Tom Kuzma
Encyclopedia
Tom George Kuzma was an American football
player for the University of Michigan
. He was the starting left halfback
for Fritz Crisler
's Michigan
teams in 1941 and 1942.
Kuzma was a native of Gary, Indiana
. He attended Emerson High School in Gary, where he was an all-state fullback and starred in three sports—football, basketball and track. Football Hall of Famer Tom Harmon
also haled from Gary. Harmon graduated in 1937 and enrolled at the University of Michigan
. Kuzma graduated two years later and followed Harmon to Michigan. Kuzma was six-feet, three-inches tall, and weighed 195 pounds as a player at Michigan.
Kuzma followed Harmon as Michigan's principal running back in 1941, and comparisons to Harmon were inevitable. Kuzma lacked Harmon's blazing speed and was instead a power-runner who ran through and over the opposition. As NEA Sports Editor Harry Grayson
put it, "He's a smacker from Smackersville." Aside from his ability as a power runner, Kuzma was a good passer, solid defender, and also served as the Wolverines punter and punt returner. He was considered the Wolverines' best punter since Harry Kipke played for Michigan 20 years earlier. In a 1941 game against Northwestern, Kuzma punted the ball 53 yards with the ball going out of bounds at the Northwestern four-yard line; Crisler called the kick "miraculous." In the same game, he threw two touchdown passes, including a 46-yard pass in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game winner as Michigan edged Northwestern, 14-7.
In his first four games as a starter in 1941, Kuzma scored five touchdowns and passed for two more. By mid-season, the Associated Press
ran a feature story on Kuzma, reporting that "this 19-year-old gridder had surpassed Harmon's sophomore record in scoring, had neared his first-year passing mark and had become one of the Western Conference's greatest kickers." Kuzma had a solid sophomore year, rushing for an average of 4.3 yards per carry and finishing second in the Big Ten Conference
in total offense yards per game.
Kuzma attended the school of business administration at Michigan and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta
.
Kuzma was inducted into the military in 1943 and subsequently drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1944 NFL draft. After World War II
, Kuzma returned to the University of Michigan to complete his degree, but he did not return to the football team. He graduated in 1947 and chose not to play football professionally but rather served as an assistant football coach at the University of Colorado
from 1947-1948. In 1949, Kuzma returned to Michigan and went into the steel business in Detroit. He remained in the steel business until 1979. He next co-founded a chemical coatings company where he worked until his retirement in 1987. He also served as president of the University of Michigan's "M" Club.
Kuzma died at age 74 in Cape Coral, Florida
.
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 for 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...
. He was the starting left 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 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...
's Michigan
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 in 1941 and 1942.
Kuzma was a native of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
. He attended Emerson High School in Gary, where he was an all-state fullback and starred in three sports—football, basketball and track. Football Hall of Famer 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...
also haled from Gary. Harmon graduated in 1937 and 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...
. Kuzma graduated two years later and followed Harmon to Michigan. Kuzma was six-feet, three-inches tall, and weighed 195 pounds as a player at Michigan.
Kuzma followed Harmon as Michigan's principal running back in 1941, and comparisons to Harmon were inevitable. Kuzma lacked Harmon's blazing speed and was instead a power-runner who ran through and over the opposition. As NEA Sports Editor Harry Grayson
Harry Grayson
Harry Markey Grayson was an American sportswriter. He was the sports editor of the Newspaper Enterprise Association from 1934 to 1963.-Baseball:* , February 5, 1936*, March 18, 1938...
put it, "He's a smacker from Smackersville." Aside from his ability as a power runner, Kuzma was a good passer, solid defender, and also served as the Wolverines punter and punt returner. He was considered the Wolverines' best punter since Harry Kipke played for Michigan 20 years earlier. In a 1941 game against Northwestern, Kuzma punted the ball 53 yards with the ball going out of bounds at the Northwestern four-yard line; Crisler called the kick "miraculous." In the same game, he threw two touchdown passes, including a 46-yard pass in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game winner as Michigan edged Northwestern, 14-7.
In his first four games as a starter in 1941, Kuzma scored five touchdowns and passed for two more. By mid-season, the 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...
ran a feature story on Kuzma, reporting that "this 19-year-old gridder had surpassed Harmon's sophomore record in scoring, had neared his first-year passing mark and had become one of the Western Conference's greatest kickers." Kuzma had a solid sophomore year, rushing for an average of 4.3 yards per carry and finishing second in the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
in total offense yards per game.
Kuzma attended the school of business administration at Michigan and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
.
Kuzma was inducted into the military in 1943 and subsequently drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1944 NFL draft. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kuzma returned to the University of Michigan to complete his degree, but he did not return to the football team. He graduated in 1947 and chose not to play football professionally but rather served as an assistant football coach at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
from 1947-1948. In 1949, Kuzma returned to Michigan and went into the steel business in Detroit. He remained in the steel business until 1979. He next co-founded a chemical coatings company where he worked until his retirement in 1987. He also served as president of the University of Michigan's "M" Club.
Kuzma died at age 74 in Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
.