Tom Nickoloff, former USC receiver, dies at 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) Tom Nickoloff, a receiver who played on Southern California's 10-1 team that beat Wisconsin in the 1953 Rose Bowl, has died. He was 84. The

LOS ANGELES (AP) Tom Nickoloff, a receiver who played on Southern California's 10-1 team that beat Wisconsin in the 1953 Rose Bowl, has died. He was 84.

The university said Wednesday that Nickoloff died on Oct. 23 of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Woodland Hills.

Nickoloff was captain of the 1953 USC football team that defeated the Badgers 7-0 in the Rose Bowl game. He had seven catches for 73 yards in the win.

He led the Trojans in receiving in 1952 and '53. Nickoloff caught 25 passes and had three touchdowns as a junior. All of his scoring catches that season came in the game against Stanford. As a senior, he had 15 catches and two touchdowns. He played in the 1954 Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game before being a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1954.

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

• Miami (FL)
• Georgia
• Utah
• Indiana
• Alabama
• Kentucky
• Texas
• UCLA
• BYU
• Ole Miss
• Notre Dame
• Ohio State

PREREGISTER TO PLAY

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See Official Rules for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

However, he never played in the NFL because of injuries sustained in a car accident.

Nickoloff went on to work as a civil defense attorney.

He is survived by Betty, his wife of 59 years, and children Tim, Kevin and Laurie.

---

This story has been corrected to show that all of Nickoloff's scoring catches in his junior year came against Stanford, not all of his catches.