rPAGE ETGWRT
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1953
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M' Football*
(Continued from Page 1)
Strozewski, another senior with
plenty of experience, and Herb
Geyer. Geyer filled in for the
injured Balog in the Purdue
game last year.
On seeing the green replace-
ment take his position in the
Michigan defensive line, Boiler-
maker quarterback Dale Samuels
aimed three straight power plays
at Geyer. When the smoke had
cleared, the ball was right where
it had been when Geyer entered
the game. After that, Samuels
and the Purdue runners stayed
away from Geyer's side of the
line. It turned out to be a rough
day for the Boilermakers, be-
cause it was not any easier to go
through Art Walker's position
than it was to make yardage on
the other side of the Michigan
line. Purdue lost the ball game,
21-10, but wound up in a tie for
the conference title with Wiscon-
sin.
LINE COACH Blott, who was an
All-American at center in 1923,
.has great pivot material to work
with this season. In addition to
the six-foot two-inch 210 pound
Ludwig, here are John Morrow, a
local boy who prepped at Staun-
ton Military Academy in Virginia,
(also the alma mater of last year's
Michigan captain, Tim Green),
Jerry Kirby, a newcomer with
plenty of promise, and the ever-'
hustling Don Drake. All four are
linebackers, with Ludwig especial-
ly looking better every scrimmage.
The backfield, outside the
quarterback position, is loaded
with top-flight talent. Tony
Branoff is one of the hardest
running halfbacks ever to step
on Ferry Field. This is his soph-
omore year, and before he is
through, there are many who
think the Flint lad will be an
All-America selection.
Behind Branoff at the wingback
position are Stan Knickerbocker,
a small, but rugged two-way spe-
cialist who excells in pass defense,
and Ed Hickey, one of the most
deceptive broken field runners of
recent years. Both are 5-8 and
weigh 165 pounds. Knickerbocker
is from nearby. Chelsea, while
Hickey hails from the copper coun-
try of Anaconda, Montana.
* *-*
TED KRESS dominates the vi-
tal tailback picture, with Tom
Hendricks and baseball star Dan
Cline providing the depth. Kress
is the key man in the Michigan
offense, The left-halfback posi-
tion demands of its occupant that
he be a triple threat. Tommy
Harmon, Bob Chappuis and Chuck
Ortmann of recent years were all
capable of running, passing and
kicking, and filled the position
with great success. Kress can do
the running, passing and, if nec-
essary, kicking, but it is as a
blocker that he must do some
improving. The tailback blocks
the opposing end on the important
wingback reverse play, and Kress
must sharpen his technique over
last year's performance if the play
is to be successfully used.
Hendricks is a hustling sopho-
more who impressed the coaches
during the spring drills. Cline
missed the warm-weather prac-
tice due to activity on Michi-
gan's national champion base-
ball squad, but is capable of
playing both ways, and undoubt-
edly will be heard from before
the season is over. Cline is from
Brockport, New York, while
Hendricks is from Detroit.
Heading the list of fullbacks is
Dick Balzhiser, a senior from
Wheaton, Illinois, who ca'n prob-
ably claim the highest scholastic
average in Big Ten football cir-
cles. Balzhiser has a nearly per-
fect average in Michigan's de-
manding College of Engineering.
He can crack an opposing line as
well as a Calculus book, as is
shown by the fact that he is the
first string fulllback for the com-
ing season. ,
BEHIND Balzhiser are Bob Hur-
ley, a senior from Alamosa, Colo-
rado, and Fred Baer, a junior from
La Grange, Illinois. Hurley has al-
ways been one of the best compe-
titors on the team. He was side-
lined by injuries early last season,
but should come through in great
style in his final year. He can
play any position in the backfield
and is a great asset because of his
versatility.I
Baer is another hustling ball-
player, who as yet has not had
much chance to shine. He is a
junior, and will be groomed for
the future when Balzhiser and
Hurley graduate.
A promising sophomore candi-
date, is Sal Dimucci from Chicago.
He is a six-foot two hundred
pounder who runs like a maddened
bull, but has not yet mastered the
delicate art of spinning, which is
the trademark of the fullback in
the "Michigan System." Anybody
who runs as hard as Dimucci how-
ever, will be very much in cornten-
tion for ball carrying chores on
the varsity.
With the schedule perfect for
bringing a team along to its pro-
per November peak, and with a
wealth of talent, it appears as
though Michigan will once again
be in the running for the coveted
"Championship of the West," and
this time, there are more than a
few in the gridiron world who
think that the men in Maize and
Blue might be singing that old re-
frain for the nineteenth time come
winter's snows.
DID YOU KNOW: that Michi-
gan's longest undefeated streak on
the gridiron was 55 gales? From
the first game of 1901 until the
final game of 1905 when Chicago
beat the Wolverines 2-0, Michigan
was undefeated. These were the
famous "Point-a-Minute" teams
of the late Fielding H. "Hurry Up"
Yost, and they ruled the gridiron
world for nearly five seasons. Dur-
ing the streak, Michigan scored
2,821 points while the opposition
managed only 40.
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