| No. 77, 65 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1940-01-14)January 14, 1940 Colver, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | January 29, 1993(1993-01-29) (aged 53) Scott County, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Central Cambria (PA) | ||||||
| College | Cincinnati | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1961: 2nd round, 26th overall pick | ||||||
| AFL draft | 1961: 14th round, 108th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Ronald Michael Kostelnik (January 14, 1940 - January 29, 1993) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with theGreen Bay Packers and one with theBaltimore Colts.[1] He playedcollege football for theCincinnati Bearcats. He won twoSuper Bowls with the Packers and was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[2]
Born inColver, Pennsylvania, Kostelnik was the son of aPolish American miner.[3] He graduated fromCentral Cambria High School in 1957 and playedcollege football at theUniversity of Cincinnati.
Kostelnik was selected in the second round of the1961 NFL draft, 26th overall, by thePackers. For his first several seasons, he backed up veteranDave Hanner, then became a starter in1964.[4] AlongsideWillie Davis,Henry Jordan, andLionel Aldridge, Kostelnik was the unheralded member of the Green Bay defensive line. TeammateJerry Kramer said of him: "There aren't statistics for steady dependable guys who plug up the middle and allow other guys to excel. But that's what Ron did."[1]
In his eight seasons in Green Bay, the Packers won fiveNFL championships and thefirsttwoSuper Bowls. He was traded in August1969 to theBaltimore Colts,[5][6] then retired after the season.
With a bachelor's and master's degree in education from Cincinnati, Kostelnik planned to be a school administrator. He began working for Mainline Industrial Distributors Inc. ofAppleton in sales in the off-season in 1965, became president in 1970,[7][8] and later was its chief executive officer.[1][9]
While returning to Wisconsin from aFlorida vacation with his wife Peggy in 1993, Kostelnik suffered a fatalheart attack and lost control of his car onInterstate 75 inScott County, Kentucky.[10][11][12] He was age 53 and was survived by his wife, three daughters, and a son.[12]