Art Kruger

1911-1992

Art Kruger, a member of the Gallaudet Class of 1933, died Tuesday morning, March 10 1992 in Laurel, Maryland. He had just celebrated his 81st birthday on March 6. His death was attributed to heart failure brought on by pneumonia. In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated. His wife, Eva, survives him.

Kruger was born in 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and when he was three years old he lost his hearing. He attended the Mt. Airy School for the Deaf before enrolling at Gallaudet University. After he graduated from Gallaudet, Art worked in New York City for several years and it was there he met his wife, Eva Segal. When World War II broke out, they moved to Akron, Ohio where Kruger worked in a defense plant. While in Akron, he and other Gallaudet alumni, along with deaf sports enthusiasts from Ohio, founded the American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD). Kruger, who is known as the “Father of the AAAD,” served as its first president. Kruger devoted his whole life to sports. He served as team director of the U.S. World Games for the Deaf committee from 1957 to 1966. He was sports editor for “The Silent Worker,” forerunner of “The Deaf American” for 30 years and wrote many sports articles for numerous publications serving deaf readers. He is considered the “Architect” of the American Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame and was the first deaf sports leader to be inducted. He was also inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame.

One of Kruger’s most significant contributions was his All-American selections of outstanding football and basketball athletes from schools for the deaf. It brought noteworthy recognition to many deserving young deaf athletes and their coaches.

After the War ended, Kruger and his wife moved to Los Angeles where he worked for 30 years as a supervisor in the materials department at Western Costume Company – a movie-TV costuming firm in Hollywood. He retired from this company in 1976. They moved back east to Staunton, Va., and then in 1985, they settled in Laurel, Md.

Kruger received numerous awards during his life. In 1982, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Pedagogy degree from Hofstra University in New York. In 1976, Gallaudet University presented Kruger with the Powrie Vaux Doctor Medallion for International Service and in 1980, the Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association presented Kruger with the Edward Miner Gallaudet Award for his work in promoting the well-being of deaf people throughout the world. Kruger received a Medal of Gratitude from CISS (Comite International des Sports des Sourds) and he also received the S. Robey Burns Sportsman of the Year from the AAAD.

Gallaudet University Press, March 11, 1992

Contributing: Reginald L. Boyd

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