Archie John Kodros (January 20, 1918 – June 4, 1990) was an American

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 ...

player and coach. He played for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

football team from 1937 to 1939 and was selected as a first-team All-American and team captain in his senior year. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, Kodros worked as a football coach at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

(1948–1950),

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(1951), and

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

(1952–1965).

Athlete

Kodros grew up in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

and graduated from Alton High School in 1936. Kodros played football in high school and had an offer to play for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

He chose instead to play for the

because they had a tradition of having great

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

s. Kodros worked his way into the starting line-up at Michigan as a sophomore walk-on in 1937. He played at the center position for Michigan from 1937 to 1939 and was the captain of the 1939 Michigan Wolverines football team. He played on the line with

Forest Evashevski Forest "Evy" Evashevski (February 19, 1918 – October 30, 2009) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight ...

and

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), nicknamed "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon played college football as a halfback for the Michigan Wolverines from ...

in the backfield. In 1939, one Ohio sports reporter credited Kodros with a share of Harmon's success: "One reason why Tom Harmon plays so sensationally each Saturday is shown here. The Michigan line, led by Captain Archie Kodros, No. 53, blocks beautifully and opens the way for Tom to get into the secondary, where the star Wolverine back can peddle his own papers." In his final game for Michigan, Kodros intercepted a pass deep in Michigan's territory off

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

's All-American quarterback, Don Scott, to help lead the Wolverines to a 21–14 win over the Buckeyes. Kodros received honorable mentions on several All-American teams and was selected as a first-team All-American by

Bill Stern Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 – November 19, 1971) was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscaste ...

for ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine. He ranked third in the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

All-American voting with 146 points in a close finish behind John Haman on Northwestern (213 points) and John Schiechl of Santa Clara (148 points).

Coaching career and military service

Kodros was drafted by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the 1940 NFL draft (159th overall pick), but he declined the invitation and opted instead to work toward at master's degree in business at Michigan. He later recalled: "I figured I was better off starting in business Pro football didn't pay that much back then because there were only eight teams and television hadn't started by 1940. Maybe you could play a few years in the NFL back then, but then where were you? I said the heck with the pros. I didn't even go for my interview." While studying toward his master's degree, Kodros also worked as an assistant football coach at Michigan under

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler ( ; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football", an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and ...

in 1940 and 1941. During

, Kodros served in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and participated in the invasion of Italy. He played for an Army All-Star football team in 1942 that defeated 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

12 to 10. At the end of the war, he played for an Air Force team called the Second Air Force Superbombers. In 1948, Kodros was hired as the line coach and assistant professor of physical education at

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

. He became Whitman's head football coach in 1949 and added the title of athletic director in 1950. In May 1951, Kodros was hired as the athletic director and head football coach of the

. He compiled a record of 4 wins and 7 losses at Hawaii. In February 1952, he announced his resignation from Hawaii, and in April 1952, he was hired by his former teammate,

, who had been named head football coach at the

. Kodros served as an assistant football coach at Iowa from 1952 through 1965.

Later years and family

Kodros was married to the former Effie Virginia Jowett on July 10, 1943. The couple had four children, sons Paul, Rodney and Robert, and daughter, Marijo Mihalopoulos. After Kodros retired from coaching, he and his wife owned and operated the Hilltop Mobile Home Park in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

. He retired in 1985 and continued to live in Iowa City. In 1990, Kodros died at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City after a long illness with cancer. He was survived by his wife, two sons (Rodney and Robert), a daughter (Marijo), two grandchildren and three sisters.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kodros, Archie 1918 births 1990 deaths American football centers Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine athletic directors Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Second Air Force Superbombers football players Whitman Blues athletic directors Whitman Fighting Missionaries football coaches United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Alton, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Educators from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Deaths from cancer in Iowa