People > Players 1940s-1950s > Lou Kusserow
Lou Kusserow (#33, left), Coach Lou Little (center) and Gene Rossides (#21, right)
Lou Kusserow, CC 1949
Lou Kusserow wasted little time making his presence felt in Columbia athletics. He came out of Glassport, PA to become Columbia's starting halfback as a freshman, scoring 15 touchdowns in his first season. In 1948, the best season of his career, Kusserow scored at least one touchdown in every game.
Playing both halfback and fullback in Coach Lou Little's famed winged-T offense and a fulltime safety on defense, Kusserow set numerous school records which held for over 50 years until Johnathan Reese, CC 2002, posted record-breaking numbers from 1999 to 2001.
Kusserow is best remembered for his starring role in one of the biggest upsets in college football history, the Lions' 21-20 defeat of Army on October 25, 1947, snapping the Cadets' four-year, 32-game unbeaten streak. Kusserow not only scored two running touchdowns to give the Lions the lead, but he cemented the victory by intercepting a pass at midfield during Army's final possession of the game.