Tom Nowatzke was a hard-hitting NFL running back who played for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts. He starred at Indiana University and was the Big Ten’s rushing leader and first team All-America in 1964.
Selected by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the ’65 NFL Draft, Nowatzke earned his reputation within the NFL as a bruising fullback, tenacious blocker, and excellent receiver coming out of the backfield.
Nowatzke was the leading rusher in Super Bowl V, scoring the game tying touchdown that ultimately led to a 16-13 Colts victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Nowatzke is currently Vice President of the Detroit Lions Alumni Association.
Casimir (Jim) Konstanty pitched for five major league teams between 1944 and 1956, posting a 66-48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games.
In World Series play he threw 15 innings, with a 2.40 ERA. He was best known for his amazing 1950 season, when he was selected as The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, AP Athlete of the Year and became the first relief pitcher to win the MVP Award.
To date, only three other relievers (Rollie Fingers, Willie Hernandez and Dennis Eckersley) have ever won the award.
The Inductees will be honored at the 36th Annual Induction Banquet on Thursday, June 12th, at the American-Polish Cultural Center in Troy, MI. Tickets for the banquet, which begins at 6 p.m., are $85, which includes an open bar and traditional Polish family-style dinner.
Christian Laettner
Former college basketball great and NBA all-star Christian Laettner, Women’s Champion Bowler Aleta Rzepecki-Sill, former NFL standout Tom Nowatzke and major league relief pitcher Jim Konstanty have been elected into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
The election of Laettner, Rzepecki-Sill, Nowatzke and Konstanty brings the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame roster to 111. Laettner and Rzepecki-Sill were elected from the NPASHF national ballot. Nowatzke was selected by the Hall’s Veterans Committee, and Konstanty enters as the Hall’s “Greats of the Past” selection.