THE NEBRASKA 100

The Tom Novak file always included plenty to boast about, from All-American and Nebraska Football Hall-of-Fame honors to retired numbers and awards being named after him.

But what Novak really had was one cool nickname: "Train Wreck."

Novak's fearless and relentless style made him a four-time all-conference football player for Nebraska, a feat accomplished neither before nor after his Husker career (1946 through 1949). The Tom Novak Award now goes annually to the NU senior who "best exemplifies courage and determination despite all odds."

"Train Wreck" was known for wiping out all that stood in his path as a bruising two-way player (linebacker and center), wearing a sponge rubber pad on his chest to help cushion blows. In 2000, World-Herald readers voted him No. 9 in a poll to name the 50 greatest Huskers ever.

In honor of Novak, nobody wears No. 60 at NU anymore. He stood alone in that regard until the Huskers fully retired Bob Brown's No. 64 last fall.

Novak started his destruction at Omaha South as an All-Nebraska fullback in 1942 and 1943. He never played football again after a 1950 all-star game in Chicago.

To be sure, Novak left everything he had on the field -- thus the nickname.

"He had absolutely no regard for his body," Don Bryant, NU's sports information director emeritus, said in 2000.

Novak was paralyzed after a 1976 fall at his Lincoln home and died in 1998.

-- Rich Kaipust