Joe Krol - Early Life

Early Life

Krol was born on February 20, 1919, in Hamilton, Ontario. He was commonly nicknamed "King". He said in 1999, "My parents are Polish and the name was actually Krul. I guess in Polish, Krol means king. It also means rabbit, but I think I prefer king."

Krol began playing Canadian football in high school at Kennedy Collegiate Institute in Windsor, Ontario in 1932, with which he won several secondary school championships. He went to the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and played Intercollegiate Football for the Western Ontario Mustangs from 1938 to 1942 including the Intercollegiate championship in 1939.