Art Murakowski Arthur Raymond " Art " Murakowski ( March 15 , 1925 – September 13 , 1985 ) was an American football player . He played fullback for the Northwestern University football team from 1946 to 1949 . He was selected as a first - team All - American and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy in 1948 as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference . He played professional football for the Detroit Lions in 1951 and served as an Indiana state legislator and civil servant from 1954 to 1985 . Biography . Early years . Murakowski was born in East Chicago , Indiana , in 1925 . He attended East Chicago ' s Washington High School where he won four varsity letter s in football and was selected as an Indiana all - state fullback . He also won a letter in track and field as a shot putter . Murakowski played on a Washington High School team that also featured future Northwestern teammates Alex Sarkisian and Ed Nemeth . The " Los Angeles Times " described Murakowski ' s high school play as follows : " Virtually as big then as now Murakowski was one of those battering - ram , interference - follow me fullbacks in high school . It must have been some fearsome ! " Military service . Murakowski graduated from high school during World War II and served 32 months in the U . S . Navy . He played football for Tony Hinkle on the Great Lakes Naval Training Station team in 1944 before being assigned to sea duty . He served for 18 months as a fireman first class on a destroyer mine layer that participated in the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945 . Off Okinawa , a Japanese kamikaze plane crashed into the ship ' s superstructure , killing 19 crew members . Murakowski was unharmed in the attack and later recalled , " I felt a little funny . I was below handling five inch ammunition . " Northwestern University . 1946 season . In 1946 , Murakowski was discharged from the Navy and enrolled at Northwestern University . As a freshman , he won a varsity letter for Pappy Waldorf ' s Wildcats football team . 1947 season . In 1947 , Northwestern ' s new coach Bob Voigts moved Murakowski to the right halfback , but the experiment was not successful and Murakowski was returned to the fullback position . He was the leading ground gainer and scorer for the 1947 Wildcats and was selected as the team ' s most valuable player . 1948 season . Murakowski won his greatest acclaim as a junior in 1948 . For the second consecutive year , he was Northwestern ' s starting fullback and its leading ground gainer and scorer . The " Chicago Daily Tribune " called him the " key " to the Wildcats ' offense : " As long as the Wildcats retain the services of Art Murakowski , line smasher extraordinary , their full backing worries will be practically non - existent . . . . It ' s no secret Northwestern ' s attack centers around the power plunges and sweeps of Mr . Murakowski . He ' s been the key to the offense since 1946 and last year [ 1948 ] he reached his peak performance as he gained 622 yards in 119 carries for a 5 . 2 average . " In addition to playing offense in 1948 , he also played on defense as a right halfback . He had game - saving tackles against Ohio State and Wisconsin that helped the Wildcats win a berth in the 1949 Rose Bowl . Murakowski noted at the time , " It ' s tough for the guys on the bench , but when you ' re playing you want to keep on playing - - and defense is just as interesting as offense . " Northwestern coach Voigts in late 1948 praised Murakowski for adapting to the defensive assignment : " He has terrific speed . We started using him on defense midway in the season and he adapted to that very quickly . He ' s as good a defensive back as there is in the conference , being exceptionally fine on trap plays . His speed makes him very good on end sweeps . " One of the highlights of the 1948 season for Murakowski was his 91 - yard touchdown run after intercepting a pass against Notre Dame . In a post - season poll by the Associated Press , Murakowski ' s interception return tied with Bobby Stuart ' s 103 - yard kickoff return for Army as the most spectactular play of the 1948 season . At the end of the 1948 football season , Murakowski was selected as a first - team All - American by the Associated Press . In selecting him as an All - American , the Associated Press wrote : " Art Murakowski , Northwestern ' s 195 - pound fullback , played a prominent part in the success of the Wildcats . He excelled both on offense and defense . " Murakowski also won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy in 1948 as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference . The Silver Football award was based on voting by the conference ' s football coaches , Big Ten Commissioner Tug Wilson and the " Chicago Tribune " ' s sports editor and football writer . 1949 Rose Bowl . The 1948 Northwestern Wildcats finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference , but conference rules prevented conference champion Michigan from playing in consecutive Rose Bowl games . Accordingly , the Wildcats were invited to play in the 1949 Rose Bowl against the University of California . Northwestern won the game 20 - 14 on the strength of a controversial touchdown scored by Murakowski in the second quarter . Murakowski fumbled the ball as he ran into the endzone from the one - yard line , and field judge Jay Berwanger ruled that the ball crossed the goal line before the fumble , thus allowing the touchdown to stand . Photographs published the next day by the " Los Angeles Times " showed the ball having left Murakowski ' s arms while his feet were still short of the goal line . The " Times " reported : " The Times picture clearly shows that Murakowski ' s feet still are on the field of play and that he has lost the ball . If his was the case , Cal ' s recovery of the fumble made it Cal ' s ball on the 20 - yard line . " The Associated Press article featured the headline , " Did Murakowski Socre or Didn ' t He ? " and noted , " Photographs show clearly that Murakowski fumbled about a yard out when he scored the Wildcat ' s second touchdown in Saturday ' s Rose Bowl game . " Murakowski said at the time , " I was sure I was across . There was only a yard to go on the play and I was over . Somebody tackled me from behind and pulled me back . That ' s when I fumbled . " California fans protested the " phantom touchdown " and continued decades later to insist that the Rose Bowl committee should put an asterisk in the record book next to the game ' s final score , because of the disputed touchdown . 1949 season . As a senior in 1949 , Murakowski shared the starting fullback position with Gaspar Perricone . In September , he ran for a 30 - yard touchdown against Purdue . for 20 - 6 Victory And in early November , Murakowski scored Northwestern ' s only touchdown against Wisconsin on a 79 - yard punt return . The " Racine Journal Times " described the return as follows : " As he made the catch Murakowski bobbled the ball a bit . Then getting the thing tucked away under his arm he set out for the sidelines . At the 30 Wisconsin tacklers appeared to have him pinned against the sideline , but he slipped through and after another 10 yards was out in front with only Christensen having a chance to pursue him . " He was honored at the end of the 1949 season by being selected to play for the East team in the East - West Shrine Game . Murakowski helped lead the East team to 28 - 6 win and tied for the most yards gained in the 1949 Shrine Game with 108 yards on 21 carries . Professional football . Murakowski was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round ( 31st overall pick ) in the 1950 NFL Draft . He did not sign a contract with the Lions in 1950 and did not play professional football that year . He signed with the Lions in January 1951 and was the first player signed by the Lions ' new coach Buddy Parker . Murakowski appeared in all 12 games for the 1951 Detroit Lions , mostly as a linebacker on defense . In March 1952 , the Lions traded Murakowski and Bob Momsen to the Chicago Cardinals for veteran quarterback Jim Hardy . Although the " Chicago Tribune " reports that Murakowski played for the Chicago Cardinals , he apparently did not play in any regular season games for the team . Government service . After retiring as a football player , Murakowski worked for 31 years for county and local government in Lake County and North Township , Indiana . He was the chief clerk in the county assessor ' s office from 1954 to 1968 . In 1968 , he took a position as a supervisor in the assessor ' s office of North Township . He was also elected as a Democrat to several terms in the Indiana House of Representatives starting in 1964 and continuing into the 1970s . Family and death . Murakowski died in 1985 at age 60 at his home in Hammond , Indiana . He was survived by his wife , Lucille Murakowski , three sons , and three daughters .