Tom Cosgrove is a former American football

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. He played in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and the Baltimore Colts

History of the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins football

The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

.

College career

Cosgrove attended Maryland, where he played as a center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 under legendary head coach Jim Tatum

Jim Tatum

James M. "Big Jim" Tatum was an American football and baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , the University of Oklahoma , and the University of Maryland, College Park , compiling a career college football record of...

 in 1951 and 1952

Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum (1947–1955)

From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season...

. As a junior, in 1951, Cosgrove was named an honorable mention All-American. In 1952, Cosgrove was named a second-team All-American. He played in the 1953 North-South Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...

, and the College All-Star Game

College All-Star Game

The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...

.

In 1952, he was honored with the Coaches' Award for the team's most outstanding offensive lineman.

Professional career

Cosgrove was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round (156th overall) of the 1952 NFL Draft

1952 NFL Draft

The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:...

. In 1954, he was traded to Baltimore for their sixth round draft selection. He spent two years with the Colts before an ankle injury ended his career.

After the end of his playing career, Cosgrove became a commercial airline pilot. He flew for Capital Airlines

Capital Airlines

Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern United States that merged into United Airlines in 1961. Its primary hubs were National Airport near Washington, DC, and Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. In the 1950s it was the largest US domestic carrier after the Big Four . Its...

 and then for United Airlines

United Airlines

United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...

, after the two merged. Cosgrove retired in 1990 to Potomac, Maryland

Potomac, Maryland

Potomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...

.Club News (PDF), Newsletter, The M Club, Winter 2007, retrieved 17 January 2009. In 2005, he was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame.