Background
Donald Edward Dufek was born on May 28, 1929.
Donald Edward Dufek was born on May 28, 1929.
University of Michigan.
He is the father of All-American football players Don, and Bill as well as Joe who all played in the National Football League. A native of Evanston, Illinois, Dufek was a fullback for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1948-1950. The Snow Bowl was played in Columbus in a blizzard, at 10 degrees above zero, on an icy field, and with wind gusting over 30 miles per hour.
Dufek recalled: "lieutenant was very cold.
We kept our hands under our armpits in the huddle. Our center (Carl Kreager) didn"t wear any gloves.
You couldn"t get up a head of steam for anything. lieutenant was bad news, period." The 1950 Wolverines then advanced to the Rose Bowl where they beat the previously undefeated University of California Bears (9-0-1) by a score of 14-6.
Michigan was held scoreless and trailed 6-0 after three quarters, but Dufek took over in the fourth quarter.
Dufek ran for 113 yards in the game and scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game. Dufek was named Most Valuable Player of the 1951 Rose Bowl game and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 17th round of the 1951 NFL Draft. In 1972, Don Canham recommended Dufek for the position of athletic director at Grand Valley State University.
Dufek served as Grand Valley State"s second athletic director from 1972-1976.
Dufek helped turn Grand Valley into a sports power. Grand Valley coach Jim Scott noted: "Don helped to start some of the football stadium project here and was the one who hired Jim Harkema as our head football coach, which was a pick that really got Laker football off and running." Dufek recalled that Grand Valley had gone 0-13 in 1971 and 1972.
. I hired Jim (Harkema) away from Triton College outside Chicago, and the program started to head in the right direction." In June 1976, Dufek was named athletic director at Kent State University.
Dufek held the Anno Domini position at Kent State until he resigned in April 1980. Dufek served as the director of the University of Michigan Alumni Association in the early 1970s.
Two of Dufek"s sons were All-American football players for the Michigan Wolverines: Bill and Don Dufek, Junior. - who was one of the original members of the Seattle Seahawks.