Background
Kostiuk was born in Krydor, Saskatchewan, Canada. He grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, an enclave of Ukrainian immigrants in the Detroit area after his family moved from Canada when he was 5.
Kostiuk was born in Krydor, Saskatchewan, Canada. He grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, an enclave of Ukrainian immigrants in the Detroit area after his family moved from Canada when he was 5.
Kostiuk attended Hamtramck High School from 1934–1937, where he made All-City in 1935 and 1936, Detroit Technical from 1937-1940 on a football scholarship.
He died of heart failure in 2015 in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He was the oldest living Lion when he died. In 1939, he earned a position on the Little All-American Team.
The players on this elite team were chosen from Class B colleges throughout the country.
He left Detroit Technical in 1941 to play for the Cleveland Rams. In 1942 he entered the United States Army and continued his football career there, making the Armed Forces All-Star team in 1943.
After leaving the Army in 1945, he signed with the Detroit Lions. In 1946 he joined the Buffalo Bisons.
He played a total of seven National League games with the Detroit Lions and two All-America Conference games with the Buffalo Bisons and one with the Cleveland Rams.
On November 6, 1986, he was inducted into the Hamtramck High School Sports Hall of Fame.