Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2010
- Class:
- 1958
Hank was a fixture in Tiger athletics for many years, playing prominent roles as a football and baseball standout, as well as serving as a football coach for nine years during one of the most successful eras of Tiger football. He played for three different football coaches at Mizzou – Don Faurot, Frank Broyles and Dan Devine. He was an all-conference selection as a fullback as a junior in 1957 when he rushed for 554 yards and eight touchdowns. He led Mizzou in rushing that year, as well as in 1958 (369 yards, one TD), and had 440 yards and six TDs as a sophomore in 1956. In baseball, he lettered as a catcher on Missouri’s NCAA runner-up team in the 1958 College World Series and was named to the College World Series all-tournament team. After graduation, he was drafted and signed a professional baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and spent four years in the minor leagues. Kuhlmann returned to Mizzou as a graduate assistant football coach in 1962, while obtaining his master’s degree, and became a fulltime backfield coach in 1963 and stayed in that role as coach and lead recruiter until leaving in 1971 to join Devine’s staff with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Missouri was the only school in the nation to never lose more than three games in the decade of the 1960s, and Kuhlmann was a large part of that success with his coaching and recruiting responsibilities. He also coached with Devine at Notre Dame and went on to a long and successful coaching career in the National Football League and was interim head coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals for a five-game stint in 1989.
