No. 22 | |
Date of birth | May 10, 1910 |
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Date of death | January 7, 1978 | (aged 67)
Place of death | Detroit, Michigan |
Career information | |
Position(s) | Guard |
Height | 6 ft 10.5 in (210 cm) |
Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
College | Michigan |
Career history | |
As player | |
1934 | Ottawa Rough Riders |
John F. Kowalik, Sr. (May 10, 1910 – January 7, 1978) was an American football player. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1931 to 1933. During Kowalik's three seasons as a starter, the Michigan football team compiled a record of 23–1–2, including consecutive national championships for the 1932 and 1933 teams. He was a teammate of future President of the United States Gerald Ford on the 1932 and 1933 Michigan teams. While at Michigan, Kowalik was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the Druids. He graduated from Michigan in 1934 with a bachelor of science degree in education. He played professional football for the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1934. His son, John F. Kowalik, Jr., played college football as a halfback for the University of Michigan from 1960 to 1962. He lived in Franklin, Michigan in his later years and died in January 1978 in Detroit, Michigan.