Nick Drahos, a 1981 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Cornell, passed away May 12 in Holland, Mich., after a battle with pneumonia. At 99 years old, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.
 
Drahos was born Dec. 6, 1918, in Ford City, Pa., and attended high school at Lawrence High School in New York. 
 
At 6'3" and 212 pounds, Drahos was an imposing figure and a bruising lineman of rare agility and strength. And Cornell coach Carl Snavely wasted no time in making Drahos the focus upon which he built one of the finest football lines in the history of Eastern competition.
 
A tackle and end, Drahos was also an outstanding kicker, and his powerful leg provided the team with a potent scoring threat. During Drahos' three-year career (1938-40), Cornell was 19-3-1, and the Big Red defense held opposing offenses to just 135 points - an average of less than six points per game.
 
The 1939 season was the zenith of Drahos' career as Cornell posted a perfect 8-0 record, shutting out rivals Penn and Penn State and downing Big Ten power Ohio State, 23-14. Drahos won All-America laurels that year. 
 
Perhaps his most memorable participation was in the 1940 Cornell-Dartmouth game. In that game, Cornell apparently had beaten Dartmouth on the final play of the game -however, referee Red Friesell had miscalculated the downs and the winning play had been run on a "fifth down" effort. Coach Snavely, in a true showing of sportsmanship, promptly forfeited the contest to the Big Green.
 
Drahos was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in 1941. After his playing days, he became an educator, photographer and artist with the New York State Conservation Department.