Olin Kreutz: Football’s Ultimate Defender

The boy was injured, just lying there, and parents and coaches were yelling and tempers were hot when the calmest guy in the football game, Coach Olin Kreutz, walked onto the field. It was a chilly October night in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, and Kreutz’s School of St. Mary team was up 13-0 early in the 3rd quarter. On a St. Mary’s punt, one of the bigger St. Mary’s kids tackled the returner, a hit that left the boy motionless.

The opposing coach started yelling at Kreutz’s player, calling for his ejection. Kreutz asked him to calm down, and then warded off his player — an 8th grader — and walked him back to their sideline. He gathered the team.

“Don’t worry about this,” Kreutz told them…