Edward Leonard Klewicki (May 6, 1912 – July 20, 1997) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. Of Polish descent, he is in the

National Polish-American Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field of ...

. Klewicki was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and moved to

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

with his family at a young age. At the time, Hamtramck was an enclave of Polish immigrants in the Detroit area. He graduated from

Hamtramck High School Hamtramck High School is a public high school in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States in Metro Detroit. It is a part of Hamtramck Public Schools. History Hamtramck High School was originally located on Wyandotte and Hewitt Streets. In 1925 655 stu ...

in 1929. During his high school career, he was the

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

on the school's first championship

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team and starred in the

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

for the football team. Klewicki got his school's top graduation honour for combining accomplishment in scholarship, athletics and citizenship. Klewicki moved on the play

College football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Michigan State College (later to become

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

). His college coach,

Charles Bachman Charles William Bachman III (December 11, 1924 – July 13, 2017) was an American computer scientist, who spent his entire career as an industrial researcher, developer, and manager rather than in academia. He was particularly known for his ...

, rated Klewicki as the best defensive end he had ever coached. ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'' selected him to the second-team 1934 College Football All-America Team, and he was named MVP of the 1934 Michigan State Spartans football team. In 1935, Klewicki signed a pro contract with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and was a member of the NFL's World Championship team that season. He continued to play pro football through the 1938 season. Klewicki earned a B.S. degree from Michigan State and attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

for post-graduate work. He served in a number of positions including president of the Michigan State Varsity Alumni for two years as well as secretary for the same club for four years. In addition, he served as president of the Detroit Lions Alumni and the president of the Lansing Country Club. Klewicki played a key role in the Detroit Lions' 26–7 triumph over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

for the National Football League crown on a raw, gloomy afternoon at the

University of Detroit Stadium University of Detroit Stadium, also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, or Dinan Field, was an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan. The stadium ...

before 15,000 fans on December 19, 1935. In the early minutes of play, Lions' coach

Potsy Clark George M. "Potsy" Clark (March 20, 1894 – November 8, 1972) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University, ( ...

decided to surprise the Giants with a shotgun offense.

Glenn Presnell Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell (July 28, 1905 – September 13, 2004) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the ...

, the Lions' passer, fired a long pass intended for Klewicki, but the ball hit New York Giants'

Ed Danowski Edward Frank Danowski (September 30, 1911 – February 1, 1997) was an American football player who played quarterback and halfback in the National Football League (NFL). He grew up in Aquebogue, his father, Anton, was a Polish immigrant. Foot ...

's chest. The ball squirted high in the air, but Klewicki reached out quickly, gathered the ball in and put the Lions into scoring position from the two-yard line.

Ace Gutowsky LeRoy Erwin "Ace" Gutowsky (August 2, 1909 – December 4, 1976) was a Russian-American professional American football fullback. He played professional football for eight years from 1932 to 1939 and set the NFL career rushing record in Oct ...

plunged for a touchdown, Presnell kicked the extra point and the Lions led 7–0 on their way to the championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klewicki, Ed 1912 births 1997 deaths American football ends Detroit Lions players Michigan State Spartans football players Purdue University alumni People from Hamtramck, Michigan Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan Players of American football from Pennsylvania American people of Polish descent