Walter John Matuszczak later changed the spelling of his last name to Matuszak (February 5, 1918 – November 18, 2001) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and veterinarian. Founder of DeWitt Animal Hospital in New York, he practiced there until 1971. Dr. Matuszak owned Wa-Noa Golf Club in

East Syracuse, New York East Syracuse is an incorporated village and a suburb of the City of Syracuse in eastern Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,078. It is located immediately east of Syracuse, in the town of De ...

. A

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 ...

veteran, Dr. Matuszak served as a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. A native of

Lowville, New York Lowville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 4,888 at the 2020 census,

, son of a Polish immigrants- Kasper J. Matuszczak and Marianna; Matuszczak was the youngest of twelve children. 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 ...

for the

Cornell Big Red football The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Division I (NCAA)#Football Championship Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college fo ...

team and was selected by the ''

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'' as the first-team quarterback on the

1939 College Football All-America Team The 1939 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1939. The nine selectors recognized by the ...

. He was named to the Second 1939 College Football All Polish-American Team. He was also elected as the captain of Cornell's 1940 football team. He also played for Cornell's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

teams. He was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979.
Graduation from Cornell in 1941 - the same year he was selected by the

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in the 10th round of the draft - he entered the

New York State College of Veterinary Medicine The New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is a statutory college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1894, it is the first statutory college of the State University of New Yo ...

, where he graduated in 1943. He married Mildred C. Nohle on August 22, 1942; two daughters: Judith L. Hodhe, Diane J. Tsibulsky, two sons: W. David Matuszak, Charles Matuszak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matuszczak, Walter 1918 births 2001 deaths American football quarterbacks American veterinarians Cornell Big Red football players People from Lowville, New York Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine alumni Players of American football from New York (state) American people of Polish descent