THE MICHIGAN DAILY
oungest Michigan Grid Squad Rated Sixth Best in 7
iatiion
Last Season 's Team Defeated Only-
By Best: Indiana, Cadets, Middies
Indiana, Army, Navy
Hand 'M' Only Losses
By DICK BURTON
Placing second in the Western Con-
ference standings and sixth among
the gridiron teams of the nation,
Michigan's 1945 football team dis-
played a team spirit and fighting
heart that stands alone in the foot-
ball annals of the school.
Fritz Crisler has never coached a
younger nor more inexperienced team
than the one which took the field
against Great Lakes last September
in the season opener. With a start-
ing lineup which included six 17-
year-old freshmen and a squad which
averaged 1812 years of age, the Wol-
verines crushed the sailors 27-2, de-
feating a team which later proved
to be one of the best in the country.
Lose to Indiana
On the following Saturday, how-
ever, the Wolverines faced the finest
-grid squad the University of Indiana
had ever produ ed. In a game that
eventually decided the Conference
championship, Michigan fell before
the powerful Hoosier team by a score
of 13 to 7, although the Wolverines
came within five yards of a winning.
touchdown in the last minutes of
play
A highly-touted Michigan State
team was virtually helpless against
the spirited Maize and Blue at Mich-
igan Stadium and the Wolverines
chalked up their second victory of
the season by the overwhelming score
of 40 to 0.
Come from Behind
A Northwestern touchdown in the
firt few plays of the game placed
Michigan on the defensive in their
second Conference battle but' the
Wolverines came from behind to de-
feat the Wildcats, 20-7. The Crisler-
men showed their ability to capitalize
on the breaks of the game, a quality
in awhich they persisted throughout
the season.
New York fans will be a long time
forgetting the courageous, hard-
fighting Michigan team which pitted
itself against Army, one of the most
powerful gridiron machines ever as-
sembled in football history. But the
great Doc Blanchard, speed special-
ist Glenn Davis, and the Army pow-
er proved too much for the Wolver-
ines. The Cadets triumphed, 28-7.
Score Three in Final Period
Returning to Conference competi-
tion, Michigan faced the University
of Illinois at Champaign in a game
played in 70 degrees of heat. After
Wolverines. The result was a terrific
upset in which Michigan completely
dominated the game, handing the
Gophers a 26-0 defeat.
Navy played host to Michigan at
Baltimore and the Wolverines suc-
cumbed to the Middies, 33-7. The
Maize and Blue lost two excellent
scoring opportunities in the first half
of the game and was unable to
threaten the Navy's lead thereafter.
Purdue Passing Checked
Purdue's dangerous passing weap-
on boomeranged when they clashed
with Michigan November 27 in Mich-
igan Stadium, and the Boilermakers
suffered a stinging 27-13 defeat. The
visitors' defense crumbled under the
hard-hitting, fast-rushing Wolverine
attack and Boilermaker Bob DeMoss,
freshman passing artist, had little
chance to exercise his skill during
the entire game.
The Wolverines assured themselves
:f second place in the Conference
when they turned back a powerful
Ohio State team, 7,-3, in a thrilling
battle. The Buckeyes netted three
points on a field goal by Max Schnitt-
ker to break a scoreless tie, but with
the help of some timely breaks and
a determined defense, the Wolverines
came back to score a last-quarter
touchdown.
Use Plenty of Subs
Crisler used a two-tea system
throughout the season, seu ng in an
offensive line when Michigan had
the ball and substituting a defensive
combination when the Wolverine op-
ponents were in possession. Hal
Watts, 175-pound center, was one
of the few linemen to see 60-minute
action. He was named on the all-
Conference eleven.
Art Renner, who played end, was
elected captain of the 1946 team by
his teammates. Both Renner and
Lennie Ford, another end, were given
honorable mention on the Associated
Press all-American team along with
Watts. Renner anc Ford will be back
to perform for Crisler again this fall.
First Michigan
All-American
Selected in'01
Heston Precedes 26
Wolverine Standouts
Just forty-three years ago this fall,
a member of the University of Michi-
gan's football squad was selected for
the annual All-Americn team. Since
that time twenty-seven more names
have been added to the list.
William Heston, a halfback for the
old point-a-minute teams, was the
man selected. He received the award
the following year and became the
only Michigan back to do so until
Tom Harmon also gained recognition
two years running in 1939-40.
Other great backfield men to gain
the coveted award were: quarter-
backs Bernie Friedman (1926), and
Harry Newman '(1932); halfbacks
James Craig (1913), John Maulbetsch
(1914), and Harry Kipke (1922); and
fullbacks Cedric Smith (1917), Frank
Steketee (1918), Robert Westfall
(1941) and more recently William
Daley of the 1943 team.
17 Linemen
Linemen who have been awarded
All-Amercan honors for Michigan
teams outnumber backs, there being
17. Of these Adolph Schulz, was
the earliest. He made All-American
at center on the 1907 team. Other
centers who have made the grade are:
Ernie Vick (1921), Jack Blott (1923),
Maynard Morrison (1931) and Char-
les Bernard (1933).
Five guards have also placed with
Albert Benbrook setting a precedence
by winning two consecutive years,
1909-10. C'thers include Ernest All-
mendinger (1917), E. R. Slaughter
(1924), Ralph Heikkinen (1938) and
Julius Franks (1942).
Two Wisterts
Two brothers pace the list for
tackle positions. In 1933 Francis Wis-
tert was named and his younger bro-
ther Albert took honors in 1942. Otto
Pommerening was elected in 1928
and Merv Pregulman in 1943.
The all-time leader for Michigan
All-Americans is Ben Oosterbaan,
assistant football coach at the uni-
(Continued on Page 6)
I
BIG NINE'S BIGGETS gridiron arena, the University of Michigan Stadium, which boasts a seating capacity
of 86,135. The stadium was built in 1927 and is one of, the largest in the entire nation. Seven of Michigan's
nine games this season will be played here including the already sold out Army battle.
BIG, ISN'T IT?
Building of Stadium Caps Yost
5
HAROLD WATTS .. . Wolverine
center named to last year's All-
Conference eleven, will be back this
season-
battling through three scoreless quar-
ters, the Maize and Blue finally broke
through to score three touchdowns
in the last quarter, capturing their
second Conference victory, 19-0.
A capacity crowd of 85,143 packed
the huge Michigan Stadium to watch
the Golden Gophers of Minnesota
pit their weight against the fighting
Plans for Finest'Athletic Facilities
By BERNARD MEISLIN
This fall will mark the beginning
of the 19th grid season in which
Michigan football teams have played
in one of the largest American sta-
diums.
Around 86,000 fans have crowded
into the Michigan stadium each Sat-
urday of the Wolverine home foot-
ball season since 1927. A field to
hold the giant crowds Wolverine grid
teams always drew was one of Coach
Fielding H. Yost's pet ambitions, and
construction was begun in 1925 on
just such a field. When the. largest
1946 Football
Big Ten stadium was finally built
the crowds really began to pour in.
In 1927 alone, three of the all-time
Michigan football attendance records
were set.
The first game ever 'played in
Michigan Stadium saw the Wolver-
ines trounce an Ohio Wesleyan team
to the tune of 33-0. Bennie Ooster-
baan, present end coach of the 1945
edition of Michigan gridders, was one
of the outstanding players on the
1927 eleven. Rounding out his third
consecutive All-American football
season. Oosterbaan was all over the
field on that day. His spectacular
pass-receiving and brilliant blocking
and tackling made victory sweet to
Yost on this day his team first played
in the stadium of his dreams.
Since that Autumn Day of Michi-
gan victory in 1927, the stadium has
served as the stage of many thrillin
football games and as the testing
ground of many an All-American
player. From Oosterbaan to Harmon
to the teams of today, the fans at
Michigan stadium have witnessed
football at its best.
Few realize, as they sit in the great
amphitheatre, of the many facilities
which are designed with the view of
serving each individual fan.'
Refreshments are served at more
than 50 refreshment stands, located
around the concourse of the Stadium,
and emergency medical treatment is
available in the First Aid Building, at
the orthwest corner of the Stadium
grounds. Doctors and maids are in
constant attendance at this building,
and special service is granted in case
of an emergency.
KING CORKY:
Wrestlers op third Place in Conference;
Courtright Takes National 155-Pound Title
$y CHUCK LEWIS
After a dismal start Michigan's
wrestling team ended a satidfactory
season gaining third place in the Big
Ten qonference and producing two
Conference champions, and one na-
tional king.
Highpoint of the season came on
the night of March 23 at Stillwater,
Okla., where Bill Courtright, cap-
tain of the team, won his match from
Jack St. Clair of Oklahoma A. &
M., 4-3, to take the National Colle-
giate Athletic Association 155-pound
title.
Courtright, known to his team-
mates as Corky, was the backbone of
the team throughout the year, and
the team's spirit was largely due' to
his leadership. He also took the Big
Ten title in the 155-pound division.
In the seven dual matches, Corky
lost but one match to Dave Shapiro,
national 165-pound champ from Illi-
nois. In winning his Big Ten title,
Courtright set a record' by pinning
all four of his opponents.
Smith Takes Conference Title
Wayne Smith, freshman from Fort
Dodge, Ia., was the other Conference
title holder of this year's squad.
Smith wrestled in both the 136- and
145-pound divisions during the sea-
son and won his crown in the lower
class. Although he had had no pre-
vious wrestling experience before re-
porting to Coach Keen at the be-
ginning of the season, Smith showed
great improvement and won his
championship after having been out
of action as a result of an operation.
Another high spot of the season
was the return of Dick Kopel to ac-
tion. Kopel was Conference champ
at 121 pounds before leaving school
three years ago but returned in time
fQr the Michigan State meet. Wrest-
ling at 136 pounds Kopel de-
feated a State champ from Oklahoma
and later placed third in the Big
Ten meet. He trimmed himself down
to 121 pounds for the Nationals but
was eliminated in the semi-finals.
Other Mainstays
The other mainstays of this year's
squad was Jim Stark at 121 pounds,
John Allred in the 128-pound class,
Maurice Smith and Art Clements in
the 145-pound division, Stu Snyder
at 155, Ward Peterson and George
Chiames who wrestled at 175 pounds,
and Dan Dworsky, heavyweight
grappler. Besides Courtright, the on-
ly other wrestlers with but one loss
in dual competition were Stark and
Allred, both consistent winners
throughout the season.
The grapplers' record for the sea-
son was four wins against three set-
backs. The climax of season's com-
petition was the Michgan State meet
in which the highly-touted Spartans
went down to defeat before the in-
experienced Wolverines, 15-9. Pre-
vious to meeting Michigan, the Stat-
ers were considered one of the best
college teams of the country.
HOME
SEPT. 28-INDIANA
OCT. 5-IOWA
OCT. 12-ARMY
OCT. 19-NORTHWESTERN
OCT. 26-ILLINOIS
NOV. 9-MICHIGAN STATE
NOV. 16-WISCONSIN
AWAY
NOV. 2-MINNESOTA
NOV. 23-OHIO STATE
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