Joe Kopcha
- Chicago Bears (1929, 1932-1935 )
- Detroit Lions (1936 )
- 4x All-Pro selection ( 1932-1935 ) 1 2 team
- Indiana Football Hall of Fame (1977 )
- 2x NFL Championship (1932, 1933)
- UC / UTC All- Century Football Team
Joseph Edward "Joe" Kopcha ( born December 23, 1905 in Whiting, Indiana, † July 29, 1986 in Hobart, Indiana) was an US- American football player and doctor. He played as a guard in the National Football League ( NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions.
Playing career
Joe Kopcha visited in his hometown high school and played for the school team basketball. From 1921 to 1924, he became the captain of the team four times the basketball championship of Northern Indiana. About a football team did not have his high school.
His father sent him to his graduation at the Englewood Business College in Chicago. After a few days, he broke off his studies in economics and joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for their football team he played Guard from 1927 to 1929. In addition to football, he ran even more sports in college. Overall, he was ten times honored by his college because of his athletic achievements.
After completing his studies, Joseph Kopcha was committed in 1929 by the Chicago Bears. Kopcha was used by coach George Halas as Guard, among others, for the protection of quarterback Joey Sternaman. After a game year, he interrupted his playing career and studied at Rush Medical College medicine. After successfully completing his medical studies, he returned to the Bears, who were now trained by Ralph Jones. The team from Chicago had numerous subsequent members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, like Red Grange or Bronko Nagurski in their ranks. In his return to the Football Sport Kopcha could win with the Bears its first NFL championship.
In 1933 Halas returned to the coach of the Bears. Kopcha could move with his team in the first championship game of the NFL history. Opponents were the New York Giants, who were beaten with 23:21. The following year, the Bears were defeated in the NFL playoff with the Giants 30:13. After another year at the Bears game Kopcha moved to the Detroit Lions. After the 1936 season, he finished his playing career there.
After the career
Kopcha worked after finishing his playing career 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 1944 in Brisbane, Australia. Immediately after the war he worked as an emergency physician in Texas. Then he moved to Gary, where he worked as a surgeon and obstetrician. Kopcha was married and had four children.
Honors
Joe Kopcha was elected four times to the All- Star. He is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and the UC / UTC All- Century Football team.