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Dick Kazmaier

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Dick Kazmaier
Kazmaier, c. 1951
No. 42
PositionHalfback
Personal information
Born(1930-11-23)November 23, 1930
Maumee, Ohio, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2013(2013-08-01) (aged 82)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight171 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolMaumee
College
Awards and highlights
College Football Hall of Fame

Richard William Kazmaier Jr. (November 23, 1930 – August 1, 2013) was an American businessman and naval lieutenant. He played college football as a halfback for the Princeton Tigers from 1949 through 1951 and was the winner of the 1951 Heisman Trophy,[1][2] the Maxwell Award, and the AP Male Athlete of the Year.

Early life, family and education

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Kazmaier was born November 23, 1930, in Maumee, Ohio,[3] the only child of Richard William Kazmaier Sr. (1903–1989) and Marian A. Kazmaier (née Greenlese; 1903–1957).[4] At Maumee High School, he played football (four years), basketball (four years), track and field (four years), baseball (four years) and golf (one year), earning a letter each year in each sport. He graduated high school in 1948. He was recruited by 23 colleges, most offering full scholarships.[5]

Kazmaier graduated with a degree in psychology[3] from Princeton in 1952 after completing a senior thesis, "The Company and the Union: A Case Study".[6] The Chicago Bears selected him in the 1952 NFL draft, but he declined to play professional football, instead going to Harvard Business School.[3]

He spent three years in the U.S. Navy (1955–1957), attaining the rank of lieutenant.

College football

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A halfback, kicker, and quarterback at Princeton University, Kazmaier ended his career third all-time in Tigers' history with over 4,000 yards of offense and 55 touchdowns.

As a senior in 1951, Kazmaier was a consensus All-American and won the Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy. He was named Ivy League Football Player of the Decade in 1960 and Time magazine ran his picture on its cover.[7] He was the last Heisman Trophy winner to play for an Ivy League institution.[8]

Career

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After his discharge from the navy, he worked in sports marketing and consulting, then founded Kazmaier Associates,[3] an investment firm in Concord, Massachusetts.[9]

Kazmaier served as a director of the American Red Cross, director of the Ladies Professional Golfers Association, trustee of Princeton University, director of the Knight Foundation on Intercollegiate Athletics, chairman of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and president of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

Honors and awards

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In addition to his Heisman, the NCAA gave him its Silver Anniversary Award. He also received the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award.[10]

In 2007, during a Maumee football game against Perrysburg, Kazmaier was honored by having his jersey number (#42) retired. Princeton retired his #42 for all sports in October 2008.[11] He donated his Heisman Trophy to Maumee High School, where it is displayed inside a glass case in the main hallway.[12] The stadium at Maumee High School is named in his honor.

Personal

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Kazmaier and his wife Patricia were married for 60 years.[3] They had six daughters.[3] Kazmaier's daughter, Patty Kazmaier-Sandt, was an All-Ivy member of the Princeton women's ice hockey team who died in 1990 at age 28 from a rare blood disease. Kazmaier established the Patty Kazmaier Award to memorialize his daughter. It is given to the top woman US college ice hockey player at the annual Women's Frozen Four NCAA championship.[13]

Kazmaier died on August 1, 2013, in Boston from heart and lung disease at the age of 82.[14][3]

Honors

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Dick Kazmeier wins Heisman award". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. December 5, 1951. p. 37.
  2. ↑ "Kazmeier wins Heisman Trophy". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 5, 1951. p. 49.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Litsky, Frank (August 1, 2013). "Dick Kazmaier, a Heisman Winner Who Passed on the N.F.L., Dies at 82". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "Dick Kazmaier; 1930-2013: Maumee star won Heisman". Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Richard William Kazmaier". maumee.k12.oh.us. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011.
  6. ↑ Kazmaier, Richard William Jr. "The Company and the Union: A Case Study". Department of Psychology, Princeton University.
  7. ↑ "1951 - 17th Award: Richard Kazmaier". Heisman.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  8. ↑ World Almanac and Book of Facts 2005. World Almanac Books. 2005. p. 978.
  9. ↑ "Illustrious Maumee graduate will present school with copy of his 1951 Heisman Trophy". Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ Litsky, Frank (August 1, 2013). "Dick Kazmaier, a Heisman Winner Who Passed on the N.F.L., Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ "A number like no other". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Vol. 109, no. 5. November 19, 2008. p. 36 – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ "Maumee City Schools News". maumee.k12.oh.us. Archived from the original on September 24, 2007.
  13. ↑ "The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award". usahockey.com. Retrieved August 2, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ↑ "Former Princeton standout, Heisman winner Dick Kazmaier dies". trentonian.com. August 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  15. ↑ Tomlinson, Brett. "A number like no other; Princeton retires No. 42 in honor of Kazmaier ’52 and Bradley ’65", Princeton Alumni Weekly, November 19, 2008. Accessed September 13, 2021. "As children playing football on a churchyard in Crystal City, Mo., Bill Bradley ’65 and his friends took turns emulating collegiate gridiron stars. Bradley, for a Midwestern boy, had a curious favorite. 'Other kids wanted to be "Hopalong" Cassady of Ohio State,' he recalled. 'I wanted to be Dick Kazmaier ['52] of Princeton.' ... The two stars shared a common uniform number — 42 — worn, in the words of Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67, 'with uncommon distinction.'"
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