John Kobs coached men's basketball and ice hockey at Michigan State.
19 Facts About John Kobs
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John Kobs has been inducted into both the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
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John Kobs moved to Lake City, Minnesota while in grade school and attended Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota.
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John Kobs was named to Minnesota's All-State college teams for three years each in football and basketball and two years in baseball.
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In January 1951, Kobs was selected as one of the top five all-around athletes in Minnesota during the first half of the 20th century, as selected by a board of Minnesota sports experts.
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In May 1924, John Kobs was hired as the baseball and basketball coach at Michigan Agricultural College.
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John Kobs had only four losing seasons in 38 campaigns, and his 1954 team won the Big Ten Conference championship and the NCAA District No 4 playoffs and finished third in the College World Series at Omaha, Nebraska.
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John Kobs coached numerous athletes who went on to play Major League Baseball, including Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Robin Roberts, whom John Kobs switched from a first baseman to a pitcher.
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John Kobs was a charter member, past president and past secretary of the Association of College Baseball Coaches.
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John Kobs served for many years as the secretary of the NCAA baseball rules committee.
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John Kobs was a member and secretary of the United States Olympic Baseball Committee and coached two United States baseball teams in the Pan American Games.
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In June 1963, John Kobs voluntarily resigned from active coaching at age 64 and became administrative assistant to Michigan State athletic director Biggie Munn.
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In December 1966, John Kobs announced that he would retire effective July 1,1967, following 43 years of service to Michigan State.
14.
In January 1968, John Kobs died of a heart attack at his home in East Lansing, Michigan, at age 69.
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John Kobs was survived by his wife, Lauretta Kobs, and two sons, Robert Kobs and John Kobs, Jr.
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Two months after his death, John Kobs was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame; his award was accepted by his widow, Lauretta John Kobs at a dinner and ceremony at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
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John Kobs was posthumously inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 as part of the second group of inductees.
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John Kobs has been inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Hall of Fame of the American Association of College Baseball Coaches.
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John Kobs is a member of the Hamline University Sports Hall of Fame.