William Nicholas (Nick) Kerbawy

William Nicholas (Nick) Kerbawy
Michigan State Sports Information Director (1944 – 1948)
Detroit Lions General Manager (1948 – 1958)
Detroit Pistons General Manager (1958 – 1961)
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Commissioner (1954 – 1988)

Nick Kerbawy was born in Blissfield, Michigan and went on to graduate from Hillsdale College. After graduation he stayed on at the College and taught Spanish and Journalism for eleven years. In 1944 he accepted the position as assistant professor and Sports Information Director for Michigan State until 1948 when he got a call from the Detroit Lions. Starting off as the Lions Public Relations Director, he steadily advanced within the organization until he was named the General Manager in 1952 and teamed with Coach Buddy Parker to help make the Lions the NFL dynasty of the 1950’s as they won four division titles and three world championships over the next seven years. Kerbawy would go on to leave the Lions to become the General Manager of the Detroit Pistons as they had just moved to Detroit from Fort Wayne.  Kerbawy was also one of the founders of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and served as its commissioner from its beginning until 1988. Nick Kerbawy was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. He passed away on June 7, 1990 at 77 years of age.