Former Ohio State All-American, Team Captain Charles “Chuck” Csuri Passes Away At Age 99

Csuri was also a World War II veteran, university professor and pioneer in the field of computer graphics.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Mar 3, 2022 3:37 PM EST

Ohio State announced on Thursday afternoon that former offensive tackle and team captain Charles “Chuck” Csuri passed away this week at the age of 99.

Born in West Virginia, Csuri played three seasons for the Buckeyes from 1941-43, helping the program win its first national championship in 1942. He was named a first-team All-American and the team’s Most Valuable Player that season, as well as a team captain in 1943, with head coach Paul Brown calling him “the perfect tackle.”

Csuri was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 16th round of the 1944 NFL Draft but instead enlisted in the Army to serve in World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism in the Battle of the Bulge, which Ohio State later commemorated with a decal on the back of the helmet of its 2010 Pro Combat uniforms.

After the war, Csuri returned to school to finish his master’s degree in fine arts. He joined the faculty upon graduation and spent more than 40 years at the university as a professor of art education and computer information science.

Csuri was best known as a pioneer in the field of computer graphics, animation and digital art. He was once described by the Smithsonian as “the father of digital art and computer animation,” as he helped develop code that enabled artists to create their art digitally.

“Professor Csuri was a pillar in the Ohio State community and truly epitomized the Greatest Generation,” Ohio State president Kristina M. Johnson said in a statement. “From his time as a football captain and national champion to his groundbreaking work as a professor, he exemplified the Buckeye spirit of innovation and excellence.

“I admired him greatly. He led an incredibly full life, and his prolific accomplishments have been, and will continue to be, a source of endless inspiration for inventors, artists and leaders around the world.”

Csuri’s groundbreaking work has since been applied to flight simulators, computer-aided design, visualization of scientific phenomena, magnetic resonance imaging, education for the deaf, architecture and special effects for television and films. His work is notably on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art in Croatia.

Csuri was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Ohio Governor’s Award for the Arts and Ohio State’s Joseph Sullivant Medal – which is the university’s highest alumni honor – in 2000 for his lifetime achievements in the fields of digital art and computer animation. He leaves behind his daughter, Caroline, and two granddaughters.

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