Mirko Jurkovic (May 19, 1970 – January 9, 2013) 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 guard 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 ...

who played

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 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 ...

and attended

Thornton Fractional North High School Thornton Fractional North High School (T.F. North, TF North, TFN; formerly Thornton Fractional Township High School) is a Public Secondary school in Calumet City, Illinois. It first opened its doors in March 1926. The school serves Calumet C ...

Calumet City, Illinois Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the ninth round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

College career

Jurkovic played for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...

from 1988 to 1991. He was a consensus All-American in 1991. He was a backup lineman on the 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football national championship team. Jurkovic was named Notre Dame lineman of the year by Moose Krause Chapter of the National Football Hall of Fame as a senior in 1991 and played in the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

in 1992.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Jurkovic was selected by the Chicago Bears in the ninth round with the 246th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.

Personal life

He died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

on January 9, 2013. He is the brother of NFL player

John Jurkovic Ivan "John" Jurkovic (born August 18, 1967) is a former American football player currently employed as a broadcaster. He grew up in Calumet City, Illinois. Jurkovic played professionally as a defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers, Jack ...

. His son Mirko Jurkovic, Jr. plays on the offensive line at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Mirko also had two daughters, Claire and Sammie.

References

External links

Fanbase profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurkovic, Mirko 1970 births 2013 deaths All-American college football players American football offensive guards Deaths from colorectal cancer Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players People from Calumet City, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois American people of Croatian descent Deaths from cancer in Indiana