Victor John Kulbitski (June 15, 1921 – May 23, 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 ...

player who played three seasons with the Buffalo Bisons/Bills of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC). He 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 ...

and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Early life and college

Victor John Kulbitski was born on June 15, 1921, in

Virginia, Minnesota Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Iron Range's commercial center. The population was ...

. He attended

Red Wing High School Red Wing High School is a liberal arts, public high school located in the Mississippi embayment, Mississippi River Valley, 50 miles southeast of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, United States. The school is p ...

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in and the county seat of Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropo ...

. Kulbitski first played

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

, and was a two-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 ...

from 1941 to 1942. The 1941 Golden Gophers were consensus national champions. He then transferred to the

, where he played for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

during the 1943 season. The 1943 Fighting Irish were consensus national champions. He then transferred back to the University of Minnesota, and was a letterman again from 1944 to 1945.

Professional career

Kulbitski was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the seventh round, with the 58th overall pick, of the

1944 NFL draft The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1944 draft was officially called the "1943 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league. ...

. He signed with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

in 1946. He played in 13 games, starting eight, for the Bisons during the 1946 season, recording 97 carries for 605 yards and two touchdowns, one catch for no yards, one interception for 20 yards, and five kick returns for 81 yards. Kulbitski's 6.2 yards per carry were the most in the league that year. He appeared in 13 games, starting seven, for the newly-renamed Buffalo Bills during the 1947 season, totaling 56 rushing attempts for 249 yards and one touchdown, nine receptions for 117 yards and four touchdowns, one interception for 14 yards, one kick return for 19 yards, one punt return for 13 yards, and one of one extra points. He played in all 14 games, starting six, in 1948, accumulating 40 rushes for 152 yards, three catches for 37 yards, one kick return for 18 yards, eight of ten extra points. Kulbitski also appeared in two playoff games that year, rushing two times for one yard while also catching one pass for 14 yards.

Personal life

Kulbitski 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 May 23, 1998, in West St. Paul, Minnesota.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulbitski, Vic 1921 births 1998 deaths Players of American football from Minnesota American football fullbacks American football linebackers Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Buffalo Bisons (AAFC) players Buffalo Bills (AAFC) players Sportspeople from Virginia, Minnesota United States Marine Corps personnel