Frank Kush
Encyclopedia
Frank Joseph Kush is a former American football
player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University
from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1. Kush was also the coach of the Canadian Football League
's Hamilton Tiger-Cats
in 1981, the National Football League
's Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
from 1982 to 1984, and the Arizona Outlaws
of the United States Football League
in 1985. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a coach in 1995. Kush is of Polish
descent and was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
. He played three years as a 5'7", 150-pound defensive lineman at Michigan State University
from 1950 to 1952, earning All-American honors in 1952
helping the Spartans
capture a national championship in his last season
.
, where Kush rose to the rank of first lieutenant as he coached the Fort Benning
football team, he accepted an assistant coaching position at Arizona State under former assistant Spartan coach Dan Devine
. When Devine left in 1958 to become the head coach at the University of Missouri, Kush was promoted to the position, which he would hold for the next 22 years.
During his time at Arizona State, Kush was known for being one of the most physically demanding coaches in the game. His daily football practices in the heat of the Arizona desert are still the stuff of legend today. One of his drills was known as "Bull in the Ring", whereupon he would have the players form a circle. He would put a player in the middle (most often, a player he felt needed "motivation"), call out a uniform number, and blow his whistle. That player would charge the player in the middle and the two would engage in contact until Kush blew the whistle again. Whichever of the two players gave the best effort would go back to the circle, while the player "dogging it" would stay in until Kush decided he could quit. Former NFL and Arizona State player Curley Culp
once broke a teammate's facemask during this drill.
Another of his drills (which was designed to see if his running backs could take punishment carrying the ball) consisted of having only a center
, quarterback
, and two running backs line up on offense, with no other offensive lineman, and run running plays against the entire defense. Kush would run a running back into the line time and time again so he could get used to the pounding he would take in games.
The most famous of Kush's motivational techniques was called "Mount Kush." Mount Kush was a steep hill near the Sun Devils' practice facility (Camp Tontozona) near Payson, Arizona
with several large rocks, cacti
, and no shade from the Arizona sun. If a player especially needed discipline in Kush's opinion, that player would have to run up and down that hill numerous times.
During his lengthy career in the desert, Kush compiled a record of 176–54–1, with only two losing seasons. In his first eleven years, he captured two conference titles and finished runnerup five times. That success led to him accepting the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh
on January 4, 1969. However, just five days later, Kush had a change of heart and returned to Arizona State.
Kush's return would begin a memorable era in Sun Devil football history with five consecutive Western Athletic Conference
championships as the team won 50 of 56 games from 1969 to 1973. During this time, Arizona State won the 1970 Peach Bowl and the first three editions of the Fiesta Bowl
. In 1974, the team dropped to 7–4, but bounced back with authority the following year when they went 12–0, capping the year with a thrilling 17–14 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers
in the Fiesta Bowl, a game in which Kush's son, Danny, kicked three field goals, including the game winner.
A down year in 1976 saw the team fall to 4–7, but another comeback resulted the next year with a 9–3 mark. In that year's Fiesta Bowl, the Sun Devils lost a bowl game for the only time under Kush's leadership, with a 42–30 defeat to Penn State. In 1978, Kush's team once again finished 9–3, this time defeating Rutgers
in the Garden State Bowl
. That win would be one of the final highlights of Kush's tenure as controversy and scandal the next year toppled him from his head coaching position.
On October 13, 1979, Kush was fired as head coach for interfering with the school's internal investigation into Rutledge's allegations. Athletic director Fred Miller cited Kush's alleged attempts to pressure players and coaches into keeping quiet. The decision came just three hours before the team's home game against Washington. Kush was allowed to coach the game, with the Sun Devils pulling off an emotional 12–7 upset of the sixth-ranked Huskies, fueled by the angry crowd incensed by the decision. After the game ended, Kush was carried off the field by his team. The win gave him a 3–2 record on the season, but all three victories were later forfeited when it was determined that Arizona State had used ineligible players.
After nearly two years, Kush would be found not liable in the case, but would be off the sidelines during 1980, the first time in more than 30 years that he had been away from the game. The case itself would have far-reaching implications for coaches everywhere, making them consider the different ways to best motivate and/or punish players.
Despite his problems with Rutledge, most of Kush's former players regard him with high respect for instilling discipline, motivation, and work ethic in their lives.
Future NFL players who played under Kush at Arizona State include Charley Taylor
, Curley Culp
, Danny White
, Benny Malone
, Mark Malone
, and John Jefferson
and Steve Holden
. Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson
also played a year of football at Arizona State for Kush on a football scholarship before switching to baseball.
the following year, serving as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
. In his only season with the team, he led his squad to an 11–4–1 mark and a berth in the CFL Eastern Conference championship game. Controversy followed him to the CFL, however, with Kush quarreling with some Ti-Cats players when he attempted to ban the common practice of taping shoes and ankles.
That performance helped Kush return to the United States when the Baltimore Colts
hired him in 1982. During the strike-shortened season, the Colts had the dubious record of being the first NFL team since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
to not win a game during the season, finishing 0–8–1. John Elway
's refusal to play for the Colts after they chose him first overall in the 1983 draft has been attributed to his desire not to play for Kush.
The Colts improved the following year with a 7–9 record, then moved to Indianapolis during the off-season. After just four wins in fifteen games in 1984, Kush quit on December 13, just days before the final game of the season. Citing a desire to be closer to friends and family, Kush accepted a three-year contract with the United States Football League's Arizona Outlaws
.
However, the league folded in August 1986, with Kush then living off his personal services contract with Outlaws owner Bill Tatham by offering assistance to beginners in a local youth football league, joking, "I'm the highest-paid Pop Warner
coach in the country." Kush also used his disciplinarian image to serve as director of the Arizona Boys Ranch
, a facility used to reform juvenile offenders.
, then was welcomed back to Arizona State the next year. On September 21, 1996, the school held Frank Kush Day and announced that the playing field at Sun Devil Stadium
would be named "Frank Kush Field" in his honor. On the same night Arizona State went on to upset then #1 Nebraska in a dramatic 19–0 shutout, handing the Cornhuskers their first loss in over two seasons. In addition to the field honors, a bronze statue was placed outside the stadium.
On July 26, 2000, Kush was officially hired by Arizona State as an assistant to the athletic director, serving as a fund-raiser for the athletic department.
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 served as the head coach at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1. Kush was also the coach of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
in 1981, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
from 1982 to 1984, and the Arizona Outlaws
Arizona Outlaws
The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate agent William Tatham, Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland Thunder of the World Football League.- 1984 Oklahoma...
of the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
in 1985. He was 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...
as a coach in 1995. Kush is of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
descent and was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Early life and playing career
Kush was born in Windber, PennsylvaniaWindber, Pennsylvania
Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, eight miles south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community was founded by coal barons Charles and Edward Julius Berwind...
. He played three years as a 5'7", 150-pound defensive lineman at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
from 1950 to 1952, earning All-American honors in 1952
1952 College Football All-America Team
The 1952 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1952 college football season...
helping the Spartans
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
capture a national championship in his last season
1952 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1952 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1952 college football season. The Spartans had an undefeated season and won the National Championship.-Schedule:-Rivalries:...
.
College coaching career
After a stint in the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, where Kush rose to the rank of first lieutenant as he coached the Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
football team, he accepted an assistant coaching position at Arizona State under former assistant Spartan coach Dan Devine
Dan Devine
Daniel John Devine was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of...
. When Devine left in 1958 to become the head coach at the University of Missouri, Kush was promoted to the position, which he would hold for the next 22 years.
During his time at Arizona State, Kush was known for being one of the most physically demanding coaches in the game. His daily football practices in the heat of the Arizona desert are still the stuff of legend today. One of his drills was known as "Bull in the Ring", whereupon he would have the players form a circle. He would put a player in the middle (most often, a player he felt needed "motivation"), call out a uniform number, and blow his whistle. That player would charge the player in the middle and the two would engage in contact until Kush blew the whistle again. Whichever of the two players gave the best effort would go back to the circle, while the player "dogging it" would stay in until Kush decided he could quit. Former NFL and Arizona State player Curley Culp
Curley Culp
Curley Culp is a former professional American football player. An offensive and defensive lineman, he played college football at Arizona State University, was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion while at ASU, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs...
once broke a teammate's facemask during this drill.
Another of his drills (which was designed to see if his running backs could take punishment carrying the ball) consisted of having only a center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
, quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, and two running backs line up on offense, with no other offensive lineman, and run running plays against the entire defense. Kush would run a running back into the line time and time again so he could get used to the pounding he would take in games.
The most famous of Kush's motivational techniques was called "Mount Kush." Mount Kush was a steep hill near the Sun Devils' practice facility (Camp Tontozona) near Payson, Arizona
Payson, Arizona
- History :Payson considers its founding year as 1882, at which time it was known as Green Valley or Union Park. On March 3, 1884, the town officially established a post office. Postmaster Frank C. Hise recommended that the town be named after a man named Levi Joseph Payson. Senator Payson was very...
with several large rocks, cacti
Cacti
-See also:* RRDtool The underlying software upon which Cacti is built* MRTG The original Multi Router Traffic Grapher from which RRDtool was "extracted".* Munin -External links:******...
, and no shade from the Arizona sun. If a player especially needed discipline in Kush's opinion, that player would have to run up and down that hill numerous times.
During his lengthy career in the desert, Kush compiled a record of 176–54–1, with only two losing seasons. In his first eleven years, he captured two conference titles and finished runnerup five times. That success led to him accepting the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
on January 4, 1969. However, just five days later, Kush had a change of heart and returned to Arizona State.
Kush's return would begin a memorable era in Sun Devil football history with five consecutive Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
championships as the team won 50 of 56 games from 1969 to 1973. During this time, Arizona State won the 1970 Peach Bowl and the first three editions of the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. In 1974, the team dropped to 7–4, but bounced back with authority the following year when they went 12–0, capping the year with a thrilling 17–14 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers
1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1975 college football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Schedule:...
in the Fiesta Bowl, a game in which Kush's son, Danny, kicked three field goals, including the game winner.
A down year in 1976 saw the team fall to 4–7, but another comeback resulted the next year with a 9–3 mark. In that year's Fiesta Bowl, the Sun Devils lost a bowl game for the only time under Kush's leadership, with a 42–30 defeat to Penn State. In 1978, Kush's team once again finished 9–3, this time defeating Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
in the Garden State Bowl
Garden State Bowl
The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1981...
. That win would be one of the final highlights of Kush's tenure as controversy and scandal the next year toppled him from his head coaching position.
Dismissal from Arizona State
In September 1979 former Sun Devil punter Kevin Rutledge filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the school, accusing Kush and his staff of mental and physical harassment that forced him to transfer. The most dramatic charge was that Kush had punched Rutledge in the mouth after a bad punt in the October 28, 1978, game against the Washington Huskies. During the next few weeks, overzealous fans turned things ugly when the insurance office of Rutledge's father suffered a fire and the family's attorney received two death threats.On October 13, 1979, Kush was fired as head coach for interfering with the school's internal investigation into Rutledge's allegations. Athletic director Fred Miller cited Kush's alleged attempts to pressure players and coaches into keeping quiet. The decision came just three hours before the team's home game against Washington. Kush was allowed to coach the game, with the Sun Devils pulling off an emotional 12–7 upset of the sixth-ranked Huskies, fueled by the angry crowd incensed by the decision. After the game ended, Kush was carried off the field by his team. The win gave him a 3–2 record on the season, but all three victories were later forfeited when it was determined that Arizona State had used ineligible players.
After nearly two years, Kush would be found not liable in the case, but would be off the sidelines during 1980, the first time in more than 30 years that he had been away from the game. The case itself would have far-reaching implications for coaches everywhere, making them consider the different ways to best motivate and/or punish players.
Despite his problems with Rutledge, most of Kush's former players regard him with high respect for instilling discipline, motivation, and work ethic in their lives.
Future NFL players who played under Kush at Arizona State include Charley Taylor
Charley Taylor
Charles Robert Taylor is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984....
, Curley Culp
Curley Culp
Curley Culp is a former professional American football player. An offensive and defensive lineman, he played college football at Arizona State University, was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion while at ASU, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs...
, Danny White
Danny White
Wilford Daniel "Danny" White is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys, an American football coach in the Arena Football League and also occasionally appears as an analyst on broadcasts of college football games. He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion...
, Benny Malone
Benny Malone
Benjamin Malone Jr. is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Arizona State and was drafted in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft...
, Mark Malone
Mark Malone
Mark M. Malone is a former American football quarterback in the NFL.-Playing career:Malone was the nation's most recruited quarterback in 1975 out of El Cajon Valley High School near San Diego, California...
, and John Jefferson
John Jefferson
John Jefferson is a retired American football wide receiver in the National Football League . He was selected out of Arizona State University in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He played three seasons in San Diego, where he became the first NFL player to gain...
and Steve Holden
Steve Holden (American football)
Steve Holden is a former American football wide receiver who played with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League....
. Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
also played a year of football at Arizona State for Kush on a football scholarship before switching to baseball.
Professional coaching career
Kush moved to the Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
the following year, serving as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
. In his only season with the team, he led his squad to an 11–4–1 mark and a berth in the CFL Eastern Conference championship game. Controversy followed him to the CFL, however, with Kush quarreling with some Ti-Cats players when he attempted to ban the common practice of taping shoes and ankles.
That performance helped Kush return to the United States when the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
hired him in 1982. During the strike-shortened season, the Colts had the dubious record of being the first NFL team since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
to not win a game during the season, finishing 0–8–1. John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
's refusal to play for the Colts after they chose him first overall in the 1983 draft has been attributed to his desire not to play for Kush.
The Colts improved the following year with a 7–9 record, then moved to Indianapolis during the off-season. After just four wins in fifteen games in 1984, Kush quit on December 13, just days before the final game of the season. Citing a desire to be closer to friends and family, Kush accepted a three-year contract with the United States Football League's Arizona Outlaws
Arizona Outlaws
The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate agent William Tatham, Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland Thunder of the World Football League.- 1984 Oklahoma...
.
However, the league folded in August 1986, with Kush then living off his personal services contract with Outlaws owner Bill Tatham by offering assistance to beginners in a local youth football league, joking, "I'm the highest-paid Pop Warner
Pop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars is a non-profit organization that provides youth football, cheerleading, and dance programs for participants in 43 U.S. states and several countries around the world. It is headquartered in Langhorne, Pennsylvania...
coach in the country." Kush also used his disciplinarian image to serve as director of the Arizona Boys Ranch
Canyon State Academy
Canyon State Academy is a public charter, all-boys alternative high school in Queen Creek, Arizona. Its goal is to be a home for troubled boys that need skills development and counseling. Its 173-acre campus offers a variety of programs, from temporary shelter to long-term residence. It is operated...
, a facility used to reform juvenile offenders.
Life after coaching
In 1995, Kush was inducted into the College Football Hall of FameCollege 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...
, then was welcomed back to Arizona State the next year. On September 21, 1996, the school held Frank Kush Day and announced that the playing field at Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
would be named "Frank Kush Field" in his honor. On the same night Arizona State went on to upset then #1 Nebraska in a dramatic 19–0 shutout, handing the Cornhuskers their first loss in over two seasons. In addition to the field honors, a bronze statue was placed outside the stadium.
On July 26, 2000, Kush was officially hired by Arizona State as an assistant to the athletic director, serving as a fund-raiser for the athletic department.