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Johnny Kovatch

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For the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers player, see John Kovatch.

Johnny Kovatch
No. 16
Position:End
Personal information
Born:(1912-06-06)June 6, 1912
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Died:October 11, 2013(2013-10-11) (aged 101)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:Central (South Bend, Indiana)
College:Northwestern
NFL draft:1938 / round: 7 / pick: 57
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
As an administrator:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:8
Receiving yards:97
Touchdowns:1

John Paul Kovatch (June 6, 1912 – October 11, 2013) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally for six games as an end for the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL) during their 1938 season. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 1938 NFL draft.[1] His tenure with the Rams ended in October 1938, when he fractured his backbone and was injured for the remainder of the season.[2]

Kovatch was born in South Bend, Indiana and played football at Central High School.[3] Prior to his professional career he was an end on the Northwestern Wildcats football team from 1935 through 1937.[4] In 1936 he was selected as a second-team All-American.[5]

Kovatch began his coaching career in 1939 when he was hired as an assistant football coach at Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan.[6] He resigned from his post at Owosso the next year and returned to Northwestern in the summer of 1940 to complete work towards a master's degree.[7] That fall, he went to Saginaw High School in Saginaw, Michigan to teach biology and served as an assistant football coach.[8]

In 1941, Kovatch was hired as the line coach for the football team at Illinois Wesleyan University to assist his former teammate at Northwestern, Don Heap, who was the school's head football coach. He succeeded Bob Voigts.[9] Kovatch also coached track and baseball at Illinois Wesleyan. In January 1942, he succeeded Heap, who joined United States Navy Reserve, as head football coach and athletic director.[10] However, in April of that year, Kovatch left Illinois Wesleyan to become ends coach at Indiana University, assisting head football coach Bo McMillin.[11] In April 1944, he was called to serve in the United States Army during World War II.[12]

Kovatch stayed at Indiana until March 1947, when he joined the coaching staff of his alma mater, Northwestern University.[4] He remained there until February 1955 and was hired as an end coach at the University of Nebraska the following month.[13] Less than a year later, in January 1956, he joined the staff at the University of Kansas.[14]

Personal life and death

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Kovatch married Rowena La Vergne Loop, on August 19, 1939, at Central Methodist Church in Superior, Wisconsin.[15] He died on October 11, 2013.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "1938 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Kovatch Out for Season". The New York Times. October 7, 1938.
  3. ^ "Name Kovatch End Coach on Indiana Staff". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. April 7, 1942. p. 19. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  4. ^ a b "Northwestern Names Kovatch Line Coach". The Vindicator. Youngstown, Ohio. March 12, 1947. p. 14. Retrieved June 2, 2013 – via Google News.
  5. ^ "New Grid Coach..." Indiana Alumni Magazine. 9 (8): 15. 1947. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Kovatch Engaged As Owosso Coach". The Saginaw News. Saginaw, Michigan. April 28, 1939. p. 17. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  7. ^ "Young's Yarns". The Daily Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. July 9, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  8. ^ "What Would a College All-Star Camp Be Like Without Kovatch". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. August 11, 1940. p. 2, part 2. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  9. ^ "John Kovatch New Wesleyan Line Coach". The Daily Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. March 12, 1941. p. 11. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  10. ^ Overaker, Bob (January 22, 1942). "Kovatch Named Football Coach At Illinois Wesleyan". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. p. 8. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  11. ^ "John Kovatch to Coach Ends for Bo McMillian". Indianapolis News. Indianapolis, Indiana. April 7, 1942. p. 10. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  12. ^ "Kovatch, Indiana Aide, Enters Army Apr. 21". Milwaukee Journal. Journal Communications. April 11, 1944. p. 2. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  13. ^ "Sports in Brief". The Christian Science Monitor. March 1, 1955. p. 19.
  14. ^ "John Kovatch Named Kansas Grid Coach". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. United Press. January 29, 1956. p. 6, part IV. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  15. ^ "Rowena Loop, Teacher Here, Wed Recently". Rhinelander Daily News. Rhinelander, Wisconsin. August 22, 1939. p. 3. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  16. ^ "John Kovatch Obituary". Santa Barbara News-Press. Santa Barbara, California. November 8, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Legacy.com.
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