Milo Sukup
Encyclopedia
Milo Frederick Sukup was an American football
player and coach. He played college football
for the University of Michigan
from 1938 to 1940, where he was the running guard and a key blocker for Heisman Trophy
winner Tom Harmon
. He sustained a head injury late in his senior year that ended his football career. He was the head football coach and athletic director at Union High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan
from 1942 to 1971.
in 1917. His parents, John and Anna Sukup, spoke Slovak and identified their homeland in the 1910 Census as "Hun Slovakia." His mother emigrated to the United States in 1897 and his father in 1899. His father worked as a core maker in an iron foundry. Sukup had a brother, John, who was seven years older and two sisters, Anna and Lilian.
where he won 12 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball and track and was selected as an all-state player in both basketball and football. As the fullback for his high school football team, Sukup led Muskegon Heights to 27 consecutive wins and three state titles from 1933 to 1936.
where he played college football as a guard
for the Michigan Wolverines football
team from 1938 to 1940. As a sophomore in 1938, he was alternated with All-American Ralph Heikkinen
and garnered attention after the Penn
game in which he recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown and made what was described as "a thundering block" that freed Paul Kromer to return another punt for a touchdown. Sukup became a starter in the 1939 and 1940 seasons. In games in which Sukup was a starter, the Wolverines outscored opponents 349 to 107 and compiled a record of 11 wins and 2 losses.
Sukup was the running guard and blocker for three backs who were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
: Tom Harmon
, Forest Evashevski
and Bob Westfall
. During Harmon's Heisman Trophy
-winning season, he publicly praised Sukup and fellow guard Ralph Fritz
as "two big reasons for Harmon." While taking no credit away from Harmon, Michigan's head coach Fritz Crisler
noted that "Harmon gets exceptional blocking" from Evashevsi, Fritz and Sukup. Walter L. Johns, sports editor of the Central Press Association
, called Fritz and Sukup "two husky boys who could make any college team in the country."
In a November 1940 game against Illinois, Sukup suffered a blow to the head while blocking for Harmon. He was knocked unconscious, suffered from temporary amnesia and was later hospitalized for several days after suffering recurring headaches. Sukup was propped up in a bed at University Hospital when the Wolverines left to play Minnesota and listened by radio from his hospital bed as the team suffered its only loss of the season. He missed the last three games of the season due to the concussion and did not compete further as a football player. Some have concluded that Sukup was on track for selection as an All-American until the injury ended his season.
from 1942 to 1971. At Union High, Sukup ran the single wing offense he had learned from Fritz Crisler at Michigan. In 1948, Sukup led Union High to an undefeated season and a Class A state championship. Upon his retirement in 1972, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a resolution of tribute to him. Sukup died in January 1983 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was posthumously inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1938 to 1940, where he was the running guard and a key blocker for Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
. He sustained a head injury late in his senior year that ended his football career. He was the head football coach and athletic director at Union High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
from 1942 to 1971.
Family
Sukup was born in Muskegon Heights, MichiganMuskegon Heights, Michigan
Muskegon Heights is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,049 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles , all land....
in 1917. His parents, John and Anna Sukup, spoke Slovak and identified their homeland in the 1910 Census as "Hun Slovakia." His mother emigrated to the United States in 1897 and his father in 1899. His father worked as a core maker in an iron foundry. Sukup had a brother, John, who was seven years older and two sisters, Anna and Lilian.
High school
Sukup attended Muskegon Heights High SchoolMuskegon Heights High School
Coaches = Keith Guy,Willie Snead III Teachers = 9th"Muskegon Heights High School is located in Muskegon Heights, Michigan...
where he won 12 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball and track and was selected as an all-state player in both basketball and football. As the fullback for his high school football team, Sukup led Muskegon Heights to 27 consecutive wins and three state titles from 1933 to 1936.
University of Michigan
In 1937, he enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he played college football as a guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team from 1938 to 1940. As a sophomore in 1938, he was alternated with All-American Ralph Heikkinen
Ralph Heikkinen
Ralph Isaac “Hike” Heikkinen was an All-American guard for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1936-1938. He was a consensus All-American in 1938, the first player from the Gogebic Range area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to win the honor...
and garnered attention after the Penn
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
game in which he recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown and made what was described as "a thundering block" that freed Paul Kromer to return another punt for a touchdown. Sukup became a starter in the 1939 and 1940 seasons. In games in which Sukup was a starter, the Wolverines outscored opponents 349 to 107 and compiled a record of 11 wins and 2 losses.
Sukup was the running guard and blocker for three backs who were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
: Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
, Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
and Bob Westfall
Bob Westfall
Robert Barton "Bullet Bob" Westfall was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan and the Detroit Lions . He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1941 and a first-team All-Pro player in 1945...
. During Harmon's Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
-winning season, he publicly praised Sukup and fellow guard Ralph Fritz
Ralph Fritz
Ralph C. Fritz was an American football player and coach. A native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Fritz attended Kiski Preparatory School before enrolling at the University of Michigan. He played guard for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1939 to 1940. Fritz later played...
as "two big reasons for Harmon." While taking no credit away from Harmon, Michigan's head coach Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
noted that "Harmon gets exceptional blocking" from Evashevsi, Fritz and Sukup. Walter L. Johns, sports editor of the Central Press Association
Central Press Association
The Central Press Association was an American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers.-History:Virgil Venice...
, called Fritz and Sukup "two husky boys who could make any college team in the country."
In a November 1940 game against Illinois, Sukup suffered a blow to the head while blocking for Harmon. He was knocked unconscious, suffered from temporary amnesia and was later hospitalized for several days after suffering recurring headaches. Sukup was propped up in a bed at University Hospital when the Wolverines left to play Minnesota and listened by radio from his hospital bed as the team suffered its only loss of the season. He missed the last three games of the season due to the concussion and did not compete further as a football player. Some have concluded that Sukup was on track for selection as an All-American until the injury ended his season.
Later years
Sukup became the football coach and athletic director at Union High School in Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
from 1942 to 1971. At Union High, Sukup ran the single wing offense he had learned from Fritz Crisler at Michigan. In 1948, Sukup led Union High to an undefeated season and a Class A state championship. Upon his retirement in 1972, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a resolution of tribute to him. Sukup died in January 1983 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was posthumously inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.