The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FAMILY LOSES BOB CHAPPUIS INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS invested in a Wolverines-themed Mount Rushmore above the foot- ball stadium, the three Heisman Trophy winners — Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997) — would be a good start. The list of candi- dates for the fourth spot, though, is probably too long and distinguished to be fair. Those who lived through the 1940s If the higher-ups at Michigan ever of their wizardry on the field, was surrounded by his wife, Ann, and their four children at the time of his death. Chappuis was a 1947 All-Amer- tired from football in 1950 when the league folded. "When he came back to visit us on would insist Bob Chappuis deserves a spot. He, not Notre Dame's Johnny Lujack (quarterback of a two-win team in 1947), should have won the Heisman Trophy, many argue, and was the best player on a team that captured the 1947 national title in a post-bowl vote following a drub- bing of USC in the Rose Bowl. "I am one of those guys who thinks he should have won the Heisman," former U-M fullback/ linebacker and Chappuis teammate Dick Kempthorn recalled. "He had a competitive spirit in him that he just wouldn't quit. He wanted to be a winner, and while a lot of people do, it was a little more heated with him. "He was definitely a team player — like a coach on the field at the time. Even with the coaches, Ben- nie Oosterbaan and Fritz Crisler, he wasn't hesitant about talking and saying what was on his mind." Chappuis passed away June 14, ican and finished second in the Heisman voting after leading the Wolverines to a perfect 10-0 record. He led the Wolverines in passing and total offense in both 1946 and 1947, re- ceiving All-Big Ten honors both seasons, and was con- sidered one of the earliest passing specialists in col- lege football. Time ran his photo on the cover of one of its 1947 issues to pro- mote an article on the '47 squad, one of Crisler 's finest, on which he broke his own Big Nine total of- fense record by gaining 1,405 yards (compared to 1,284 yards in 1946). Chappuis' record of 23 2012, at the age of 89, following a fall days earlier. The leader of Crisler's "Mad Magicians," so-called because THEWOLVERINE.COM POLL RESULTS a new poll for its readers to vote on. If you would like to vote, go to www.the- wolverine.com. The poll is located on our premium message board, The Fort. Each month, TheWolverine.com runs opening the 2015 season at Utah on a Thursday night? Yes — 74 percent No — 26 percent Are you in favor of Michigan career touchdown passes stood until Rick Leach's arrival in the late 1970s, and he still holds the Big Ten Conference single- season passer rating re- cord (175.3 rating) and the U-M season mark for yards per comple- tion (18.8). "He wasn't the fast- the 1948 team, he always expressed his displeasure with the pros," Kempthorn recalled. "He used to say, 'If you don't pay those linemen, you get hit pretty hard.'" est guy, and maybe he didn't hit you the hardest," Kempthorn recalled. "He just found a way to get it done on the football field. He was a unique guy." Chappuis first lettered in 1942 be- fore World War II interrupted his career. He served as an aerial gunner and radio operator on B-25 bombers and was shot down over Italy on his 21st mission, rescued by an Italian partisan, and remained in Italy for three months until the end of the war, reportedly moving from village to village to stay a step ahead of the Germans. Following his graduation, Chap- 1,161 votes Staff of The Wolverine's consensus: Yes. Chappuis was on the cover of Time maga- zine in 1947, a year in which he earned All- Big Ten honors and led the Wolverines to a national championship. FILE IMAGE puis played two years of profes- sional football with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), serv- ing as the starting quarterback for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Hornets in 1948 and 1949. He re- shortly thereafter and was a suc- cessful labor relations director. He earned entry into the College Foot- ball Hall of Fame in 1988, has been inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Michigan Hall of Honor and will be inducted into the state of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame this fall. Those who knew him well remem- He entered the business sector ber him as one of the finest Michi- gan has ever produced, a fierce com- petitor but a true gentleman. — Chris Balas AUGUST 2012 THE WOLVERINE 13