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Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 17, 1985
Hawkeye AD
starred for'
Wolverines
Elliott pilayed on national champ
'Mad Magicians'squad of '47
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By PHIL JOHNSON
In 1947, football helmets were
leather, a good offensive lineman
weighed 200 pounds, and Michigan
boasted one of the most exciting and
productive offenses in the country.
The offensive backfield was dubbed
the "Mad Magicians" by the media,
and one of the main sleight-of-hand
artists was Chalmers "Bump"
Elliott.
ELLIOTT STARRED on Michigan's
1946 and 1947 teams after two years as
a Marine trainee at Purdue Univer-
sity (where he lettered twice in foot-
ball and once each in baseball and
basketball) and a stint in the Marine
Corps, serving in China near the end
of World War II.
He was attracted to Ann Arbor after
his discharge in 1946 by the fact that
his brother Pete had enrolled at
Michigan in 1945. The two played
together in the same backfield the
next two years, helping the team to a
combined 16-12-1 record.
"I'm not sure if it was anything
other than having a lot of great
players and a very sophisticated of-
fense," Elliott said, referring to the
team's success in those years with
players like Bob Chappuis, Howard
Yerges, and Jack Weisenberger.
THE MICHIGAN offense featured
numerous fakes and pitches and more
passes than most teams of the time.
"It was a combination of the T-
formation and the single wing. And
then we ran some single-wing plays
from the T, which really confused the
defenses," he said.
In 1946, Elliott scored four touch-
downs and averaged 5.1 yards per
carry for a team that lost only to an
Army squad that included Heisman
Trophy winners Glenn Davis and Doc
Blanchard, and Big-Ten champion
Illinois.
The 1946 team was good, but the
1947 edition was a powerhouse. Elliott
scored ten touchdowns that year,
leading the league in that category.
The offense rarely allowed the op-
ponents to stay in the game,
averaging 37.4 points per game - im-
pressive even by today's standards.
IT (THE OFFENSE) was Coach
(Fritz) Crisler's invention," Elliott
said. "It was complicated, but it was
fun to play and we had a lot of good
players running it."
Elliott was named the conference's
Most Valuable Player and received
All-America honors as that '47
Wolverine squad finished the season
as Big Ten, Rose Bowl, and national
champions. Although Elliott played at
a time when two-platoon football was
becoming the rule, he played both
ways and was good enough as a defen-
sive back to be named to Michigan's
all-time football team at that position.
"I liked defense as much as offen-
se," Elliott explained. "The fun part
about offense was its diversity, but I
guess I liked playing defense just as
much as playing offense. Coach
Crisler, by the way, was ahead of the
others on defensive strategy, too."
ELLIOTT THINKS some of his
former coaches' defensive in-
novations have helped to change the
way the game is played. "The defen-
ses have become much more com-
plicated, so passing is more important
in the game today. It was important in
my day too, but today's offenses are
much more wide-open."
Elliott did not attempt to copy
Crisler when he moved into the
coaching ranks, but he did use what
he had learned. "I did coach the of-
fense we had used, but I just tried to
be myself. You can't try to be anyone
else."
He coached at Oregon State from
1948-1951, then took a job as an
assistant at Iowa from 1952 until 1956
when he accepted an assistant
coaching position at Michigan. Two
years later, he succeeded Bennie
Oosterbaan as Michigan's head
coach.
ELLIOTT COMPILED a 51-42-2
record in his ten years in Ann Arbor.
His best teams were the 1964 squad, 9-
1 with a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl
victory, and his 1968 team, 8-2 and one
win away from the Rose Bowl.
After the 1968 season, Elliott
decided it was time for a change. "I
had been coaching at Michigan for ten
years, and I wanted to go into ad-
ministration. I talked it over with Don
Canham and took a position that had
been open, Assistant Athletic Direc-
tor.
In 1970, Elliott became the Athletic
director at Iowa, a position he still
holds. He inherited a program that
had not had a winning football season
in a decade, but had great fan sup-
port.
Much of Elliott's time as AD was
during a time of Ohio St.-Michigan
domination of the league in football,
but he did not focus on breaking this
domination. "We were trying to get
our own program stabilized, so we
had to be concerned about ourselves
before we worried about anybody
else."
His approach to repairing Iowa's
athletic program has paid off in
recent years, with Iowa's football and
overall athletic programs now
recognized among the best in the
country. Thus, Bump Elliott continues
to work "Magic" in college athletics.
Sports Information
Bump Elliot's 74 yard punt return for a touchdown in 1947 led Michigan to a victory over Illinois and on to a
national championship. Elliot, now the Iowa athletic director, is on the other side of the field as his Hawkeyes
vie for the title.
CO11
c askei
compan
edge
progressi
So the
e students
y"Is there a
{that has leading
technologies,
ive management,
0
a stimulating work
environment and
challen g o otunities
in re erre ocations?
And we said,
"Meet Honeyw~elL.
GRIDDE PICKS
Old Tricky Dick may have
something hot, gooey and delicious up
his sleeve.
Richard Nixon has agreed to settle
the dispute over playoff salaries bet-
ween major league umpires and
owners, and both sides have agreed to
accept Nixon's judgement, as he has
personal ties with both the umpires
and the management.
The untold story is that Richard has
ties in Ann Arbor - or he thinks he
has. Nixon is planning to provide a
Dooley's guest pass good for two plus
a Pizza Express full-tray Sicilian piz-
za, Chicago stuffed pizza, or whole
sub sandwich to each umpire.
Griddes mathematics says he can't
win that many pizzas by the end of the
playoffs, but Dick says he'll win the
pizzas fair and square. Remember, he
is not a crook.
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1. MICHIGAN at Iowa
(pick total points)
2. Illinois at Michigan State
3. Purdue at Ohio State
4. Minnesota at Indiana
5. Northwestern at Wisconsin
6. Miami (Fla.) at Oklahoma
7. Texas at Arkansas
8. Penn State at Syracuse
9. Tennessee at Alabama
10. Auburn at Georgia Tech
11. Texas A&M at Baylor
12. Kentucky at LSU
13. UCLA at Washington State
14. World Series Game #1: NL at AL
15. Virginia at Virginia Tech
16. Army at Notre Dame
17. Kansas State at Kansas
18. Mississippi Valley State at Gram-
bling
19. Eastern Kentucky at Central
Florida
20. DAILY LIBELS at Captain
Hawkeye Pierce
U. of Michigan Business students are invited
to meet Honeywell Representatives
at the following upcoming event:
HONEYWELL INTERVIEWS
TUESDAY OCTOBER 29
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
PREGNANT?
* Free Pregnancy Test
* Abortion Information
* Confidential
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