I m

HAIL THE VICTORS:

Michigan Mauled Bears for

1951 Rose Bowl Crown

By TED PAPES
Daily Sports Editor

Xe,

* * *

Michigan begins its 1951 gridiron operations from the pinnacle
of college football.
Last year's Wolverine miracle eleven scaled the heights and
stormed into the Rose Bowl winner's circle in the 62nd renewal of the
Pasadena Classic on New Years Day.
* * * *
TRIUMPH CAME at the expense of California, Champion of the
Pacific Coast Conference and losers of the last three Bowl tilts. Coach
Lynn Waldorf's Golden Bears could not withstand a magnificient
second-half rally which won the game for Michigan, 14 to 6.
Virtually every football writer on the Coast had the Bears
tabbed as heavy favorites over the Western Conference titlists
who had lost two contests and tied a third during regular season
play. Meanwhile, only a tie had marred the California record.
Bennie Oosterbaan guided his players into the battle as under-
dogs, watched them start badly and sustain a 6-0 deficit in the sec-
ond quarter, then rode into the dressing room on their shoulders in
a wild victory demonstration after their great revival.
* * * *
A COLORFUL throng of 98,939 watched the struggle under sunny
skies. All but four sections of the huge stadium were highly partisan
to the Bears but they were completely eclipsed by the roar of Wol-
verine fans in the dramatic final period.
Fullback Don Dufek and tailback Chuck Ortmann embla-
zoned their names onto the pages of gridiron history with their
performances for Michigan.
Dufek carried his team's ground offense almost single-handedly
to score both touchdowns. He averaged five yards in 23 running
attempts, and later earned the 'Most Valuable' rating from his grate-
ful mates.
In the air lanes Ortmann put the Wolverines in the unbeatable
class with 15 pass completions in 19 tries good for 146 big yards. He
also ran from scrimmage five times, did the punting and played on
defense in the safety position.
* * * *
IN THE OPENING period California's power-laden backfield unit


On the next play Jim Marinos arched a long pass into the coffin
corner where Bob Cummings grabbed it on the two after eluding
Dufek. Cummings rolled into the end zone with six points but Les
Richter's try for the extra point was wide.
* *~ * *
MINUTES LATER the Bears were back knocking at the door with
a first down on the Wolverine 11, but the defense was equal to the
occasion and held fast on the three.
As the Michigan players left the field at halftime they felt for-
tunate to be trailing only 6-0.
They charged back onto the field after a brilliant exhibi-
tion by the bands during intermission to take complete command
of the situation offensively.
Spearheaded by Ortmann and Dufek, and piloted by their crafty
quarterback, Bill Putich, they smashed up and down the field almost
at will, but they were unable to cover the distance until five minutes
had elapsed in the historic fourth quarter.
* * * *
MICHIGAN TOOK over on its own 20 and marched 80 yards to
glory in 15 plays. The passing of Ortmann was the vital element but
with a first down on the enemy four yard line, Putich turned the
situation over to Dufek who rammed into the Bear line four consecu-
tive times between the tackles to score.
With the count deadlocked at 6-6, reliable Harry Allis sent
the Michigan partisans into a frenzy with a perfect conversion
from placement to give his team all the margin it needed to win.
The Bears fell apart completely after that and just before the
final gn, Dufek swept outside right tackle on third down to score
from seven yards out. Allis again converted to insure triumph.
Thus Michigan completed a five game Rose Bowl sweep by the
Big Ten, started by Illinois in 1947, given momentum by the Wolver-
ines who whipped Southern California, 49-0, a year later, and sus-
tained by Northwestern and Ohio State in 1949 and 1950.
A team from the Ann Arbor school has yet to be defeated by a
West Coast football combination. Besides the two Bowl games just
mentioned, the Wolverines routed Stanford in the first Tournament
of Roses back in 1901, and California, 41-0, in a regular season game
in 1940.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT-As with fullback Don Dufek in this shot of last winter's Rose Bowl game, the Michigan football team was down
often during the 1950 season but finished strong to win the conference crown and beat California in the Pasadena classic, 14-6. Other
Michigan players in picture: Leo Koceski (18); Ralph Stribe (75); Harry Allis (88); Tom Johnson (76).

tore huge holes in the Michigan defense. On the second play of the!
game Jim Monachino skirted his left end and raced 73 yards to what
looked like a touchdown, but a Bear backfield man was in motion
illegally and the dash was nullified.


Even though California had the offensive edge throughout
the first quarter, it could not sustain a scoring drive until a sec-
ond period interception of an Ortmann pass by Ray Solari gave
the Bears a first down on the Michigan 39 yard lines.


EXTRA

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EXTRA

SPORTS SUPPLEMENT ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1951
I'-

SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

Spirit Put 1950 Team
At Top of Conference

Problems Cloud Grid

Prospects

for

1951

0

:

W-


By JIM PARKER
Associate Sports Editor
The city of Ann Arbor has known
some mighty great football team
in its day, but it will be a long
time before it will see a team that
will match the fighting spirit of
last year's edition of the Maize
and Blue.
The 1950 squad was not the un-
defeated, All-American-laden var*
lety of the immortal Fielding
Yost's unmatched reign at Michi-
gan, but names like Chuck Ort-
mann, Don Dufek, Al Wahl, Tony
Momsen and Al Jackson wrote in-
to the record books one of the most
spectacular finishes to a Wolver-
ine gridiron campaign in over 6(
years of football.
AN UNYIELDING WILL to win
sent this Maize and Blue elever
on a hard up-hill fight from a
near- disastrous season start to
the driving finish that won Mich-
igan's fourth straight Big Ten title
and gave the Maize and Blue the
go ahead to its third appearance
in the annual Rose Bowl classic.
The record book gives the cold
facts of this rags to riches suc-
cess story. .
After two-thirds of the 1950
season had come to pass, the Wol-
verines had won but two of six
contests.
LOSSES TO UP-STATE rival
Michigan State, Army, and Illi-
nois, and a tie with Minnesota far
outweighed victories over Dart-
mouth and Wisconsin, and Michi-
gan appeared destined for its worst
football season in recent years.
IBut games number seven and
eight-with Indiana and North-
western -- put the Wolverines
kback on the victory trail with two
consecutive victories for the first
time in the season and set the
stage for the season finale with
traditional arch-rival Ohio State,
which was favored to win its
first -game from the Wolverines
since 1944.
But by game time on the mem-
orable.Thanksgiving week-end, the
football stadia around the Mid-
dlewest were engulfed in raging
snow storms, and Michigan spirits,
which had looked forward to a
climatic upset, were as low as the
weather was bad.
FOR JUST THREE short weeks
before, on a snow-covered gridiron
in Ann Arbor, Illinois had seem-
ingly ended Michigan's faint hopes
for annexing its fourth straight
Western Conference crown and a
Rose Bowl bid by edging the Wol-
verine. 7-0_

eyes, 9-3, in the gruelling "Battle
of the Blizzard."
It was a wild scramble in which
the Wolverines failed to record
one first down or to complete a
single forward . pass-all the
scoring, including Ohio's three
points, came as a result of kick-
ing.
And in that department, Ort-
mann, the blond passing star from
Milwaukee, was superb. In a spec-
tacular punting duel, he outlasted
OSU's All-American Vic Janowicz
as the two unleashed 45 punts for
a Conference record.
BUT A RUGGED Michigan line
blocked Janowicz' kicks on two
different occasions for the Wol-
verines' margin of victory. After
the Ohio star had given the Buck-
eyes a 3-0 lead on a 40-yard field
goal, Michigan's All-American cap-
tain Al Wahl blocked a Janowicz
punt in the end zone for a safety
and two points.
Then with only 20 seconds left
in the first half; linebacker Tony
Momsen crashed through to
block another Janowicz effort
and fell on the ball in the end
zone for a touchdown.
Harry Allis converted and that
was it: Michigan 9, Ohio State 3.
The Wolverines were on their way
to another Rose Bowl game.

BILL PUTICH
The captain throws
The Past ...

BACK FOR MORE-Untiring Bennie Oosterbaan, shown here
with the symbol of Michigan prowess, the courageous wolverine,
returns for his fourth season as head football coach. Oosterbaan
has compiled an enviable record at the helm of Wolverine teams,
winning or tying for the conference championship in all three

ROSE BOWL

TIMES CERTAINLY had chang-
ed, for it seemed only too short a
time before that the Wolverines
were filing dejectedly back into the
dressing room under mammouth
Michigan Stadium after having
lost their 1950 season opener to
Michigan State, 14-7.
Just nine short weeks before
the Spartans had come to Ann
Arbor to hand the Wolverines
their first beating at the hands
of an MSC eleven in thirteen
years The upstaters finally had
what they wanted, including
Michigan's steel goal posts.
But the next week-end the Wol-
verines got back in the win column
with a smashing 27-7 victory over
visiting Dartmouth. Playing with-
out the services of Ortmann, who
had been injured in the first quar-
ter of the Michigan State game,
Michigan overcame an early Dart-
mouth 7-0 lead on the passing of
quarterback Bill Putich for two
touchdowns, and halfback Don
Peterson for another.
* * *
WINGBACK Leo Koceski took
care of the other six points on a
reverse. But the big star of the
game for the Wolverines was soph-
omore end Lowell Perry, who inter-
rantad't+hrP.P noae uPCn nr3 Pn+ -f.n

Mich. Cal. of his previous seasons.
YARDAGE, RUSHING..145 175*
YARDS, PASSING...... 146 69
NET YARDAGE......291 244 EXERIENCE, YOUTH:
YARDAGE, PENALTIES, 20 50
FIRST DOWNS.. . ....15 12 E
PUNTS................. 2 4
PUNTING OVERAGE... .32.5 35.75
FUMBLES LOST.......2 2 I
REGULAR SEASON


By GEORGE FLINT
Associate sports Editor
Bennie Oosterbaan is fingering
an imaginary rabbit's foot these
days.
Oosterbaan, who has produced
three conference championships in
three seasons as head football
coach at Michigan, hopes his bet-
ter-than a rage luck holds out in
1951.
THE REASON is one of the
roughest schedules in recent years
for a Wolverine teaf which seems
to thrive on tough sledding. Not
that last year's was easy-with
Army's Cadets playing the old role
of team-wrecker, the 1950 card
gave Captain Al Wahl and his
mates enough thrills and chills to
finance an amusement park.
But continuous pitch of com-
petition, plus a probable lift in
the relative strength of Big Ten
opponents, will keep this year's
Bill Putich-led squad constantly
on its toes.
Putich, the junior quarterback
who field-generaled Michigan into
a Rose Bowl championship, is the
only first-string backfield man
back from last year's quarter.
OOSTERBAAN, -although he
has capable reserves to call upon,
must base his attack on Putich's
experience and ability to play both
quarter and tailback in a big-
league manner.
In last spring's sessions, Pu-
tier got an extensive workout at
the left halfback spot, while
Don Zan Fagna handled the
blocking back assignments in
he Michigan single-wing.
From there on the problems
start.
No. 1 on the list: fullback. The
capable Don Peterson, who has
filled in at just about every posi-
tion except canterfield, may be
Oosterbaan's choice. His brother
Tom was a mainstay on the 1948
team which won nine out of nine
for Bennie in his first season as
head coach.
A SOPHOMORE, Dick Balzhiser
of Wheaton, Illinois, looked very
good last spring, as did Russ Res-
corla, a reserve back from Grand
Haven, Michigan. But none of the
trio figures to come up to the
standard set by the fabulous Don
Dufek last season, and it should
take a couple of games to get the
Michigan buck-lateral sequence of
plays, in which the fullback plays
an important ball-handling part;
to function smoothly.
SAt izt alf-the itnntio

iching Stf
GridPoe

be fairly strong. Ted Kress, ineli-
gible last season, appeared to be
a good enough passer in spring
drills, but lacks the finese of
Charley Ortmann in getting the
ball away at the right moment.
He may develop, however, and is
fast enough on his feet to handle
the running assignments. Terry
Nulf, Norm Canty (a sophomore),
and Peterson will be around to
give the position depth.
The line, big question mark at
the start of the 1950 season,
bids well to be Oosterbaan's
main asset this fall. Although
the center position is weak,
there's depth offer.:ively and de-
fensively at guard, tackle, and
end.
Best bet for the ball-snapping
position may be Emil Morlock, a
junior, who was sidelined by in-
juries last fall. He'll have to show
up well in the early practices,
however, to keep Wayne Melchiori,
who has looked very good on de-
fense, and John Kuklinski, of East
Chicago, Ind., from grabbing-the
job.
AT GUARD, four lettermen re-
turn and there seems to be no
doubtathat they'll come through
well. Pete Kinyon, Jim Wolter,
Tom Kelsey, and Bob Timm are
al big enough and fast enough to
give Michigan opponents trouble
up the middle. In addition, Pon
Dugger, Dick Beison, Bob Meader,
and Don Rahrig are good reserve
material.
Tom Johnson, one of the best
all-around lineman in the con-
ference, is the big man among
the tackles. At 220 pounds,
Johnson is fast, smart, and well-
drilled on fundamentals. He
might well be a candidate for
All-American, honors this fall.
His probable running mate will
be Dick Strozewski, a junior,
who developed amazingly dur-
ing the course of the 1950 sea-
son.
On defense, Roger Zatkoff and
Ted Topor stand out as two of the
better line-backers in the Big Ten,
and have plenty of varsity experi-
ence.
End is another strong position
for the Maize and Blue, with poe-
try-in-motion Lowell Perry back
to do more pass-catching, and the
tall Fred Pickard available as the
second half of the one-two punch.
The most improved played last
spring, Meyer Morton award-win-
ner Merritt Green, is another
ra nr + 2a d I Pn

LOWELL PERRY
and he catches
.. The Future
1950 SEASON RESULTS

Michigan

7, Michigan State 14

FIRST DOWNS............1031
YARDS, RUSHING.......1542
YARDS, PASSING........1100
PASSES ATTEMPTED.. ....157
PASSES COMPLETED...... 64
PASSES INTERCEPTED.... 19
PUNTS. . . . . . ... .. 80
PUNTING AV AGE....... 35.9
FUMBLES LOST............ 17
YARDS PENALIZED...,.... 304
time as a result of Dufek blast
through the Cadet line, climaxing
a 66-yard drive.
BUT TOWARlD the end of the
third quarter, Army's reserve pow-
er and two backs named Al-Pol-!
lardnand Pollock-began to turn
the tide and the Wolverines saw
three touchdowns rolled up against
them in less than five minutes to
make the final score, Army 27,
Michigan 6.
Wisconsin rolled into Ann Ar-
bor next week-end to make it a
hanny homecoming for the Wol-

By PANDRO S. BERMAN Michigan 27, Dartmouth 7
By PNDROS. BRMANBlott is known as an excellent M
Michigan football teams are ttis own as cnt Michigan 6, Army 27
teacher of the game's funda-
made, not born. mentals, and the defensive lines Michigan 26, Wisconsin 13
A large and expert coaching he has put together have been Michigan 7, Minnesota 7
staff is to a great extent respon- among the best in the country. Michigan 20, Indiana 7
sible for the excellent showings Blott has coached under fouriigan3, aN t
Wolverine teams make year after Michigan head mentors-Yost, Michigan 34, Northwestern 23
year. Nine men in varying capa- Kipke, Crisler, and Oosterbaan. Michigan 9, Ohio State 3
cities are on the athletic depart- Wally Weber, one of the more Rose Bowl-Michigan 14, Cal-
ment payroll for the purpose of expressive gentlemen on the Mi- ifornia 6
giving the Maize and Blue grid- chigan campus, handles freshman *
ders the best teaching possible in gridders, and has been with the 1951 SCHEDULE
the intricacies ofrthe most popu- Michigan staff since 1931. Weber Sept. 29-Michigan State, here
s , .is well-known for his banquet;
HEADING THE Michigan staff oratory, and his choice of words Oct. 6-Stanford, here
is Bennie Oosterbaan, all-time is as erudite, perhaps more so, Oct. 13-Inliana, here
All-American at Michigan in the than that of Yale's Herman Hick- Oct. 20-Iowa, there
twenties and one of the finest man. Oct. 27-Minnesota, here
ends ever to wear a football uni- Nov. 3-Illinois, there
form. Oosterbaan took over from BILL ORWIG is the end cach ,
present athletic director H. O. for the Wolverines. The vaunted Nov. 10-Cornell, there
(Fritz) Crisler in 1948. Maize and Blue passing attack Nov. 17-Northwestern, here
Oosterbaan did rather well in owes much to the ability this lik- Nov. 24-Ohio State, here
his freshman season. All he able Michigan graduate has with
produced was an undefeated the wingmen. Bowls nbcn A ..- *
Orwig was a member Bfwthels e