Role American football player Weight 86 kg | Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Positions Quarterback Name Jim Haluska | |
Date of birth: (1932-10-09)October 9, 1932 Date of death: September 20, 2012(2012-09-20) (aged 79) High school: St. Catherine's High School Died September 20, 2012, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Education University of Wisconsin-Madison | ||
Place of birth: Racine, Wisconsin Place of death: Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||
Jim Haluska: Football Quarterback
James David Haluska (October 9, 1932 – September 20, 2012) was an American football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Selected in the 30th and final round (354th overall pick) of the 1954 NFL draft, he played in five games in the 1956 season, where he completed one of four passes for a total of eight yards.
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Early life
Nicknamed "Bombo" in his youth, Haluska launched his collegiate career at the University of Michigan, later transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With fellow Kenosha, Wisconsin native and 1954 Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche in his backfield at Wisconsin, Haluska led the Badgers to the 1952 Big Ten title and a spot in the 1953 Rose Bowl, which the Badgers lost to the University of Southern California, 7-0. Haluska set Wisconsin school records in the 1952 season for yards passing (1,552) and touchdowns (12).
Haluska represented Wisconsin in the 1955 Blue-Gray Football Classic and 1956 Senior Bowl. He also played in the 1956 Chicago Tribune College All-Star Game.
High school coaching career
As head coach at Thomas More High School (later St. Thomas More High School) in Milwaukee, Haluska led the Cavaliers varsity football squad to its first Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) state championship, defeating a team fielded by Fond du Lac St. Mary's Springs High School on November 13, 1976 at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His high school teams won 12 conference championships and three WISAA state titles. He finished with a career record of 206-60-4 coaching at Milwaukee Don Bosco, Milwaukee Thomas More, Milwaukee Pius XI and Waukesha Catholic Memorial. His coaching legacy includes the "quick kick" on second down, "form tackling", the "sleeper "play", and the "double pass".
Haluska was inducted into the UW Athletic Department Hall of Fame in 2012 and was a 2001 inductee of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.