Rudolph H. Sikich (February 12, 1921 – January 4, 1998) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tackle who played one season with the Cleveland Rams of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Brooklyn Tigers in the fourth round of the 1944 NFL draft. Sikich played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Early life and college

Rudolph H. Sikich was born on February 12, 1921, in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range an ...

. He attended Hibbing High School in Hibbing. In 2000, he was inducted into the Hibbing High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Sikich was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

of the

from 1941 to 1944. The 1941 Golden Gophers were national champions.

Professional career

Sikich was selected by the Brooklyn Tigers in the fourth round, with the 29th overall pick, of the 1944 NFL draft. He signed with the Cleveland Rams in 1945. He played in six games, starting two, for the Rams during the 1945 season and recovered one fumble. Sikich also played in the 1945 NFL Championship Game, a 15–14 victory over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Sikich signed with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in 1946 but was later released. He signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in 1947 but was released again.

Personal life

Sikich served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. He died on January 4, 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikich, Rudy 1921 births 1998 deaths Players of American football from Minnesota American football tackles Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Cleveland Rams players Pittsburgh Steelers players Los Angeles Rams players Sportspeople from Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing High School alumni United States Marine Corps personnel