Frank Kush Dies: Legendary Sun Devil Coach Was 88

Frank Kush, the legendary football coach at Arizona State University who had winning seasons in 19 of his 22 years leading the Sun Devils, died Thursday. He was 88-year-old.

Kush won 176 games at the school. He became head coach in 1958 when Dan Devine, who had brought him aboard in 1955 as an assistant, left for Missouri.

He led the Sun Devils to undefeated seasons in 1970 and 1975.

Before arriving in Tempe, Kush had been a defensive lineman for the 1952 national champions, Michigan State. There he was selected as an All-American. (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

While his coaching gained him a place in the College Football Hall of Fame - he was inducted in 1995 - his career ended under a cloud.

In 1978, he was accused by kicker Kevin Rutledge of punching him in the face during a game and then encouraging players and coaches to lie about the incident.

Eventually, several came forward to support Rutledge's claims and the coach was fired.

Kush was carried on and off the field by his players in his final game.

In 1981, he coached Hamilton in the Canadian Football League.

The next year, he became the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, staying with them for the next two years as the team moved to Indianapolis.

It was while with the Colts that Kush was involved in one of the most famous trades in NFL history.

The Colts, with the number one pick in 1983, wanted John Elway but Elway's dad - having heard of Kush's reputation - didn't want his son to play for him and told the Colts if they drafted John, he would sign with the Yankees and play baseball.

The day before the draft, Kush called Elway's dad and said they were going to draft him even if they lost him to baseball.

What Kush didn't know was that Colts's owner Robert Irsay was negotiating a deal with the Broncos that would send Elway there.

Kush found out about the deal from a reporter.

After leaving the Colts after the 1984 season, he went to coach the Arizona Outlaws in the United States Football League in 1985.

There was an outpouring on social media for Kush.

Image via Arizona State University