Carl J. Tsaloff (1978) - Hall of Fame - University of Akron Athletics

Carl J. Tsaloff

Induction:
1978
Class:
1939

1935-38
Fullback/End

Carl Tsaloff moved to the Akron area from his native Granite City, Ill., at an early age. He prepped at Garfield High School where he was a star in football, basketball, and track.

He later duplicated that effort at The University of Akron—lettering three years in each sport. Tsaloff wore the blue and gold in 1935 during coach Howard “Red” Blair’s last season on the hilltop. As a sophomore he alternated between fullback and end. The next two seasons, under the guidance of Jimmy Aiken, Tsaloff excelled as an end and was on the receiving end of several tosses from another Hall of Famer Frank Zazula during the 1937 season when they both were named to the All-Ohio team.

A strapping 6-1, 195-pounder, Tsaloff proved equally adept at playing basketball with the weight events in track. One of his best in the round ball was as a senior when he scored 14 of UA’s 29 points to defeat Penn State, 29-16. That 1937-38 season he scored a career-high 122 points, but finished second behind Ned Endress.

His greatest thrill in college, however, was Akron’s 21-7 football victory over Toledo in 1937.

“I guess that win meant more to me than any other because the newspapers really played Toledo up as a great team,” Tsaloff said in a Buchtelite interview in 1938.

While a senior at Garfield, Tsaloff went to work at B.F. Goodrich. He continued to work during his college days and retired in January 1979 after 45 years of service. He served on the executive committee of the Touchdown Club for 27 years.

In 1972, Tsaloff received the Summit Country Sports Hall of Fame’s Andy Palich Award for his contributions for betterment of athletics.