Politician. John A. Kronk was born in Austria/Poland, the son of Martin Kronk and Hedwig Cajka, and immigrated to the U.S. as an infant where the family settled in Detroit, Michigan. He married Catherine Rozalik. John owned a saloon at Michigan and Junction Ave. and later became a city alderman. He was an alderman under the old system from 1914 to 1918. He was elected to the first nine man council in 1919. After serving three terms and under the new charter he was appointed chairman of the board of supervisors and served on the council until his death. During World War I he served as a member of the draft board and promoted sales of Liberty and Victory Bonds and thrift stamps. He was also a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce. His accomplishments as a city councilman were many among them the construction of the Detroit Veteran’s Memorial which was completed in 1950, the location of the Detroit City Airport and the Kronk Five-Cent fare, an ordinance that kept streetcar fares from increasing and saved streetcar riders 5 million dollars. His biggest achievement was the Kronk Community Center which was built in 1921 at the corner of Junction and McGraw. This center was the first in Detroit. Kronk’s gym was located in the basement of the center. The center rose to prominence in the early 1970's after a young boxer named Emanuel Steward took on a part-time job as the head coach of the boxing program, leading it to a Detroit Golden Gloves championship title that year. Over the next three decades under the guidance of Steward, the Kronk Gym would produce 50 amateur boxing champions, 30 world champions, and three Olympic gold medals. Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns got his start at Kronk, going on to win titles in five weight classes. Prior to its closing in 2006 it was the oldest recreation center in Detroit. The Kronk Gym became known worldwide. Kronk’s funeral procession was one-mile long and was the largest city officials had seen. About 500 people followed the procession to the cemetery.

Politician. John A. Kronk was born in Austria/Poland, the son of Martin Kronk and Hedwig Cajka, and immigrated to the U.S. as an infant where the family settled in Detroit, Michigan. He married Catherine Rozalik. John owned a saloon at Michigan and Junction Ave. and later became a city alderman. He was an alderman under the old system from 1914 to 1918. He was elected to the first nine man council in 1919. After serving three terms and under the new charter he was appointed chairman of the board of supervisors and served on the council until his death. During World War I he served as a member of the draft board and promoted sales of Liberty and Victory Bonds and thrift stamps. He was also a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce. His accomplishments as a city councilman were many among them the construction of the Detroit Veteran’s Memorial which was completed in 1950, the location of the Detroit City Airport and the Kronk Five-Cent fare, an ordinance that kept streetcar fares from increasing and saved streetcar riders 5 million dollars. His biggest achievement was the Kronk Community Center which was built in 1921 at the corner of Junction and McGraw. This center was the first in Detroit. Kronk’s gym was located in the basement of the center. The center rose to prominence in the early 1970's after a young boxer named Emanuel Steward took on a part-time job as the head coach of the boxing program, leading it to a Detroit Golden Gloves championship title that year. Over the next three decades under the guidance of Steward, the Kronk Gym would produce 50 amateur boxing champions, 30 world champions, and three Olympic gold medals. Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns got his start at Kronk, going on to win titles in five weight classes. Prior to its closing in 2006 it was the oldest recreation center in Detroit. The Kronk Gym became known worldwide. Kronk’s funeral procession was one-mile long and was the largest city officials had seen. About 500 people followed the procession to the cemetery.