Emil Martin "Red" Sitko (September 7, 1923 – December 15, 1973) 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. Born in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

on September 7, 1923. He was of Polish descent. He earned the nickname of "Red" due to his red hair. He attended Central High School in Fort Wayne. At only 5'8" and 180 pounds he was not considered a big man. "Emil wasn't very big as football players go -- even for those days", Irish coach

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to 1940 and at ...

once said. "But he was the fastest starting back I ever coached." Emil Sitko served in a military capacity during World War II and did not enter directly into college. While in the military, Sitko made a name for himself on the Great Lakes Navy football team, where, in 1943, he scored a touchdown and had an interception against a previously undefeated Notre Dame team. Upon coming out of service in World War II, he enrolled at Notre Dame as a 23-year-old freshman. He was a starter on the football team three years at right half and one year at fullback from 1946 to 1949. In those four years the Notre Dame record was 36–0–2. Besides his nickname of "Red", he was known in football as "Six- Yard Sitko." He led his team in rushing all four years and his career average was 6.1 yards a try. In 1949, he also led the team in kickoff returns, averaging 22 yards. He made the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

teams of the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' and the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

in 1948 and was unanimous All-America in 1949. Emil also finished eighth in the 1949

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

voting behind teammate

Leon Hart Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American football end. He won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award while at the University of Notre Dame in 1949 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight se ...

. Sitko still stands seventh on Notre Dame's career rushing charts. Sitko played three seasons in the NFL for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

before retiring and returning to his hometown to work in the auto sales business. He died in 1973, at age 50, after a heart attack. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1984 and

National Polish-American Sports 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 ...

in 2020.

References

External links

* * * 1923 births 1973 deaths All-American college football players American football fullbacks American football halfbacks United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Polish descent Chicago Cardinals players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Norman Naval Air Station Zoomers football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Fort Wayne, Indiana Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football players San Francisco 49ers players {{Runningback-1920s-stub