| No. 74, 75, 70 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1942-05-17)May 17, 1942 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | October 15, 2022(2022-10-15) (aged 80) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Chicago (IL) Taft | ||||||||
| College: | Louisville | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1964: 1st round, 9th pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1964: 3rd round, 18th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Kenneth Conrad Kortas (May 17, 1942 – October 15, 2022) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle for six seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He played for theSt. Louis Cardinals, thePittsburgh Steelers, and theChicago Bears from 1964 to 1969.
Kortas was born inChicago, Illinois, United States, on May 17, 1942.[1][2] He attendedTaft High School in his hometown.[1] He then studied at theUniversity of Louisville, graduating with aBachelor of Science in 1963.[2][3] There, he played football for theLouisville Cardinals and receivedAll-American honors.[3][4] He was selected by theKansas City Chiefs in the third round (18th overall) of the1964 American Football League draft, but did not sign.[1] He was also selected by theSt. Louis Cardinals in the first round (ninth overall) of the1964 NFL draft, becoming the sixth player from Louisville to be drafted in the NFL.[5] At the time of his death, Kortas was the highest NFL draft selection from the university.[2][6]
During his 1964 rookie season, Kortas played in 14 games (5 starts) and was credited with 0.5sacks.[1] He was traded to thePittsburgh Steelers on February 17, 1965, in exchange forTerry Nofsinger.[7] He recorded 2 fumble recoveries and 2 sacks in 14 games (10 starts) in his first season with the franchise, before registering a career-high 7 sacks the following year. In the1967 season, he started all 14 games as he was tied for the league lead in fumble return touchdowns (1), along with 3.5 sacks and 5 fumble return yards.[1] He played one more season with the Steelers, and was traded to theChicago Bears two weeks before the start of the1969 season, having been displaced as defensive tackle by new coachChuck Noll in favor ofJoe Greene.[1][8]
Kortas played just three games with the Bears,[1] before retiring from professional football in 1970.[2] He was inducted into Louisville's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979.[3]
Kortas was married to Judith Ann Kortas for 33 years until his death. Together, they had one daughter.[2] Kortasspeculated infutures exchanges during his playing career and lost money speculating on hog futures after the1965 season.[9] He resided in suburbanLouisville, Kentucky, during his later years.[10]
Kortas died on October 15, 2022, at the Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Louisville. He was 80 years old.[2]