The 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth season under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference with a record of 7-2. The team was ranked No. 12 and No. 13 in the final AP and UPI Polls. Left end Ron Kramer was selected as a first-team All-American. Kramer and right end Tom Maentz were nicknamed the "touchdown twins," became the first Michigan football players to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and were both first-team selections for the All-Big Ten team. Left halfback Terry Barr was selected as the team's most valuable player.
In the second week of the season, the Wolverines defeated Michigan State, 14-7. The game was the only loss of the season for Michigan State which was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Wolverines were ranked No. 2 in the country after defeating the Spartans and rose to No. 1 after defeating the No. 6 ranked Army football team by a 26-2 score the following week. In late October 1955, quarterback Jim Maddock led a come-from-behind victory in a nationally televised game that included a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ron Kramer and a 60-yard touchdown pass to Tom Maentz. After starting the season 6-0, the team lost to Illinois on November 5, 1955. In the final game of the season, the Wolverines were favored but lost to Ohio State by a 17-0 score.
Video 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team
Schedule
Maps 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team
Players
Varsity letter winners
- Lou Baldacci, fullback, senior, Akron, Ohio - started 7 games at fullback
- Terry Barr, halfback, junior, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 9 games at left halfback
- James V. Bates, center, senior, Farmington, Michigan - started 7 games at center
- James N. Bowman, center, senior, Charlevoix, Michigan - center
- Tony Branoff, halfback, senior, Flint, Michigan - started 9 games at right halfback
- Charles Brooks, end, junior, Marshall, Michigan - started 2 games at right end
- George R. Corey, halfback, senior, Baden, Pennsylvania
- Clement Corona, guard, junior, Berwick, Pennsylvania
- James H. Davies, tackle, junior, Muskegon Heights, Michigan
- Dale L. Eldred, guard, junior, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Lawrence Faul, end, junior, River Forest, Illinois
- James W. Fox, guard, senior, Saginaw, Michigan
- Jerry P. Goebel, center, junior, Grosse Pointe, Michigan - started 2 games at center
- John Greenwood, quarterback, junior, Bay City, Michigan
- Thomas Hendricks, halfback, senior, Detroit, Michigan
- Richard B. Heynen, tackle, junior, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Edward L. Hickey, halfback, senior, Anaconda, Montana
- David J. Hill, fullback, senior, Ypsilanti, Michigan
- Dick Hill, guard, junior, Gary, Indiana - started 9 games at left guard
- Earl Johnson, Jr., fullback, senior, Muskegon Heights, Michigan
- Carl R. Kamhout, tackle, senior, Grand Haven, Michigan
- Stanley Knickerbocker, halfback, senior, Chelsea, Michigan
- William Kolesar, tackle, senior, Mentor, Ohio
- Ron Kramer, end, junior, East Detroit, Michigan - started 6 games at left end
- Jim Maddock, quarterback, junior, Chicago, Illinois - started 6 games at quarterback
- Tom Maentz, end, junior, Holland, Michigan - started 7 games at right end
- Robert L. Marion, guard, senior, Muskegon Heights, Michigan
- Ed Meads, guard, senior, Oxford, Michigan - started 9 games at right guard
- John M. Morrow, tackle, senior, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Marvin R. Nyren, guard, junior, Des Plaines, Illinois
- James B. Orwig, tackle, junior, Toledo, Ohio - started 9 games at left tackle
- Jim Pace, halfback, sophomore, Little Rock, Arkansas
- John Peckham, center, senior, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- David F. Rentschler, end, senior, Detroit, Michigan
- Mike Rotunno, end, junior, Canton, Ohio - started 3 games at left end
- Edward J. Shannon, halfback, junior, River Forest, Illinois - started 1 game at fullback
- Lionel Albert Sigman, tackle, junior, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 9 games at right tackle
- Jim Van Pelt, quarterback, sophomore, Evanston, Illinois - started 3 games at quarterback
Reserves
- Peter J. Aluzzo, center, Detroit, Michigan
- George J. Armelagos, guard, Allen Park, Michigan
- Paul T. Baldwin, quarterback, senior, Escanaba, Michigan
- Thomas E. Berger, guard, sophomore, Detroit, Michigan
- Alex Bochnowski, guard, sophomore, Munster, Indiana
- James A. Dickey, quarterback, sophomore, Miamisburg, Ohio
- Jerry I. Gonser, end, senior, Saline, Michigan
- James P. Gray, tackle, freshman, Battle Creek, Michigan
- Robert L. Henderson, tackle, Evansville, Indiana
- Jerry Janecke, halfback, sophomore, Rock Island, Illinois
- Walter W. Klinge, halfback, sophomore, West Brooklyn, Illinois
- Charles H. Krahnke, guard, senior, Wyandotte, Michigan
- John C. Kreger, tackle, sophomore, Flat Rock, Michigan
- Frederick Krueger, end, sophomore, Allen Park, Michigan
- Jack Lousma, quarterback, sophomore, Ann Arbor, Michigan - Lousma became a NASA astronaut and politician. He was a member of the Skylab 3 crew in 1973 and the commander of STS-3, the third space shuttle mission in 1983.
- William MacPhee, center, sophomore, Grand Haven, Michigan
- Charles F. Matulis, halfback, junior, East Chicago, Indiana
- Ernest H. McCoy, halfback, State College, Pennsylvania
- Joseph H. McKoan, end, junior, Algonac, Michigan
- John A. Miller, end, Jackson, Michigan
- Gordon Morrow, end, sophomore, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- David G. Owen, tackle, junior, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Donald F. Rembiesa, center, sophomore, Dearborn, Michigan
- Mike Rodriguez, halfback, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Richard J. Ruhuala, fullback, Flint, Michigan
- Michael Shatusky, halfback, junior, Menominee, Michigan
- Robert E. Sriver, halfback, senior, Mishawaka, Indiana
- William B. Steinmeyer, guard, junior, Toledo, Ohio
- Stephen J. Zervas, fullback, senior, Hazel Park, Michigan
Statistical leaders
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
Kickoff returns
Punt returns
Awards and honors
- Captain: Ed Meads
- All-Americans: Ron Kramer
- All-Conference: Ron Kramer (AP and UPI first team), Tom Maentz (AP and UPI first team), Tony Branoff (UPI first team and AP honorable mention), Jim Bates (UPI second team and AP honorable mention)
- Most Valuable Player: Terry Barr
- Meyer Morton Award: Jim Van Pelt
Coaching staff
- Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
- Assistant coaches: Jack Blott, Don Dufek, Robert Hollway, Cliff Keen, Pete Kinyon, Matt Patanelli, Don Robinson, Walter Weber
- Trainer: Jim Hunt
- Manager: Casper Grathwol
References
External links
- 1955 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History
Source of article : Wikipedia
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