Fuzzy Thurston, Tim Krumrie make Super Bowl School Honor Roll

Saturday, February 6, 2016
Julian Emerson, Leader-Telegram

Altoona's Thurston, Mondovi's Krumrie and their respective high schools recognized by NFL

One was an offensive lineman who garnered glory playing for the Lombardi-era Green Bay Packers, leading the team's vaunted power sweep running game.

The other played on the defensive side of the ball as a tenacious nose tackle, starring first for his home state Wisconsin Badgers and then for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Both garnered All-Pro recognitiion during their playing careers. Both were ranked as among the best performers in the National Football League at their positions. And both played in the NFL title game, the Super Bowl.

Now Fred "Fuzzy" Thurston and Tim Krumrie, and the high schools they attended (Altoona and Mondovi, respectively) are being honored by the NFL in recognition of today's 50th Super Bowl game.

To celebrate the milestone title game, the NFL organized the Super Bowl High School Honor Roll, which recognizes the high schools from which players and coaches on Super Bowl team rosters graduated. 

The program includes about 3,000 Super Bowl roster members and more than 2,000 high schools. Thurston and Krumrie are among 28 players and coaches who attended Wisconsin high schools being honored. 

Green Bay guard

Thurston graduated from Altoona High School in 1951, then attended Valparaiso University on a basketball scholarship. He didn't play football until his junior year at the college but was twice named an All-American performer and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1956 before making his way to the Packers three years later.

During his eight years in Green Bay, Thurston gained fame as he paired with fellow guard Jerry Kramer to lead the Packers power sweep running attack. In that time, the Packers won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowl games. After retiring, he remained popular across Wisconsin and was a fixture at Fuzzy's, a tavern he owned near Lambeau Field. He died in 2014 in Green Bay at age 80.

A couple of months ago, Altoona High School Principal Jeff Pepowski received a letter notifying him of the Super Bowl honor roll program. On Jan. 29 another package from the NFL arrived at the school. This one contained a gold football bearing Thurston's name meant to commemorate his Super Bowl participation and to recognize the high school.

The ball was added to an existing display at the school in honor of Thurston that already included a photo of him and a Packers jersey bearing his signature. The school's football field also is named for Thurston.

While many in Altoona are familiar with Thurston and his fabled Packers career, the new recognition of his accomplishment has served as an education for some school students, Pepowski said. "Some of the students already knew about Fuzzy, but some others weren't aware of his story," he said.

Pepowski said Thurston's tale is especially endearing because he played for the Packers.

"There is a real sense of pride with this, that someone from Altoona was able to do what he did," Pepowski said. "The kids are intrigued by it and proud of it."

Altoona school district Superintendent Connie Biedron called receiving the commemorative gold ball "an honor" and said today's Super Bowl will have "a special meaning for us now."

Hometown pride

Back in the 1980s, when I was an undersized football player at Mondovi High School, Tim Krumrie loomed large.

Krumrie had played for the powerhouse Mondovi teams of the late 1970s that featured a bunch of big, strong farm kids who liked to put a physical beat down on their opponents. He was recruited by Wisconsin Badgers coaches to play linebacker but wound up excelling as an undersized nose tackle, where he led the team in tackles all four years he played, pursuing his opponents with a relentless determination.

That attitude served him well in the NFL, where Krumrie was drafted in the 10th round in 1983 by the Cincinnati Bengals. The experts said he was too small to play nose tackle in the league, but Krumrie proved them wrong, garnering Pro Bowl selections in 1987-88 and leading the team's defense.

Krumrie was known for his toughness, and footage of him playing with blood spewing from cuts on his nose were celebrated in Mondovi, a gladiatorial badge of honor the entire community seemed to take pride in. One year when I was in high school, Mondovi football players attended a Bengals-Packers game in Milwaukee. I don't recall who won that contest, but I remember watching Krumrie dominate the offensive linemen across from him, tirelessly chasing ball carriers.

Despite his on-field accomplishments, Krumrie is perhaps best remembered for the grotesque lower leg injury he suffered in Super Bowl XXIII, in which the Bengals faced the San Francisco 49ers. He recovered from that injury and played for six more years before retiring after the 1994 season, after which he became a defensive line coach.

As at Altoona, Mondovi High School recently received a package in the mail from the NFL. School officials placed the gold ball bearing Krumrie's name in the school trophy case next to another football Krumrie had signed years ago.

"People have already noticed it," Mondovi Middle and High School principal Mike Bruning said. "It's been a few years, but when people here talk about football, Tim Krumrie's name still comes up. This ball will help make sure that he is remembered."

Contact: 715-830-5911, julian.emerson@ecpc.com

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