TEMPE, AZ - The first head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Kush, has died. He was 88 years old.
Sources say Kush died “peacefully” Thursday morning at a Valley hospital in Arizona.
Kush coached the Baltimore Colts from 1982-83 and was the first head coach for the team after they moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
Kush started his coaching career at Arizona State University where he coached from 1955-79 and was the team's head coach from 1958-79. He is still the team's all-time winningest coach with 19 winning seasons and nine conference championships. The playing surface of Sun Devil Stadium was named Frank Kush Field in 1996.
Before his coaching career began, Kush served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and coached the Fort Benning football team. He played college football at Michigan State under Dan Devine.
Devine brought Kush on as an assistant coach when Devine took the Arizona State head coaching job in 1955. Kush became head coach when Devine left to coach at Missouri.
Kush returned to Arizona State University in 2000 as special assistant to the athletic director. The field at Sun Devil Stadium is named after him.
Rest in peace, Frank Kush: https://t.co/ZWAybpAa26 pic.twitter.com/i1NUPKjPh0
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) June 23, 2017
