Archie Kodros Archie J . Kodros ( January 20 , 1918 – June 4 , 1990 ) was an American football player and coach . He played for the University of Michigan football team from 1937 to 1939 and was selected as a first - team All - American and team captain in his senior year . He served in the U . S . Army Air Forces during World War II . After the war , Kodros worked as a football coach at Whitman College ( 1948 – 1950 ) , University of Hawaii ( 1951 ) , and University of Iowa ( 1952 – 1956 ) . Athlete . Kodros grew up in Alton , Illinois and graduated from Alton High School in 1936 . Kodros played football in high school and had an offer to play for the University of Illinois . He chose instead to play for the University of Michigan because they had a tradition of having great center s . Kodros worked his way into the starting line - up at Michigan as a sophomore walk - on in 1937 . He played at the center position for Michigan from 1937 to 1939 and was the captain of the 1939 Michigan Wolverines football team . He played on the line with Forest Evashevski and Tom Harmon in the backfield . In 1939 , one Ohio sports reporter credited Kodros with a share of Harmon ' s success : " One reason why Tom Harmon plays so sensationally each Saturday is shown here . The Michigan line , led by Captain Archie Kodros , No . 53 , blocks beautifully and opens the way for Tom to get into the secondary , where the star Wolverine back can peddle his own papers . " In his final game for Michigan , Kodros intercepted a pass deep in Michigan ' s territory off Ohio State ' s All - American quarterback , Don Scott , to help lead the Wolverines to a 21 – 14 win over the Buckeyes . Kodros received honorable mentions on several All - American teams and was selected as a first - team All - American by Bill Stern for " Life " magazine . He ranked third in the United Press All - American voting with 146 points in a close finish behind John Haman on Northwestern ( 213 points ) and John Schiechl of Santa Clara ( 148 points ) . Coaching career and military service . Kodros was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1940 NFL Draft ( 159th overall pick ) , but he declined the invitation and opted instead to work toward at master ' s degree in business at Michigan . He later recalled : " I figured I was better off starting in business . Pro football didn ' t pay that much back then because there were only eight teams and television hadn ' t started by 1940 . Maybe you could play a few years in the NFL back then , but then where were you ? I said the heck with the pros . I didn ' t even go for my interview . " While studying toward his master ' s degree , Kodros also worked as an assistant football coach at Michigan under Fritz Crisler in 1940 and 1941 . During World War II , Kodros served in the U . S . Army Air Forces and participated in the invasion of Italy . He played for an Army All - Star football team in 1942 that defeated the Detroit Lions 12 to 10 . At the end of the war , he played for an Air Force team called the Second Air Force Superbombers . In 1948 , Kodros was hired as the line coach and assistant professor of physical education at Whitman College in Walla Walla , Washington . He became Whitman ' s head football coach in 1949 and added the title of athletic director in 1950 . In May 1951 , Kodros was hired as the athletic director and head football coach of the University of Hawaii . He compiled a record of 4 wins and 7 losses at Hawaii . In February 1952 , he announced his resignation from Hawaii , and in April 1952 , he was hired by his former teammate , Forest Evashevski , who had been named head football coach at the University of Iowa . Kodros served as an assistant football coach at Iowa from 1952 through 1965 . Later years and family . Kodros was married to the former Effie Virginia Jewett on July 10 , 1943 . The couple had four children , sons Paul , Rodney and Robert , and daughter , Marijo Mihalopoulos . After Kodros retired from coaching , he and his wife owned and operated the Hilltop Mobile Home Park in Iowa City , Iowa . He retired in 1985 and continued to live in Iowa City . In 1990 , Kodros died at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City after a long illness with cancer . He was survived by his wife , two sons ( Rodney and Robert ) , a daughter ( Marijo ) , two grandchildren and three sisters .