of Kromer's outrunning the hopelessly pursuing remainder. Though lacking about fifty percent of his old speed and agility, Kromer sped down the side of the field and over for the score — the climax of his Varsity career." The 1941 Michiganensian called him "the touchdown twin who came back despite a gelatin knee."
Military service and professional football
In June 1941, Kromer joined the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and was appointed as an aviation cadet. He was assigned to the athletic office at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. He suffered a broken neck in an automobile accident near Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
, on Christmas Eve 1941, and was hospitalized at the Marine Corps hospital at Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. In 1942, he was assigned to the Navy's inactive list because of the injuries he sustained in the accident.
In June 1943, he was signed to play professional football for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. At the end of August 1943, Lions head coach Gus Dorais
Gus Dorais
Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913, and then professionally with the Fort Wayne Friars and Massillon Tigers...
placed Kromer on the team's reserve squad.
Later years
Kromer lived in his later years in Pinellas County, FloridaPinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. This county is contained entirely within the telephone area code 727, except for some sections of Oldsmar, which have the area code 813...
, at 787 Crescent Drive, Largo, Florida
Largo, Florida
Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, USA and is part of the Tampa Bay Area. Centrally located, it is the crossroads of the county. As of the 2000 census, the City had a total population of 69,371. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was...
. He died at Largo, Florida, at age 90 in 2008.