1951 Michigan Wolverines football team

1951 Michigan Wolverines football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–5 (4–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPDon Peterson
CaptainBill Putich
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
1951 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Illinois $ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 0 – 1
Purdue 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
No. 8 Wisconsin 5 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Ohio State 2 – 2 – 2 4 – 3 – 2
Northwestern 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Iowa 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 5 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1951 Big Ten season. In their fourth year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines compiled a 4–5 record (4–2 in conference games), finished in fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 135 to 122.[1][2] For the first time since 1937, Michigan was not ranked in the final AP poll. It was ranked at No. 29 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.[3]

Senior left halfback/quarterback Bill Putich was the team captain and led the team in passing (390 yards, 41.6% completion percentage). Fullback Don Peterson received the team's most valuable player award and led the team in rushing (549 yards, 3.6 yards per carry). Halfback/safety Lowell Perry led the team in receiving (16 receptions for 395 yards) and was selected by the Central Press as a second-team player on the 1951 All-America team.[2][4][5] Three Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1951 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Perry (AP-1, UP-1); offensive tackle Tom Johnson (AP-1, UP-1); and linebacker Roger Zatkoff (AP-1).[6][7]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 29No. 2 Michigan State*No. 17
L 0–2597,239[8]
October 6Stanford*
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
L 13–2357,200[9]
October 13Indiana
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 33–1461,100[10]
October 20at Iowa
W 21–053,050[11]
October 27Minnesotadagger
W 54–2786,200[12]
November 3at No. 3 IllinoisNo. 15
L 0–771,119[13]
November 10at Cornell*
L 7–2035,300[14]
November 17Northwestern
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
L 0–658,300[15]
November 24Ohio State
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
W 7–095,000[16][17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan State

Week 1: Michigan State at Michigan
Team 1 234Total
• Michigan St. 0 6136 25
Michigan 0 000 0

On September 29, Michigan, ranked No. 17, lost to Michigan State, ranked No. 2, by a 25-0 score before a sellout crowd of 97,239 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. To that date, it was the most decisive victory for Michigan State in the history of the Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry. The Spartans limited the Wolverines to 26 passing yards, a net loss of 23 rushing yards, and four first downs. The Detroit Free Press called it "as feeble an attack as any team in Michigan's proud football history ever displayed."[8] The Spartans tallied 21 first downs, 249 rushing yards, 58 passing yards, and four touchdowns.[8]

Stanford

Indiana

At Iowa

Michigan at Iowa
Team 1 234Total
• Michigan 7 770 21
Iowa 0 000 0

On October 20, Michigan defeated Iowa, 21–0, before a crowd of 53,050, an all-time attendance record at at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Don Peterson scored two touchdowns, and Bill Putich scored one. Russ Rescoria converted all three kicks for extra point. Iowa out-gained Michigan by 310 yards (251 rushing, 59 passing) to 219 yards (145 rushing, 74 passing).[11]

Minnesota

On October 27, Michigan defeated Minnesota, 54–27, in the Little Brown Jug rivalry game before a crowd of 86,200 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's 54 points was the most scored against Minnesota by any Big Ten team in history.[12] Highlights of the high-scoring game included:

  • Minnesota's Ron Engel returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
  • Michigan's Wes Bradford ran 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the score 47 seconds after the Gophers' touchdown.
  • Michigan end Fred Picard recovered a Minnesota fumble at the Gophers' 37-yard line. Bill Putich completed five passes on the ensuing drive and ran 12 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolverines a 14-7 lead.
  • On the first play of the second quarter, Minnesota blocked a Michigan punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone to tie the score at 14-14.
  • Michigan's Merritt Green recovered a Minnesota fumble at the 22-yard line, and Bradford scored his second touchdown on a three-yard run.
  • Lowell Perry returned a punt for a touchdown to give Michigan a 28-14 lead.
  • In the final minute of the first half, Minnesota scored as tailback Paul Giel passed to Martin Engh who lateraled to Don Swanson with Swanson scoring. Minnesota missed the extra point, and Michigan led, 28-20, at halftime.
  • On the first series of the second half, Perry scored on a 71-yard pass play from Ted Topor.
  • Still in the third quarter, Perry scored again on a pass from Topor, this one covering 88 yards.
  • In the fourth quarter, Putich passed to Pickard for 55 yards and a touchdown.

[12] Michigan gained 427 yards (224 rushing, 203 passing) in the game. Minnesota gained 394 yards (249 passing, 145 rushing).[12]

At Illinois

Team 1 234Total
Michigan 0 000 0
• Illinois 0 007 7

On November 3, Michigan lost to Big Ten champion Illinois, 7–0, before a crowd of 71,119 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The game was played in a blizzard with winds gusting to 50 Miles an hour at times. Through the first 58 minutes, neither team was able to score in the difficult weather conditions. Late in the fourth quarter, Illinois drove 83 yards. With 70 seconds remaining in the game, quarterback Tommy O'Connell threw a six-yard touchdown pass to right end Rex Smith in the end zone. Wilfrid Smith of the Chicago Tribune described Illinois' fourth-quarter drive as "one of the most glorious rallies in this 50 year rivalry."[18]

At Cornell

Northwestern

Ohio State

Team 1 234Total
Ohio St 0 000 0
• Michigan 0 700 7

On November 24, Michigan and Ohio State faced off before a crowd of 95,000 at Michigan Stadium in a rare instance where neither of the rivals was ranked in the AP or UP polls. The only scoring of the game came on a 49-yard Michigan drive late in the second quarter, culminating with a six-yard touchdown run by fullback Don Peterson and a successful extra-point kick by Russ Rescoria. One play before Peterson scored, Michigan's Don Zanfagna caught a pass at the six-yard line; Zanfagna was hit hard, causing the ball to bounce from his arms with Buckeyes' guard Steve Ruzich recovering the ball, but the officials ruled that Zanfagna was down before he lost the ball.[19][20][21]

Ohio State turned the ball over four times on fumbles. The Buckeyes never moved the ball inside Micigan's 20-yard line and were held to 222 yards (120 rushing, 102 passing). Michigan gained only 215 yards (135 rushing, 80 passing). Michigan's senior halfback and team captain Bill Putich, an east Cleveland native playing his last game for the Wolverines, was described by The Plain Dealer as a "workhorse", completing 10 of 21 passes for 64 yards and carrying the ball 14 times for 30 yards.[19][20] After the game, Woody Hayes summed up the game: "You've got to play your best ball to beat Michigan. We didn't. That's all."[22]

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1951 season include those listed below.[4][23]

Rushing

Player Attempts Net yards Yards per attempt Touchdowns
Don Peterson 152 549 3.6 4
Wes Bradford 64 348 5.4 2
Bill Putich 115 268 2.3 3

Passing

Player Attempts Completions Interceptions Comp % Yards Yds/Comp TD Long
Bill Putich 77 32 7 41.6 390 12.2 2 55
Don Peterson 13 6 3 46.1 184 30.7 1 43
Ted Topor 26 9 2 34.6 171 19.0 2 71

Receiving

Player Receptions Yards Yds/Recp TD Long
Lowell Perry 16 395 24.7 3 71
Frederick Pickard 10 204 20.4 2 55
Ted Topor 9 81 9.0 0

Kickoff returns

Player Returns Yards Yds/Return TD Long
Bill Putich 3 88 29.3 0 36
Ted Topor 3 72 24.0 0 27
Don Oldham 3 52 17.3 0

Punt returns

Player Returns Yards Yds/Return TD Long
Lowell Perry 17 197 11.6 1 75
Bill Putich 11 71 6.5 0 0
Merritt Green 1 10 10.0 0 10

Personnel

Letter winners

The following 36 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1951 team.[24] Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.[2]

  • James T. Balog, 6'3", 210 pounds, sophomore, Wheaton, IL - tackle
  • Bruce A. Bartholomew, 6'3", 200 pounds, junior, Detroit - tackle
  • Richard A. Beison, 6'0", 200 pounds, sophomore, East Chicago, IN - guard
  • Donald C. Bennett, 6'2", 195 pounds, sophomore, Chicago - center
  • William E. Billings, 5'11", 180 pounds, junior, Flint, MI - quarterback
  • Wes Bradford, 5'6", 155 pounds, junior, Troy, OH – started 6 games at right halfback
  • Robert W. Dingman, 6'0", 180 pounds, senior, Saginaw, MI - end
  • Donald R. Dugger, 5'10", 180 pounds, junior, Charleston, WV – started 5 games at defensive left guard, 1 game at offensive left guard
  • Merritt Green, 6'0", 180 pounds, junior, Toledo, OH – started 9 games at defensive left end
  • Frank Howell, 5'8", 160 pounds, junior, Muskegon Heights, MI - running back
  • Tom Johnson, 6'2", 227 pounds, Muskegon Heights, MI – started 9 games at left tackle (offense and defense)
  • Ray Thomas Kelsey, 6'2", 195 pounds, senior, Lakewood, OH - guard
  • Peter Kinyon, 5'11", 190 pounds, senior, Ann Arbor, MI – started 7 games at offensive left guard, 1 game at offensive right guard
  • Eugene Knutson, 6'4", 210 pounds, sophomore, Beloit, WI - end
  • Laurence LeClaire, 6'0", 190 pounds, junior, Anaconda, MT - fullback
  • Robert Matheson, Detroit - guard
  • Duncan McDonald, 6'0", 175 pounds, freshman, Flint, MI - quarterback
  • Don Oldham, 5'9", 166 pounds, junior, Indianapolis – started 7 games at defensive back, 1 game at left halfback
  • Dick O'Shaughnessy, 5'11", 190 pounds, sophomore, Seaford, NY – started 9 games at center
  • Russ Osterman, 5'11", 170 pounds, senior, Baraga, MI – started 9 games at defensive right end
  • Ben Pederson, 6'2", 215 pounds, junior, Marquette, MI – started 8 games at right tackle
  • Lowell Perry, 6'0", 178 pounds, junior, Ypsilanti, MI – started 8 games at offensive left end, 1 game at right halfback, 3 games at safety
  • Don Peterson, 5'11", 175 pounds, senior, Racine, MI – started 7 games at fullback
  • Fred Pickard, 6'2", 190 pounds, senior, Grand Rapids, MI – started 8 games at offensive right end
  • Bill Putich, 5'9", 170 pounds, senior, Cleveland, OH – started 6 games at left halfback, 2 games at quarterback, 6 games at safety
  • Russell G. Rescorla, 6'0", 180 pounds, junior, Grand Haven, MI - fullback
  • Leo Schlicht, 6'4", 210 pounds, freshman, Madison, WI - fullback
  • Thad Stanford, 6'0", 170 pounds, sophomore, Midland, MI - end
  • Ralph Stribe,[25] 6'1", 200 pounds, junior, Detroit – started 7 games at offensive right tackle
  • Robert Timm, 5'11", 185 pounds, junior, Toledo, OH – started 9 games at defensive right guard
  • David Tinkham, 5'10", 170 pounds, junior, East Grand Rapids, MI – started 9 games at defensive back, 2 games at left halfback
  • Ted Topor, 6'1", 215 pounds, junior, East Chicago, IN – started 7 games at quarterback, 8 games at linebacker
  • Thomas Witherspoon, 5'11", 177 pounds, junior, Detroit – started 1 game at fullback
  • Jim Wolter, 6'0", 190 pounds, senior, Ypsilanti, MI – started 8 games at offensive right guard, 1 game at offensive left guard
  • Donald M. Zanfagna, 5'10", 175 pounds, sophomore, Providence, RI
  • Roger Zatkoff, 6'2", 210 pounds, junior, Hamtramck, MI – started 9 games at linebacker, 1 game at fullback

Coaching staff

Michigan's 1951 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.[2]

Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1951 season went to the following individuals.[2]

References

  1. ^ "1951 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e "1951 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Litkenhous Ratings". The Chattanooga Times. December 15, 1951. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "1951 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Walter Johns (December 5, 1951). "2 Coast Players on CP All-American Team". Long Beach Press-Telegram.
  6. ^ "Coaches Select All-Big Ten Team". The Ludington Daily News. November 26, 1951.
  7. ^ "UP Big Ten Team". The Pantagraph. November 21, 1951. p. 10.
  8. ^ a b c "MSC Writes Finis to U-M Reign, 25-0". Detroit Free Press. September 30, 1951. pp. 1C, 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Hal Middlesworth (October 7, 1951). "M Falls Again, 23-13: Wolverines Get First Touchdown". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Hal Middlesworth (October 14, 1951). "Michigan Swaggers: Wolverines Ramble Past Indiana, 33-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b Bert McGrane (October 21, 1951). "Record 53,050 See Iowa Bow, 21-0". The Des Moines Register. p. 3S – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c d Lyall Smith (October 28, 1951). "M Doubles Up Gophers, 54-27". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Wilfrid Smith (November 4, 1951). "Illinois Passes Beat Michigan, 7 To 0". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-7 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ George Beahon (November 11, 1951). "Inspired Cornell Routs Michigan, 20-7, with 2nd Half Rally". Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Hal Middlesworth (November 18, 1951). "'Cats Make U-M Mighty Miserable, 6-0". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Hal Middlesworth (November 25, 1951). "Ending Perfect for U-M: Bennie Still Has What It Takes to Beat OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ John Dietrich (November 25, 1951). "Ohio Toppled, 7-0: 95,000 See Putich Pace Victory Over Buckeyes". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. pp. 1B, 7B – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Wilfrid Smith (November 4, 1951). "Illinois Passes Beat Michigan, 7 to 0: Smith Scores on O'Connell 6 Yard Aerial; Climax Drive with 70 Seconds Left". Chicago Tribune. pp. 1, 7 (section 2) – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mich1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mich2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ The Big Ten Network has published video highlights of the game. See here. Zanfagna's catch and possible fumble can be viewed at the 16:29 mark of the video. Peterson's game-winning touchdown run follows at the 16:51 mark.
  22. ^ 1952 Makio. Ohio State University. 1952. p. 137 – via The Internet Archive.
  23. ^ "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2017.(statistics retrieved by entering "1951" in the box for "Games & Totals by Season" and then, at the next screen, choosing "Display Season Totals")
  24. ^ "36 Gridders Get Letters". The Michigan Daily. November 27, 1951. p. 3 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  25. ^ Ralph C. Stribe, Jr., born on March 12, 1928, died December 24, 2010. Graduated from UM 1953 with a degree in religion and ethics. Served as pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in Birmingham, Michigan, chairman of the general council of the Presbyterian Synod of Michigan, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Alma College.
  26. ^ Arch Ward (December 9, 1951). "PLAYERS NAME 1951 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS". Chicago Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
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