Tom Schwartz

One of the state’s first true “big men,” Tom Schwartz was a three-sport star at Kokomo High School who later excelled at football and basketball at Indiana University.

He was an all-state football player at KHS, but the 6-foot-5 Schwartz was best known for his basketball. He starred on the 1943-44 state runner-up team, then a year later led the Kats to a 22-4 record and second straight North Central Conference title.

That senior season, Schwartz won the NCC scoring championship and was the overwhelming choice state-wide to be named Kokomo’s first Mr. Basketball.

Schwartz played end for IU’s 1945 football squad that won the Big Ten championship with a 9-0-1 record, but the demands of basketball took him away from football. It paid off however, as Schwartz turned in three outstanding seasons as starting center. During that stretch, IU fashioned a 40-23 won-lost record. Schwartz was a ferocious rebounder and finished among the team’s top five scorers each season.

He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.