Tom Nowatzke
Tom Nowatzke, the number one draft choice of the Detroit Lions in 1965, made it in the NFL after a stellar career at Indiana University. There he achieved All-American status as a senior, despite the fact that his Hoosiers finished the season with a 2-7 record. A farm boy from northern Indiana, Nowatzke could only dream about being a regular in the NFL. After playing four seasons for the Lions and suffering a neck injury in 1969, Tom hoped to resurrect his career. But he never thought about the possibility of playing for a Super Bowl winner. Near the end of Super Bowl V in Miami on January 17, 1971, on his second try from the two-yard line, Tom Nowatzke, the big fullback of the Baltimore Colts, plowed into the end zone and with the extra point, they tied the score against the Dallas Cowboys to 13-13. The Colt’s went on to win the game when Jim O’Brien kicked a 32 yard field goal. After the season, Tom received the Unsung Hero Award by his Colt teammates, and became a household name in Baltimore after their Super Bowl victory.
