June 23rd, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Frank Kush, the tough-minded coach who struggled to lead the last Colts teams in Baltimore to glory after a Hall of Fame career and controversial exit at Arizona State, died Thursday. He was 88. The cause was complications from dementia, a son, Dan Kush, told the Arizona Republic. Described in a 1982 Sun Magazine profile before his first season helming the Colts as a “a combination of [actor James] Cagney, Vince Lombardi and Darth Vader,” Kush found reversing the woebegone franchise’s fortunes as difficult as staying out of the headlines. The Colts went 7-17-1 over two years of upheaval in Baltimore, and he resigned near the end of the team’s first season in Indianapolis.