1954 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1954 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1954 Big Ten Conference football season. In its seventh year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 6–3 record (5–2 against conference opponents), tied for second place in the Big Ten, outscored opponents by a combined total of 139 to 87, and was ranked No. 15 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.[1][2]

1954 Michigan Wolverines football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 15
1954 record6–3 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPFred Baer
CaptainTed Cachey
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
1954 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 7 –0 –0  10 –0 –0
No. 9 Wisconsin 5 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
No. 15 Michigan 5 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Minnesota 4 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
Iowa 4 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Purdue 3 –3 –0  5 –3 –1
Indiana 2 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
Michigan State 1 –5 –0  3 –6 –0
Northwestern 1 –5 –0  2 –7 –0
Illinois 0 –6 –0  1 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Left guard Ted Cachey was the team captain, and fullback Fred Baer received the team's most valuable player award,[2]

Two Michigan players received All-American honors: left end Ron Kramer was selected as a first-team All-American by the Central Press Association,[3] and left tackle Art Walker received first-team honors from the All-America Board and the Football Writers Association of America.[4][5]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jim Maddock with 293 passing yards, Fred Baer with 439 rushing yards, and Ron Kramer with 303 receiving yards.[6]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 25at Washington*
W 14–035,076
October 2Army*
L 7–2669,161
October 9No. 4 Iowa
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 14–1364,283
October 16at Northwestern
W 7–032,972
October 23No. 8 Minnesota
W 34–070,740
October 30IndianaNo. 11
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
L 9–1349,817
November 6Illinois
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (series)
W 14–758,777
November 13Michigan State
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
W 33–797,239
November 20at No. 1 Ohio StateNo. 12
L 7–2178,447
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game

[1][2]

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1954 season include those listed below.[6][7]

Rushing
PlayerAttemptsNet yardsYards per attemptTouchdowns
Fred Baer1074394.13
Dan Cline973403.53
Ed Hickey451693.80
Lou Baldacci461523.34

Passing
PlayerAttemptsCompletionsInterceptionsComp %YardsYds/CompTDLong
Jim Maddock3516545.729318.3133
Dan Cline4315434.928118.7363
Duncan McDonald3615641.723715.8132

Receiving
PlayerReceptionsYardsYds/RecpTDLong
Ron Kramer2330313.2229
Lou Baldacci821126.4163
Dan Cline66110.2033

Kickoff returns
PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Dan Cline816420.5034
Ed Hickey23216.0024

Punt returns
PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Dan Cline131138.7022
Tom Hendricks16767.0167
Terry Barr45614.0025
Ron Kramer34314.3026

Scoring
PlayerTD (rush)TD (rec.)TD (oth.)Other typePAT attPAT madePoints
Ron Kramer021Blk Punt141331
Lou Baldacci4101131
Fred Baer3000018
Dan Cline3000018

Personnel

Letter winners

The following 33 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1954 team.[8] Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.[2]

Team captain Ted Cachey
  • Fred Baer, 5'11", 188 pounds, senior, LaGrange, IL – started 6 games at fullback
  • Lou Baldacci, 6'1", 196 pounds, junior, Akron, OH – started 5 games at quarterback, 1 game at fullback
  • Terry Barr, 6'1", 172 pounds, sophomore, Grand Rapids, MI - halfback
  • James Bates, 6'0", 198 pounds, senior, Farmington, MI – started 4 games at center
  • Tony Branoff, 5'11", 188 pounds, junior, Flint, MI – started 2 games at right halfback
  • Charles Brooks, 6'1", 202 pounds, sophomore, Marshall, MI - end
  • Ted Cachey, 5'10", 178 pounds, senior, Chicago – started 9 games at left guard
  • Daniel Cline, 5'10" 175 pounds, senior, Brockport, NY – started 9 games at left halfback
  • George Corey, 5'10", 163 pounds, junior, Baden, PA - halfback
  • Don Drake, 5'11", 213 pounds, senior, Ypsilanti, MI - center
  • Jim Fox, 6'0", 190 pounds, junior, Saginaw, MI - guard
  • Ronald Geyer, 6'2", 225 pounds, senior, Toledo, OH – started 6 games at right tackle
  • Jerry Goebel, 6'3", 214 pounds, sophomore, Grosse Pointe, MI - center
  • Tom Hendricks, 5'11", 181 pounds, junior, Detroit - halfback
  • Edward Hickey, 5'8", 173 pounds, senior, Anaconda, MT – started 1 game at right halfback
  • Dave Hill, 6'0", 188 pounds, junior, Ypsilanti, MI – started 2 games at fullback
  • Stan Knickerbocker, 5'11", 173 pounds, senior, Chelsea, MI - halfback
  • Bill Kolesar, 6'0", 221 pounds, junior, Mentor, OH - tackle
  • Ron Kramer, 6'3", 210 pounds, sophomore, East Detroit, MI – started 9 games at left end
  • Jim Maddock, 6'0", 187 pounds, sophomore, Chicago – started 1 game at quarterback
  • Tom Maentz, 6'2", 205 pounds, sophomore, Holland, MI – started 5 games at right end
  • Bob Marion, 5'10", 192 pounds, junior, Muskegon Heights, MI - guard
  • Duncan McDonald, 6'0", 170 pounds, senior, Flint, MI – started 3 games at quarterback
  • Ed Meads, 6'0", 199 pounds, junior, Oxford, MI – started 9 games at right guard
  • John Morrow, 6'2", 228 pounds, junior, Ann Arbor, MI – started 3 games at right tackle
  • John Peckham, 6'2", 227 pounds, junior, Sioux Falls, SD – started 2 games at center
  • Chuck Ritter, 6'0", 195 pounds, senior, Cassopolis, MI - guard
  • Mike Rotunno, 6'0", 187 pounds, sophomore, Canton, OH - guard
  • Ed Shannon, 5'8", 172 pounds, sophomore, River Forest, IL – started 6 games at right halfback
  • Gene Snider, 6'0", 195 pounds, sophomore, Hamtramck, MI – started 3 games at center
  • John Veselenak, 6'2", 192 pounds, senior, Flint, MI - end
  • Art Walker, 5'11", 218 pounds, senior, South Haven, MI – started 9 games at left tackle
  • Gerry Williams, 6'2", 189 pounds, junior, Flint, MI – started 4 games at right end

Coaches and staff

Michigan's 1954 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.[2]

Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1954 season went to the following individuals.[2]

  • Captain: Ted Cachey
  • All-Americans: Art Walker
  • All-Conference: Art Walker, Ron Kramer
  • Most Valuable Player: Fred Baer
  • Meyer Morton Award: Don Dugger

References
  1. "1954 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. "1954 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. Walter Johns (November 28, 1954). "Penn State's Lenny Moore Named To Captains' All-America". Reading Eagle. p. 34.
  4. ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1236. ISBN 1401337031.
  5. "FWAA All America" (PDF). Football Writers Association of America.
  6. "1954 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  7. "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 "1954" in the box for "Games & Totals by Season" and then, at the next screen, choosing "Display Season Totals")
  8. "Oosterbaan Awards 34 Grid Letters". The Michigan Daily. November 23, 1954. p. 3 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  9. Peter Chatfield Kinyon, born December 5, 1929, died November 16, 2012. Played football at Michigan 1948–1951 (varsity 1950–51). Coached football at Michigan 1954–56.
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