ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Gus Cifelli, a star tackle who helped lead Notre Dame to three national championships and the Detroit Lions to the 1952 NFL title, has died. He was 84.

Terry Desmond, owner of A.J. Desmond & Sons funeral home, says Cifelli died Thursday of natural causes at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

Cifelli was born in Philadelphia in 1925 and served in the Marines during World War II. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1950.

Cifelli was drafted in 1950 by the Detroit Lions. He also played for Green Bay, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

He was elected in 1973 as a judge to the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills. He retired from the bench in 2000.

Cifelli will be buried Wednesday at Highland Cemetery in South Bend, Ind.