Into the Hall: Tom Kostelnik
Tom Kostelnik was a multi-sport athlete at Brashear High School but football became his clearcut path to college as he received a slew of NCAA Division-I scholarship offers in 1961.
While he could go just about anywhere, one school caught his eye.
无毛视频淚 had a ton of offers,无毛视频� the late Kostelnik said in an interview with George Von Benko. 无毛视频淚t all stopped when I got the offer from Notre Dame.无毛视频�
Kostelnik would go on to play three varsity seasons with the Fighting Irish and was the starting linebacker in Ara Parseghian无毛视频檚 first year as coach at Notre Dame in 1964 when the team went 9-1.
Kostelnik made good use of his degree from Notre Dame as a successful business career would follow.
Kostelnik is part of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Kostelnik无毛视频檚 brother in law, Jim Wardman, pointed out Kostelnik wasn无毛视频檛 one to seek out attention when he spoke on Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频 Talk Radio Show recently.
无毛视频淗e was a very humble guy,无毛视频� Wardman said. 无毛视频淗e would not go into the spotlight very often, but I无毛视频檓 sure he would无毛视频檝e loved it.无毛视频�
Kostlenik played center and linebacker at Brashear 无毛视频� now Brownsville Area High School 无毛视频� and was good enough to earn UPI All-State honors. He also played for Pennsylvania in the 1961 Big 33 All-Star Game.
无毛视频淢y sister showed me a picture of him in the all-star game,无毛视频� Wardman said. 无毛视频淭he team is pictured and Joe Namath is in the upper lefthand corner. He was on the all-star team with Joe Namath.无毛视频�
Kostelnik was also named to the 1960 National High School All-America Football Team.
Kostelnik also was a fine basketball player in high school. He starred in track & field as well and won a WPIAL gold medal in the high hurdle shuttle relay under coach John Henck in 1961.
无毛视频淭hat was all football players: Paul Cesko, Willibe Brooks, Ron Matteucci and me,无毛视频� Kostelnik recalled. 无毛视频淛ack Henck was the track coach and I lived a couple of blocks from him and I did all my workouts in the gym he had set up in his garage. He was a great coach who had us well prepared and in great condition.无毛视频�
无毛视频淗e was a very good athlete in everything that he participated in,无毛视频� Wardman said.
He would continue his football career with the Fighting Irish.
无毛视频淭hat was his dream to go to Notre Dame,无毛视频� Wardman said.
Kostelnik suffered a thigh injury his junior year at Notre Dame but moved into a starting inside linebacker position his senior year when Parseghian took over.
无毛视频淎ra was a very good coach,无毛视频� Wardman said. 无毛视频淗e was very well organized. He came into a program where Tom and the other players had all been playing together for two years, and things just clicked.
无毛视频淗e just loved the coach and he loved his teammates and they did anything that they could do to get better and win.无毛视频�
Wardman pointed out a key play Kostelnik made in a close win over Air Force his senior season.
无毛视频淗e intercepted a pass that turned the tide and prevented Air Force from scoring the winning touchdown,无毛视频� Wardman explained. 无毛视频淗e got the game ball.无毛视频�
Kostelnik also worked his way onto the cover of 无毛视频 Illustrated that year. The photo shows Notre Dame无毛视频檚 John Huarte running onto the field, and Kostelnik, in his No. 52 jersey, can be seen behind Huarte.
无毛视频淢y sister has it framed,无毛视频� Wardman said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 up on the mantel.无毛视频�
Notre Dame无毛视频檚 lone loss that season came at the hands of USC.
无毛视频淭he loss to Southern Cal is still fresh in my mind,无毛视频� Kostelnik said in his interview with Von Benko. 无毛视频淚 know exactly where I was in the last 1:33 when they scored. It was a bitter pill.无毛视频�
Three controversial calls went against Notre Dame in the game, as Kostelnik pointed out. One nullified a touchdown, one brought back a long play early in the fourth quarter, and the third was a holding penalty on the Fighting Irish无毛视频檚 final punt to USC.
无毛视频淭hey couldn无毛视频檛 determine if it was on me 无毛视频� I was the long snapper 无毛视频� or on the guard,无毛视频� Kostelnik said of the holding call which greatly improved the Trojans无毛视频� field position and set up their winning score. 无毛视频淲hen asked who it was, the official gave us a number that wasn无毛视频檛 on the field.无毛视频�
Even so, Kostelnik无毛视频檚 memories of his final year at Notre Dame were good.
无毛视频淪ix of us got picked to play in the North-South Shrine Game in Miami on Christmas Day,无毛视频� Kostelnik noted.
无毛视频淚t was a great decision to go to Notre Dame. I ended up with a great education.无毛视频�
Kostelnik and his wife Connie remained Notre Dame fans after Kostelnik graduated.
无毛视频淭hey went to just about every game they could go to, home or away,无毛视频� Wardman said.
Kostelnik eventually got his masters degree at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio.
无毛视频淗e worked for a lot of good companies after he got his CPA and his masters,无毛视频� Wardman said. 无毛视频淗e had a very good career.无毛视频�
Kostelnik retired in 2005. He died May 19, 2018, at the age of 75.
The Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame Golf Outing/Luncheon/Social, starting with golf at 9 a.m., on Friday at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Luncheon tickets are sold out and all spots in the golf outing have been filled.