Ronald Michael Kostelnik (January 14, 1940 - January 29, 1993) was an American football player, 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 ...

in the National Football League for eight seasons with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and one with 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 ...

Early years

Born in

Colver, Pennsylvania Colver is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 959 at the 2010 census. Colver got its name from B. Dawson Coleman and John Heisley Weaver, using the firs ...

, Kostelnik was the son of a Polish American miner. He graduated from

Central Cambria High School Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

in 1957 and 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 Cincinnati.

Playing career

Kostelnik was selected in the second round of the

1961 NFL draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regula ...

, 26th overall, by the Packers. For his first several seasons, he backed up veteran Dave Hanner, then became a starter in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. Alongside Willie Davis, Henry Jordan, and

Lionel Aldridge Lionel Aldridge (February 14, 1941 – February 12, 1998) was an American professional football player,''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League.'' New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553. a defensive end in the Nat ...

, Kostelnik was the unheralded member of the Green Bay defensive line. Teammate

Jerry Kramer Gerald Louis Kramer (born January 23, 1936) is a former professional American football player, author and sports commentator, best remembered for his 11-year National Football League (NFL) career with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive linema ...

said of him: "There aren't statistics for steady dependable guys who plug up the middle and allow other guys to excel. But that's what Ron did." In his eight seasons in Green Bay, the Packers won five NFL championships and the first two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

s. He was traded in August

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

to the

, then retired after the season.

After football

With a bachelor's and master's degree in education from Cincinnati, Kostelnik planned to be a school administrator. He began working for Mainline Industrial Distributors Inc. of

Appleton Appleton may refer to: People *Appleton (surname) Places Australia * Appleton Dock Canada * Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador * Appleton, Ontario United Kingdom * Appleton, a deserted medieval village site in the parish of Flitcham w ...

in sales in the off-season in 1965, became president in 1970, and later was its chief executive officer.

Death

While returning to Wisconsin from a Florida vacation with his wife Peggy in 1993, Kostelnik suffered a fatal heart attack and lost control of his car on Interstate 75 in Scott County, Kentucky. He was age 53 and was survived by his wife, three daughters, and a son.

References

External links

* 1940 births 1993 deaths American football defensive tackles Baltimore Colts players Cincinnati Bearcats football players Green Bay Packers players Road incident deaths in Kentucky People from Cambria County, Pennsylvania American people of Polish descent Players of American football from Pennsylvania {{defensive-lineman-1940s-stub