Kenneth Conrad Kortas (May 17, 1942 – October 15, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for six seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

from 1964 to 1969.

Early life

Kortas was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, United States, on May 17, 1942. He attended Taft High School in his hometown. He then studied at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1963. There, he played football for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

and received

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 ...

n honors. He was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

in the third round (18th overall) of the 1964 American Football League draft, but did not sign. He was also selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (ninth overall) of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL dra ...

, becoming the sixth player from Louisville to be drafted in the NFL. At the time of his death, Kortas was the highest NFL draft selection from the university.

Professional career

During his 1964 rookie season, Kortas played in 14 games (5 starts) and was credited with 0.5 sacks. He was traded to the

on February 17, 1965, in exchange for

Terry Nofsinger William Terry Nofsinger (July 13, 1938October 2, 2007) was a professional American football player who played quarterback for seven seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1961–1964), the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL), St. Louis Cardinals (1965–1966 ...

. He recorded 2 fumble recoveries and 2 sacks in 14 games (10 starts) in his first season with the franchise, before registering a career-high 7 sacks the following year. In the 1967 season, he started all 14 games as he was tied for the league lead in fumble return touchdowns (1), along with 3.5 sacks and 5 fumble return yards. He played one more season with the Steelers, and was traded to the

two weeks before the start of the 1969 season, having been displaced as defensive tackle by new coach Chuck Noll in favor of Joe Greene. Kortas played just three games with the Bears, before retiring from professional football in 1970. He was inducted into Louisville's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979.

Personal life

Kortas was married to Judith Ann Kortas for 33 years until his death. Together, they had one daughter. Kortas speculated in

futures exchange A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or f ...

s during his playing career and lost money speculating on hog futures after the 1965 season. He resided in suburban

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, during his later years. Kortas died on October 15, 2022, at the Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Louisville. He was 80 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kortas, Ken 1942 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Chicago American football defensive tackles Louisville Cardinals football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Pittsburgh Steelers players Chicago Bears players Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky University of Louisville alumni