Michael A. Kostiuk (August 1, 1919 – July 26, 2015) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-born

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player who was an

offensive tackle 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 ...

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).

Personal life

Kostiuk was born in Krydor,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. He grew up in

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 ...

, United States, a community mainly of Polish immigrants and their children but with some other Ukrainins, adjacent to Detroit after his family moved from Canada when he was 5. He died of heart failure in 2015 in

Sterling Heights, Michigan Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 134,346. It is the second largest suburb in Metro Detroit, and the fourth la ...

. He was the oldest living Detroit Lion when he died.

Football

Kostiuk attended

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 ...

from 1934–1937, where he made All-City in 1935 and 1936, Detroit Tech from 1937-1940 on a

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 ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. In 1939, he earned a position on the Little All-American Team. The players on this elite team were chosen from Class B colleges throughout the country. He left Detroit Tech in 1941 to play for the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 194 ...

. In 1942 he entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and continued his football career there, making the Armed Forces All-Star team in 1943. After leaving the Army in 1945, he signed 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 ...

. In 1946 he joined the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He played a total of seven

games with the

and two

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 ...

games with the

and one with the Cleveland Rams. On November 6, 1986, he was inducted into the Hamtramck High School Sports Hall of Fame.

References

1919 births 2015 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States American people of Ukrainian descent Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Gridiron football people from Saskatchewan American football offensive linemen Detroit Lions players Buffalo Bisons (AAFC) players Detroit Institute of Technology alumni Cleveland Rams players People from Hamtramck, Michigan United States Army personnel of World War II Canadian players of American football Players of American football from Michigan {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub