Joe Kopcha

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Joe Kopcha
Position (s):
Guard 		Jersey number (s):
29
born December 23, 1905 in Whiting, Indiana, USA
died on July 29, 1986 in Hobart, Indiana, USA
Career information
Active : 1929 - 1936
College : University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Teams

Career statistics
Games     72
as a starter     56
-     -
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards

Joseph Edward "Joe" Kopcha (born December 23, 1905 in Whiting , Indiana , † July 29, 1986 in Hobart , Indiana) was an American American football player and doctor . He played as a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions .

Player career

Joe Kopcha attended high school in his hometown and played basketball for the school team . From 1921 to 1924, he won the Northern Indiana basketball championship four times as the team's captain. His high school didn't have a football team.

His father sent him to Englewood Business College in Chicago after he graduated from high school . After a few days he broke off his business studies and joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for whose football team he played as a guard from 1927 to 1929. In addition to football, he played other sports at college . In total, he has received awards from his college ten times for his athletic achievements.

After finishing his studies, Joseph Kopcha was hired by the Chicago Bears in 1929 . Kopcha was used by coach George Halas as a guard, among other things to protect quarterback Joey Sternaman . After a year of play, he interrupted his playing career and studied medicine at Rush Medical College . After successfully completing his medical degree, he returned to the Bears, who have now been trained by Ralph Jones . The team from Chicago had numerous later members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame , such as Red Grange or Bronko Nagurski in their ranks. In the year of his return to football, Kopcha won his first NFL championship with the Bears .

In 1933 Halas returned to the coaching position with the Bears. Kopcha was able to move into the first championship game in NFL history with his team. Opponents were the New York Giants , who were beaten 23:21. The following year, the Bears had to admit defeat to the Giants in the NFL final by 30:13. After another playing year with the Bears, Kopcha moved to the Detroit Lions. After the 1936 season he ended his playing career there.

After the career

After finishing his playing career, Kopcha worked as a doctor in a hospital. During World War II , he served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific. He coached a football team in Brisbane , Australia in 1944 . Immediately after the war, he worked as an ambulance in Texas. He then moved to Gary and worked there as a surgeon and obstetrician . Kopcha was married and had four children. His final resting place was in Ridgelawn Cemetery , Gary.

Honors

Joe Kopcha has been voted All-Star four times . He is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and the UC / UTC All-Century Football Team.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistics of the Bears 1932
  2. ↑ Statistics of the Bears 1933
  3. ↑ Statistics of the Bears 1934
  4. ↑ Joe Kopcha's grave in the Find a Grave database

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kopcha, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kopcha, Joseph Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player and surgeon
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Whiting, Indiana , USA
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1986
Place of death Hobart, Indiana , USA