Frank Leon Kosikowski (July 23, 1926 – November 17, 1991) 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 ...

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who was on two Notre Dame national championship teams in the 1940s and played professionally for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in 1948. Kosikowski grew up outside of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and was a star on his high school football team. He attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

, but his college football career was derailed by service in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he transferred to Notre Dame, where he played under 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 ...

and won two national championships. He was drafted by the

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

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC) in 1947, but the Browns acquired him in 1948. He stayed in Cleveland for the 1948 season, when the team won all of its games and the AAFC championship.

Early life and college

Kosikowski was born in

Cudahy, Wisconsin Cudahy () is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,204 at the 2020 census. History Originally known as the Buckhorn Settlement, it was renamed in the late 1800s when Patrick Cudahy purchased of land in the ...

and attended

Cudahy High School Cudahy High School is a public high school which serves Cudahy, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee in southeastern Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It is the only high school in the Cudahy School District. The school athletic teams are known as the Pa ...

, where he played football as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

. He also

boxed Boxed may refer to: * Boxed.com, a wholesale on-line shopping site. * ''Boxed'' (Eurythmics), an eight album box set * ''Boxed'' (Mike Oldfield album) * Boxed warning In the United States, a boxed warning (sometimes "black box warning", colloq ...

for three years and broke the school record in the 220-yard dash. Kosikowski was the captain of the football team and was named to ''

The Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' and ''

The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' all-suburban first-teams in 1943. After graduating in 1944, Kosikowski went to

and continued his playing career as an end on the

Golden Eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

football team. He missed playing time due to injury in the 1944 season, when Marquette won just one game. Kosikowski joined the

the following year as

wore on, and was stationed at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

, where

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...

was coaching a military football team. He was quickly transferred to a Navy base in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, however, and played for a Fleet City team at

Camp Shoemaker Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army base located in Dublin, California, that is currently an active military and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case o ...

that won the service championship in 1945. Kosikowski transferred in 1946 to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, which was regrouping under head coach

after losing many of its best players to the war effort. Kosikowski, who was a second-team end, caused a stir that November when he collided with and injured Notre Dame's star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Johnny Lujack John Christopher Lujack (pronounced Lu' jack; born January 4, 1925) is a former American football quarterback and defensive back who won the 1947 Heisman Trophy; he is currently the oldest living recipient of the Heisman Trophy. Lujack played c ...

, in practice before a crucial matchup against

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Lujack played in the game nonetheless, and Notre Dame finished the season with an 8–0–1 win-loss-tie record. The team was chosen by the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' as the winner of the

college football national championship A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best co ...

. Kosikowski stayed at Notre Dame for the 1947 season, when the team went undefeated and again won the national championship.

Professional career

Kosikowski had been drafted by the

of the

(AAFC) in 1947, and joined the team in 1948. After playing in one game for the Bills, he was acquired by the

, an AAFC team coached by Paul Brown. Kosikowski was used as a

by the Browns as the team won all of its games in the 1948 season. The Browns beat the Bills to win that year's championship. Kosikowski was moved in 1949 to the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

as part of an effort to bring more competitive balance to the AAFC, but he decided to quit before the season started.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosikowski, Frank 1926 births 1991 deaths Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players People from Cudahy, Wisconsin Players of American football from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Marquette Golden Avalanche football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Navy personnel of World War II