The Lafayette community lost two of its own last Tuesday. Former star quarterback Tom Kirchhoff ’93 lost his battle with ALS and Joe Bolzick ’58, also a quarterback for the Leopards, passed away.
Kirchhoff ranks third in passing yards (6,709), touchdown passes (53) and pass attempts (510). The 1992 Patriot League Player of the Year was inducted into the Maroon Club in 2012. After graduating from Lafayette, Kirchhoff had a brief stint on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
Despite his disability, Kirchhoff was still much involved with the football team. He was generous enough to donate the uniforms to Lafayette for the 150th Rivalry game this November at Yankee Stadium. Kirchhoff gave a pregame speech, both the day before and day of the game.
“It put things in perspective for us and got our emotions moving,” said senior lineman Luke Chiarolanzio, an article in The Lafayette reported earlier this year. “The speech was unreal and really emotional. It was great to know that we were playing for him. I think it helped motivate us a lot more and was one of the reasons that we came out fired up.”
The Lafayette community also bid farewell to Joe Bozik ‘58 on Tuesday. During his time at Lafayette, Bozik competed in three sports—football, wrestling and baseball. But Bozik is remembered most for his accomplishments on the football field. In 1955, Lafayette defeated Lehigh for the first time in 11 years behind Bozik’s two touchdowns.
A Maroon Club ‘93 inductee, Bozik also helped form the M. Kirby II ‘42 football endowment, according a recent article in the Morning Call.
Both Bozik and Kirchoff’s contributions and dedication to the Lafayette community will not be forgotten.