Kim Komenich, who now teaches at San Jose State University, was at a Wells Fargo bank in San Jose on Monday when he saw a teller being robbed.
San Jose police say the 53-year-old - who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 260 pounds - grabbed the man in a bear hug and held him for five minutes until officers arrived.
Komenich was a photographer for the San Francisco Examiner when he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 covering the revolution that toppled Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
He later worked for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle
