Andy Cvercko

Andrew Bertram Cvercko (born November 6, 1937 in Campbell, Ohio; died December 3, 2010 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois) was an American football guard in the National Football League who played for the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Northwestern University.

Cvercko attended Campbell Memorial High School before moving on to Northwestern University, where he was coached by Ara Parseghian. He became a two-way left tackle and a three-year starter. As a senior he was awarded the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor, which is given annually to a male and female athlete at each of the Big Ten institutions, who demonstrates the greatest proficiency in scholarship and athletics.

In 2000, he was inducted into the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame.

Green Bay Packers

Cvercko was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round (55th overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft, with the intention of playing him at offensive guard. As a rookie, he suffered a knee injury in the season opener against the Chicago Bears and was lost for the year. In 1960, he was a reserve player.

On September 4, 1961, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a draft choice.

Dallas Cowboys

In 1961, he started 10 games at left guard, splitting time with John Houser (4 starts). The next year he started all 14 games. In the second game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was called for a holding penalty that negated a 99-yard touchdown reception (at the time a league record) from Frank Clarke and because it was in the end zone, it was called a safety, which created a nine point swing in the game and contributed to a 28-30 loss.

On July 10, 1963, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a sixth round draft choice (#82-Jim Curry).

Cleveland Browns

On September 17, 1963, he was waived to make room for guard Ted Connolly.

Washington Redskins

On September 25, 1963, he was signed as a free agent by the Washington Redskins and played in 8 games.

After football he researched nuclear magnetic resonance at Argonne National Laboratories and worked as an electronic engineer at Motorola. On December 3, 2010, he died in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. His brother Jack Cvercko was a football All-American in 1962 and was selected in the 1963 NFL Draft, but a chronic knee injury prevented him from becoming a professional football player.