1. Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference, National Football League and American Football League.
35 Facts About Lou Rymkus
1. 2.
Lou Rymkus was born in Royalton, Illinois and grew up in Chicago.
3.
Lou Rymkus was a star lineman in high school and won a football scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame.
4.
Lou Rymkus was drafted by the NFL's Washington Redskins in 1943 and played one season for the team before joining the US Marines during World War II.
5.
Lou Rymkus's blocking was used by coaches to demonstrate proper form.
6.
Lou Rymkus was a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 but was not elected.
7.
Lou Rymkus died of a stroke in Houston, Texas, where he lived for most of his later life.
8.
Lou Rymkus was born in Royalton, Illinois, the son of a Lithuanian immigrant coal miner who owned a small grocery store.
9.
At the suggestion of a friend, Lou Rymkus attended Tilden Tech, now known as Tilden High School, and began to display talent as a lineman on the school's football team.
10.
Lou Rymkus blocked a kick and scored a touchdown in a game at Chicago's Soldier Field in 1936 against rival Austin High, a play he later said was the most memorable of his high school career.
11.
Lou Rymkus won seven letters at Tilden playing on the football, track and wrestling teams.
12.
Lou Rymkus was known in college as a tough and durable tackle.
13.
Lou Rymkus was drafted by the National Football League's Washington Redskins in 1943, signing a contract giving him a $2,000 annual salary.
14.
Lou Rymkus trained Navy recruits at Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago in 1944 and 1945, and served at Pearl Harbor.
15.
Lou Rymkus left his wife Betty in Nappanee, Indiana and hitchhiked to the Browns' training camp in Bowling Green, Ohio.
16.
The Browns began play in 1946, and Lou Rymkus soon became an anchor of the team's offensive and defensive lines.
17.
Lou Rymkus solidified his reputation for toughness by playing more than 50 minutes per game that year despite a knee injury for which he needed surgery immediately after the season.
18.
On defense, Lou Rymkus helped stop opponents' rushing attacks and disrupt the opposing quarterback.
19.
The Browns went on to win the championship the following week, and Lou Rymkus was named to a combined all-AAFC and NFL team.
20.
Lou Rymkus was named to all-AAFC teams in 1947,1948, and 1949.
21.
On January 9,1958, Lou Rymkus accepted an assistant coaching position with the Rams.
22.
Lou Rymkus had been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Lisle Blackbourn as the head coach of the Packers, but was passed over for the job in favor of fellow assistant Ray McLean.
23.
Lou Rymkus worked under Sid Gillman with the Rams for two seasons, and was seen as a potential head coach.
24.
Lou Rymkus hired a stable of assistant coaches including Wally Lemm, Walt Schlinkman, Fred Wallner and former Browns teammate Speedie.
25.
Lou Rymkus was upset by the distractions caused by the decision.
26.
Lou Rymkus left football after his firing and accepted a regional public relations position with the Los Angeles-based Global Marine Exploration Company.
27.
Lou Rymkus stayed with the team for the 1965 season, resigning in January 1966.
28.
When Harry Gilmer was fired as Lions' head coach after the 1966 NFL season Lou Rymkus was out of work.
29.
Lou Rymkus got a job as an assistant for the Akron Vulcans of the Continental Football League and was appointed the team's head coach and general manager in 1967.
30.
Lou Rymkus stayed in the position until the team folded later that year due to financial difficulties; the team's owner, Frank Hurn, ran out of money and stopped paying the Vulcans' bills.
31.
Lou Rymkus was drawn by the tough conditions the players endured; many of his athletes missed practice to work on family farms.
32.
In early 1970, Lou Rymkus applied for a job as the Browns' offensive line coach but did not get the position.
33.
Lou Rymkus once repeated a speech Leahy gave at Notre Dame before a practice in a blizzard.
34.
Lou Rymkus worked in the late 1970s for the Houston Astros in the group sales department.
35.
Lou Rymkus went on to take a number of jobs outside of football, including selling cars in Houston, where he spent his remaining years.