1951 Michigan Wolverines football team

1951 Michigan Wolverines football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
1951 record	4–5 (4–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bennie Oosterbaan (4th year)
MVP	Don Peterson
Captain	Bill Putich
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium

1951 Big Ten football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#4 Illinois $	5	–	0	–	1	9	–	0	–	1
Purdue	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
#8 Wisconsin	5	–	1	–	1	7	–	1	–	1
Michigan	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 represented the University of Michigan in the 1951 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 29, 1951	#2/NA Michigan State*	#17/NA	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–25	96,541
October 6, 1951	Stanford*		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 13–23	54,824
October 13, 1951	Indiana		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 33–14	60,165
October 20, 1951	at Iowa		Iowa Stadium • Iowa City, IA	W 21–0	45,215
October 27, 1951	Minnesota		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 54–27	83,060
November 3, 1951	at #3/2 Illinois	#15/19	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Il	L 0–7	68,997
November 10, 1951	at Cornell*	#NR/17	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 7–20	33,752
November 17, 1951	Northwestern		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–6	57,634
November 24, 1951	#NR/14 Ohio State		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 7–0	93,411
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Statistical leaders

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

Players

Wes Bradford - started 6 games at right halfback
Donald Dugger - started 5 games at defensive left guard, 1 game at offensive left guard
Merritt Green - started 9 games at defensive left end
Tom Johnson - started 9 games at left tackle (offense and defense)
Peter Kinyon - started 7 games at offensive left guard, 1 game at offensive right guard
Don Oldham - started 7 games at defensive back, 1 game at left halfback
Dick O'Shaughnessy - started 9 games at center
Russ Osterman - started 9 games at defensive right end
Ben Pederson - started 8 games at right tackle
Lowell Perry - started 8 games at offensive left end, 1 game at right halfback, 3 games at safety
Don Peterson
Fred Pickard - started 8 games at offensive right end
Bill Putich - started 6 games at left halfback, 2 games at quarterback, 6 games at safety
Ralph Stribe^[1] - started 7 games at offensive right tackle
Robert Timm - started 9 games at defensive right guard
David Tinkham - started 9 games at defensive back, 2 games at left halfback
Ted Topor - started 7 games at quarterback, 8 games at linebacker
Thomas Witherspoon
Jim Wolter - started 8 games at offensive right guard, 1 game at offensive left guard
Roger Zatkoff - started 9 games at linebacker, 1 game at fullback

Awards and honors

Captain: Bill Putich
All-Americans: Lowell Perry (UP 3rd team, Central Press 2nd team), Tom Johnson (Chicago Tribune 1st-team)^[2]
All-Conference: Lowell Perry (AP and UP), Tom Johnson (AP and UP), Roger Zatkoff (UP)
Most Valuable Player: Don Peterson
Meyer Morton Award: Merritt Greene

Coaching staff

Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
Assistant coaches: Jack Blott, George Ceithaml, Cliff Keen, Ernest McCoy, Bill Orwig, Don Robinson, Walter Weber, J. T. White
Trainer: Jim Hunt
Manager: Leon Stock

References

↑ 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.
↑ Arch Ward (December 9, 1951). "PLAYERS NAME 1951 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS". Chicago Daily Tribune.

External links

1951 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

Michigan Wolverines football

Venues	Washtenaw County Fairgrounds (1883–1892) Regents Field (1893–1905) Ferry Field (1906–1926) Michigan Stadium (1927–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Chicago (defunct) Michigan State (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Minnesota (Little Brown Jug) Notre Dame Ohio State (The Ten Year War) Illinois

Culture & lore	Early years Yost era Kipke years Crisler years Oosterbaan years Elliott years Short punt The Ten Year War 1922 Vanderbilt game 24–12 The Vote for the Rose Bowl Miracle at Michigan 2006 "Game of the Century" 2007 Appalachian State game Biff "The Victors" Marching band

People	Head coaches Trainers Players All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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