Five Questions with OPRF Football Star Eric Kumerow

A former prep sports standout will have his jersey number retired Friday. Some might say it's long overdue.

Eric Kumerow was named OPRF’s Football Player of the Year in 1982 and earned numerous accolades from Chicago's daily papers. The Tribune called him "one of the most written-about athletes in the Chicago area in the last two decades. A three-sport star, he was all-everything when he played football at Oak Park in the early 1980s. He was the team`s quarterback, safety, kicker and punter during his junior and seniors years and a consensus All-State pick on offense as a senior."

He went on to play linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes, amassing 23 career sacks and 39 career tackles for losses, according to a 1988 profile in The Miami Herald. But a promising pro career — he was drafted as by the Miami Dolphins as 16th pick in the first round of the 1988 draft — was cut short after just three years by limited playing time, and, ultimately an Achilles injury while a member of the Chicago Bears.

On Friday, the Bartlett resident returns to OPRF for a jersey retirement ceremony scheduled to take place during halftime of the Huskies football matchup against Chicago's Fenger High School. Patch caught with Kumerow for five quick questions. Here goes:

The early 80s were a great time for OPRF sports. What was it like to be one of the leaders during that time? Did you rule the roost or what?

Oak Park has always had a great tradition, now that I'm older I have a better understanding of what an honor it was to play at such a great school. At the time when I was in school you are too young to realize that what is happening is something that you might remember for the rest of your life. My time at Oak Park was different then how it is now, it seems like kids concentrate on one sport and do it year round and back in the day we played them all.

If you can pick just one highlight from your time in high school, what would it be?

Meeting my wife Tammi. We have been together since our senior year and I consider her to be my best friend as well as my wife. Without her I wouldn't have the four kids that I have, Cortney, Jake, Kyle and Derek.

I think it’s safe to say your pro career didn’t pan out as you’d maybe hoped it would. Looking back, what were some of the lessons you learned about the business of the NFL?

I definitely would have liked to play pro for 15 years but unfortunately it didn't happen. Football teaches kids that if you get knocked down you don't just lay there you get up and learn to keep fighting. Isn't that what life is all about?

Super Bowl XLVIII : Who’s going to win and why?

The Chicago Bears. Because they kick [edited]!

Your four kids are all involved in sports, two in high school and two at the collegiate level. You’ve been quoted as saying you don’t want to put pressure on them because of who you were, and that you don’t feel they have to live up to any expectations. That seems like a rare stance. Why did you choose that approach?

I choose not to put pressure on my kids because I want them to be them not me. They will choose their own path and hopefully that will lead to happy lives for them. They're all great kids!!!!