Roger Zatkoff

Roger Zatkoff (born March 25, 1931) is a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1950 to 1952. He later played professional football for the Green Bay Packers (1953-1956) and Detroit Lions (1957-1958).

Biography
Zatkoff was born in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1931. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1949 and played football for Bennie Oosterbaan's teams of the early 1950s. As a freshman, he was awarded the Meyer Morton Award as the freshman player showing the most promise. He started nine games at linebacker for the 1950 Michigan Wolverines football team that defeated Ohio State in the famous Snow Bowl game, won the Big ten championship, and defeated the University of California in the 1951 Rose Bowl. He started all nine games at linebacker for the 1951 Wolverines. As a senior in 1952, he started all nine games for Michigan at the linebacker position and was selected as an All-Big Ten player. Zatkoff was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1985.

After graduating from Michigan, Zatkoff played linebacker for the Green Bay Packers from 1953 to 1956. He then went on to play for the Detroit Lions in the 1957 and 1958 seasons. He was a starting player on the 1957 Detroit Lions NFL Championship team. He was a three-time Pro Bowler, including a first-team Pro Bowl selection in 1955. He was also selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the United Press International in 1954 and by the Associated Press in 1955. He had four interceptions and four fumble recoveries for the Packers in the 1954 and 1955 seasons.

His great nephew, Jeff Zatkoff, is a goaltender for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.

Roger Zatkoff Award
The University of Michigan's Roger Zatkoff Award is given to the football team's best linebacker at the end of each season.