Bump Elliott
Encyclopedia
Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott (born January 30, 1925) is a former American football
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback
at Purdue University
(1943–1944) and the University of Michigan
(1946–1947). Elliott grew up in Bloomington, Illinois
, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
as a senior in high school and was assigned to the V-12 Navy College Training Program
at Purdue University
. He received varsity letter
s in football, baseball
, and basketball
at Purdue, before being called into active duty in late 1944, serving with the Marines in China.
After being discharged from the military, he enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1946 and joined the football team for whom his brother Pete Elliott
played quarterback
. In 1947, he played for an undefeated and untied Michigan football team
known as the "Mad Magicians", led the Big Nine Conference
in scoring, won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football
trophy as the Most Valuable Player
in the Conference, and was selected as an All-American
by the American Football Coaches Association
.
After graduating from Michigan in 1948, Elliott spent ten years as an assistant football coach at Oregon State
, Iowa
, and Michigan. He was appointed as Michigan's head football coach in 1959 and held that position until 1968, leading the team to a Big Ten Conference
championship and Rose Bowl victory in the 1964 season. For a period of 21 years from 1970–1991, he was the athletic director
at the University of Iowa
. During his tenure as athletic director, he hired coaches Dan Gable
, Hayden Fry
, Lute Olson
, C. Vivian Stringer
, and Dr. Tom Davis
, and the Iowa Hawkeyes
won 41 Big Ten Conference
championships and 11 NCAA
titles. In 1989, Elliott was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
.
, but grew up in Bloomington, Illinois
. His father, Dr. J. Norman Elliott, was an ears, nose and throat doctor
who also coached football at Illinois Wesleyan University
from 1930–1934. Elliott's given name is Chalmers, but he has been known by the nickname "Bump" since he was six months old, though nobody remembers how he got the nickname, "not even his mother."
Elliott and his younger brother, Pete Elliott
, both played football together for Bloomington High School, where Bump was an All-State halfback
in 1942, and Pete made it as a fullback
in 1943. Had it not been for World War II, Bump and Pete likely would have attended the University of Illinois, which was about 50 miles from their home in Bloomington. However, both brothers wanted to get into the V-12 Navy College Training Program
, and Illinois did not have such a program. Bump enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
while still a senior in high school and was called to active duty in 1943. He was assigned to the V-12 officer training program at Purdue University
. His brother, Pete, also enlisted and was assigned to officer training at Michigan.
s in football, basketball
and baseball
. He played three games for the unbeaten and untied 1943 Purdue football
team where he was described as "a capable triple-threater and stellar defensive performer." He scored a touchdown
against Minnesota
in his first game, and made a key interception at Purdue's ten-yard line in the season's final game against Indiana
. A May 1944 newspaper article reported that the 19-year-old Elliott, who had been a "high school sensation last year," had won three major athletic letters in his first year as a Naval V-12 student at Purdue. "A speedy 160-pound, five foot 10-inch performer, he lost little time making his mark in football last fall once he became eligible upon completion of his first V-12
term." Elliott appeared in the final three games of the football season, and his performance in the season's final game against Indiana
"provided one of the highlights of the Boilermaker season."
In basketball, he was "consistent as a guard on Purdue's cage combination." In baseball, Elliott played shortstop
and center field
, where he was "a steady fielder with a strong arm." In a May 1944 game, Elliott led the Boilermakers
to a 17–4 win over Wisconsin
, with five hits
, five stolen base
s, four RBIs, three runs scored
, and four putout
s in center field. His performance against Wisconsin was "one of the biggest baseball days ever turned" by a Big Ten baseball player.
Elliott played in the first six games of the 1944 football season for Purdue before being transferred by the Marine Corps. In a game against Marquette
in late September, he broke up a 7–7 tie with successive touchdown
runs of 24 and 71 yards. He was also the only defensive player in 1944 to pull down Illinois' Claude "Buddy" Young
from behind. Elliott received orders to report for active duty in October 1944, and he played his last game in a Purdue uniform against the Michigan Wolverines
on October 28, 1944. In November 1944, Elliott was sent to Parris Island
. He was later sent to China and emerged from the war as a Marine lieutenant
.
, were teammates at Bloomington High School in 1943 and again at Michigan in 1946 and 1947. After his discharge from the military, Bump joined Pete at Michigan, where Pete played quarterback and Bump was the right halfback for the undefeated 1947 team
. Before the 1948 Rose Bowl
, one article noted that the two brothers roomed together at Michigan and arranged their programs so that their classes were identical. The article observed: "They look alike, act alike and think alike and in Ann Arbor, Mich., when they walk down the street any Michigan student can recognize Bump and Pete, the inseparable Elliott Brothers, Wolverines right half and quarterback respectively." The brothers shared the same distinctive golden red hair, and the two were so close that they told a reporter in 1947 that a girl had to receive "the Bumper stamp of approval" before passing Pete's test.
, where he joined his brother, Pete, in Michigan's backfield
. Elliott "practically stepped off a World War II transport
from Marine Corps duty in China to Michigan's Ferry Field
and stardom." With less than a week of conditioning after his discharge from the Marines, he was reported to be giving Michigan's coaching staff "something lovely to look at."
In a 14–14 tie with Northwestern
in mid-October 1946, Elliott scored all 14 of Michigan's points. He scored the first touchdown
late in the first quarter on a 37 yard pass
from Bob Chappuis
in the corner of the end zone
. In the fourth quarter, Michigan fullback
Bob Wiese intercepted a pass
on Michigan's 1- yard line, and lateralled
to Elliott on the Michigan 40-yard line. From that point, Elliott ran it back 60 yards down the sideline
for his second touchdown
. He again scored two touchdowns in Michigan's 21-0 win over Minnesota
on November 2, 1946. He also helped Michigan to a 28–6 win over Wisconsin
with a bullet pass
to end Bob Mann
in the end zone
.
. The team is considered to be the greatest Michigan team of all time. Along with Bob Chappuis
, Elliott was one of the key players in Michigan's undefeated season. He led the Big Nine
in scoring, made the All-American
team picked by the American Football Coaches Association
, and was voted Most Valuable Player
in the Big Nine Conference
to win the Chicago Tribune Silver Football
trophy. Elliott was one of two Michigan players in 1947 (the other was fullback Jack Weisenburger) who played both offense and defense. Indeed, Elliott was actually a four-way threat as he contributed in rushing
, receiving
, punt returns, and defense. He scored a total of 12 touchdown
s in 1947—eight rushing
, two receiving, one on a punt return, and another on an interception return. He contributed 911 all-purpose yardage
– 438 rushing, 318 receiving, and 155 on punt returns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry as a rusher, 19.9 yards per reception, and 17.2 yards per punt return. Michigan head coach Fritz Crisler
called Elliott the greatest right halfback he had ever seen.
Elliott had a breakthrough season that began with the team's "Blue" versus "White" exhibition game in mid-September in which he scored four touchdowns, including 50 and 60 yard runs. He scored touchdowns in each of the team's early season wins over Michigan State
(55–0), Stanford
(49-13), and Pitt (69-0). His touchdown against Pitt came on defense, as he intercepted a pass
and ran it back 37 yards. In the Big Nine opener against Northwestern
, Elliott scored on a nine-yard run less than two minutes after the game started, as the Wolverines won, 49-21. In Michigan's closest contest of the 1947 season, a 13-6 win over Minnesota
, Elliott caught a 40-yard pass
from Bob Chappuis
on his fingertips at the Minnesota 15-yard line and went on to score with a minute and 15 seconds to go in the first half. Said one reporter: "It was the exceptional speed of Elliott on this play that turned the tide. He completely outmaneuvered the Minnesota secondary."
The biggest challenge of the 1947 season came in a 14–7 win over Illinois
. The Associated Press
described Elliott as Michigan's "Big Cog" in the Illinois game, and the United Press proclaimed: "Bump Elliott Steals Show in 14 to 7 Defeat of Illinois Saturday." In the first quarter, he ran back a punt 75 yards for a touchdown, as Bob Mann "bulldozed the path with a vicious block", and "the Bloomington blaster scampered down the sidelines." Elliott also set up the Wolverines second score with a long reception to the Illinois four-yard line. He also played a key role on defense, intercepting a pass at the Michigan nine-yard line to halt an Illinois drive. Another article concluded: "The individual hero was Bump Elliott, a 168-pound halfback who loped 74 yards for one touchdown and caught a pass for a 52 yard gain to set up the second and winning marker."
He finished the season scoring two touchdowns each in games against Indiana and Ohio State
. At the end of the season, Elliott and Bob Chappuis
both received 16 of 18 possible points in voting by the AP
for the All-Big Nine football team. Elliott weighed only 160 pound during his All-American season in 1947. Asked later about how he managed to compete at his weight, Elliott noted, "I was awful lucky to get by at that weight."
game against the USC Trojans. Michigan dominated the game, winning 49–0, as "the shifty Chappuis and the speedy Elliott began to fake (the Trojans) out of their shoes." Elliott scored on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Chappuis. In August 1948, Elliott was chosen as the captain of the College All-Stars in their game against the Chicago Cardinals at Soldier Field
. Injured in practice, Elliott was unable to play as the Cardinals beat the All-Stars, 28–0.
record that stood for five years until Don Oldham pushed the record from 174 yards to 181 yards. His 174 career yards still ranks fifth in school history.
in 1949 and 1950, before going their separate ways. The Elliotts coached against each other in the early 1960s while Bump was the head football coach at Michigan and Pete held the same position at the University of Illinois. In November 1963, Pete Elliott's Illinois team was ranked No. 2 in the country and the favorite for the Rose Bowl when it faced off against Bump Elliott's Michigan team. Michigan had a record of 2–3–1 when the brothers met in 1963, but Michigan came out on top, 14–8, marking the fourth time in four games that Bump's Wolverines came out on top of brother Pete's Illini.
After graduating from Michigan, Bump turned down an offer to play professional football for the Detroit Lions
, saying he said he had obtained a job in Chicago outside of football. Elliott also considered going into medicine as his father had done, but he chose instead to go into coaching. He started his coaching career at Michigan in the fall of 1948 as assistant backfield coach. In the spring of 1949, he was hired as an assistant coach under Kip Taylor
at Oregon State
, where he remained for three seasons, from 1949–1951. Elliott later recalled, "I was only 24 when Kip Taylor hired me as backfield coach at Oregon State, and it bothered me a little because there were two backs on the squad who were older than I was." It was even worse for his brother Pete, who was 22 when he was hired to coach the ends. Bump recalled: "After practice one night some players noticed Pete light up a cigaret
. One of his ends drew Pete aside and said in a fatherly voice, 'You shouldn't smoke
, coach; I didn't do it when I was your age." Oregon State had an overall record of 14–15 in Elliott's three years as an assistant coach.
In 1952, Elliott was hired as an assistant at the University of Iowa
under its head coach, Forest Evashevski
, another former All-American at the University of Michigan
. On being hired at Iowa, Elliott said, "I should feel at home back in the Big Ten. I grew up in Bloomington – 40 miles from Illinois. I played at Purdue and Michigan and coached at Michigan. My father went to Iowa and Northwestern and now I’m coaching at Iowa." He stayed at Iowa until 1957. Elliott was with the Hawkeyes in 1956 when they went 9–1, won the Big Ten championship, and defeated his former team, Oregon State, 35–19, in the 1957 Rose Bowl game.
He returned to Michigan in 1957 as a backfield coach under Bennie Oosterbaan
. In 1959, Elliott was elevated to head football coach at Michigan. He was the head coach for ten years from 1959 to 1968, posting a career record of 51–42–2, for a .547 winning percentage. In Big Ten Conference
play, his record was 32–34–2 (.485). His record over the ten years at Michigan was as follows:
Although his tenure at Michigan was unsuccessful by the school's historic standards, he did lead the 1964 Wolverines to a 9–1 record, a Big Ten title and a win in the Rose Bowl
against Oregon State
. His final team, in 1968, won eight of its first nine games but then suffered a humiliating 50–14 loss against Ohio State
. Despite having a 36-point lead, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes
passed for, and failed to get, a two-point conversion after the final score and with 1:23 remaining in the game. When asked why he went for the two-point conversion, Hayes reportedly said, "Because we couldn't go for three!" Shortly after the game, Elliott resigned, and athletic director Don Canham
hired Bo Schembechler
to replace him as head coach. Schembechler would use the memory of the 1968 Ohio State loss to motivate his team the following season.
There were reports during the 1968 season that Elliott had been given an ultimatum: "Either win or face the possibility of being kick upstairs." There were also reports when Don Canham was hired that Elliott had expected to be named athletic director and that there was "bad blood" between Canham and Elliott.
However, Canham later denied that Elliott was "eased out" of his job. In an interview with Joe Falls
, Canham said: "Bump and I are close personal friends. Bump is not naïve – he knows that when you work at a place for 10 years and you’re not winning consistently, it doesn’t become fun for anybody – the coach, the alumni, the players or anybody else. We talked about this and we talked about it openly. If Bump had said to me, ‘Look, give me a couple of more years,’ I would have given it to him. I mean that. I didn’t fire Bump Elliott. My first year as director Bump had an 8 and 2 record. Anyone could live with that."
According to Canham, he met with Elliott in December 1968 and offered him the job of associate athletic director. Canham told Elliott he could stay on as coach if he wanted, but Canham could not promise him that the job of associate athletic director would still be open in another couple of years. Canham said: "Bump smiled at me and said, ‘I don’t have to think about it.’ He was ready to get out. I did not force him, and I mean that in all honesty. But the job had ceased to be fun for him."
Schembechler later recalled that he remained loyal to Elliott when he took over as Michigan's head coach in 1969. When Schembechler won the Big Ten
championship in 1969, he said, "I made certain I let everyone know I won with Bump's kids. Bump was a man of great class and he showed it to me again and again in that first year, never getting in the way, always trying to be helpful, always trying to encourage me." After Michigan won the 1969 Ohio State game
, the team presented the game ball to Elliott, and Schembechler noted that "I don’t remember when I felt happier about anything in my life."
From 1969 to 1970, Elliott was the associate director of athletics at Michigan.
at the University of Iowa
in 1970, succeeding Forest Evashevski
. He came to Iowa in the midst of a feud between athletic director Forest Evashevski
and football coach Ray Nagel
. Evashevski resigned in May 1970, and Elliott was hired to replace him. On accepting the job, Elliott noted: "It's difficult to leave a town where you’ve lived for 13 years (Ann Arbor, Michigan
), but the opportunity is so good at Iowa with the people and the school that no one could pass it up."
During Elliott's tenure, the school's teams won 41 Big Ten
championships and 11 NCAA titles, as well as making three Rose Bowl appearances and one trip to the Final Four in basketball. The university also built a basketball arena (Carver-Hawkeye Arena
), erected an indoor workout center for football and added more than 10,000 seats to its football stadium. His career at Iowa was marked by a general resurgence in the competitiveness of Iowa athletics. Elliott hired a number of notable coaches, including Lute Olson
, Dan Gable
, Hayden Fry
, C. Vivian Stringer
, and Dr. Tom Davis
. During Elliott's 21 years as athletic director, the Iowa Hawkeyes
won 41 Big Ten championships in football (1981, 1985, 1990), wrestling
(1974–1990), men's basketball
(1970, 1979), baseball
(1972, 1974, 1990), men's gymnastics
(1972, 1974, 1986), men's swimming
(1981, 1982), women's basketball (1987–1990), field hockey
(1981–1983, 1985–1987), and women's cross-country
(1982). See Iowa Hawkeyes
for complete list of championships.
Elliott was known as "a coach's AD." "He hired coaches he trusted, then gave them the resources, latitude and support they needed to operate as they saw fit – providing they played by the rules." Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable
said his wife cried on learning that Elliott had retired. In 1999, Gable wrote: "Right after I came to coach at the University of Iowa, I had a meeting with Bump Elliott, who was the Athletic Director. I’ll never forget what Bump said to me: ‘Don’t ask for the moon. Strive to get there, sure, but do it wisely through continuing to build upon what you already have. As you build, come see me, and we’ll see how I can help you out.’ I now call that bit of wisdom the Bump Elliott Rule, and it serves a good reminder to keep things in perspective. Gradual, solid growth is better than any quick fix.""The one thing we emphasized from the start was that our staff had to make sure we were 100 percent loyal to each other and the university," Elliott said at the time of his retirement. "There could be no jealousy between the coaches and various programs. I wanted no one talking behind anyone's backs. I wanted absolute loyalty. If not, then that person could leave any time."
Elliott was also the one who hired Hayden Fry
as Iowa's football coach in 1979. Fry later said that Elliott was one of the principal reasons he chose to coach at Iowa. In his autobiography, Fry wrote: "Iowa had one thing in its favor as far as I was concerned: Bump Elliott was its athletic director. Bump had a reputation as being a fair, honest and well-liked administrator." Elliott told Fry that he would be the last football coach Bump ever hired. Fry was puzzled and asked Elliott what he meant. Elliott said, "Simple, I don’t think they’ll give me a chance to hire another coach, so if you don’t make it, neither will I." He is the only person to have been with Rose Bowl teams in five capacities – player, assistant coach, head coach, assistant athletic director, and athletic director.
under Hayden Fry
in the 1990s.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
(1943–1944) and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
(1946–1947). Elliott grew up in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
as a senior in high school and was assigned to the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. He received varsity letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
s in football, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at Purdue, before being called into active duty in late 1944, serving with the Marines in China.
After being discharged from the military, he enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1946 and joined the football team for whom his brother Pete Elliott
Pete Elliott
-External links:...
played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
. In 1947, he played for an undefeated and untied Michigan football team
1947 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team, nicknamed the "Mad Magicians", represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 college football season. Coached by Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines finished undefeated and untied with a 10–0 record...
known as the "Mad Magicians", led the Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
in scoring, won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football
Chicago Tribune Silver Football
The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the Chicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois was the award's first recipient.The winner of the Silver...
trophy as the Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in the Conference, and was selected as an All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
by the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
.
After graduating from Michigan in 1948, Elliott spent ten years as an assistant football coach at Oregon State
Oregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
, Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
, and Michigan. He was appointed as Michigan's head football coach in 1959 and held that position until 1968, leading the team to a Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship and Rose Bowl victory in the 1964 season. For a period of 21 years from 1970–1991, he was the athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. During his tenure as athletic director, he hired coaches Dan Gable
Dan Gable
Dan Gable is an American amateur wrestler. He is famous for having only lost one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career—his last, and winning gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany while not giving up a single point...
, Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
, Lute Olson
Lute Olson
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
, C. Vivian Stringer
C. Vivian Stringer
Charlaine Vivian Stringer is a prominent African American basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women's basketball...
, and Dr. Tom Davis
Tom Davis (basketball)
Dr. Thomas "Dr. Tom" Davis is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College, Boston College, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University from 1971 to 2007....
, and the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
won 41 Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championships and 11 NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
titles. In 1989, Elliott was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
Early life
Elliott was born in DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, but grew up in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
. His father, Dr. J. Norman Elliott, was an ears, nose and throat doctor
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
who also coached football at Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
from 1930–1934. Elliott's given name is Chalmers, but he has been known by the nickname "Bump" since he was six months old, though nobody remembers how he got the nickname, "not even his mother."
Elliott and his younger brother, Pete Elliott
Pete Elliott
-External links:...
, both played football together for Bloomington High School, where Bump was an All-State halfback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
in 1942, and Pete made it as a fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
in 1943. Had it not been for World War II, Bump and Pete likely would have attended the University of Illinois, which was about 50 miles from their home in Bloomington. However, both brothers wanted to get into the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
, and Illinois did not have such a program. Bump enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
while still a senior in high school and was called to active duty in 1943. He was assigned to the V-12 officer training program at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. His brother, Pete, also enlisted and was assigned to officer training at Michigan.
Purdue University and military service
Elliott attended Purdue from 1943–1944. In his freshman year, Elliott earned varsity letterVarsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
s in football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. He played three games for the unbeaten and untied 1943 Purdue football
Purdue Boilermakers football
The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...
team where he was described as "a capable triple-threater and stellar defensive performer." He scored a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
against Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
in his first game, and made a key interception at Purdue's ten-yard line in the season's final game against Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers football
The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:...
. A May 1944 newspaper article reported that the 19-year-old Elliott, who had been a "high school sensation last year," had won three major athletic letters in his first year as a Naval V-12 student at Purdue. "A speedy 160-pound, five foot 10-inch performer, he lost little time making his mark in football last fall once he became eligible upon completion of his first V-12
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
term." Elliott appeared in the final three games of the football season, and his performance in the season's final game against Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers football
The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:...
"provided one of the highlights of the Boilermaker season."
In basketball, he was "consistent as a guard on Purdue's cage combination." In baseball, Elliott played shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
and center field
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
, where he was "a steady fielder with a strong arm." In a May 1944 game, Elliott led the Boilermakers
Purdue Boilermakers
Boilermakers is the official nickname for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. As is common with athletic nicknames, it is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large....
to a 17–4 win over Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
, with five hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, five stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s, four RBIs, three runs scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, and four putout
Putout
In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...
s in center field. His performance against Wisconsin was "one of the biggest baseball days ever turned" by a Big Ten baseball player.
Elliott played in the first six games of the 1944 football season for Purdue before being transferred by the Marine Corps. In a game against Marquette
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
in late September, he broke up a 7–7 tie with successive touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
runs of 24 and 71 yards. He was also the only defensive player in 1944 to pull down Illinois' Claude "Buddy" Young
Buddy Young
Claude "Buddy" Young was an American football player. A native of Chicago, the 5'4" Claude "Buddy" Young, also known as the "Bronze Bullet," had exceptional quickness and acceleration. He is one of the shortest men ever to play NFL football...
from behind. Elliott received orders to report for active duty in October 1944, and he played his last game in a Purdue uniform against the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
on October 28, 1944. In November 1944, Elliott was sent to Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
. He was later sent to China and emerged from the war as a Marine lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
.
University of Michigan
Elliott and his younger brother, Pete ElliottPete Elliott
-External links:...
, were teammates at Bloomington High School in 1943 and again at Michigan in 1946 and 1947. After his discharge from the military, Bump joined Pete at Michigan, where Pete played quarterback and Bump was the right halfback for the undefeated 1947 team
1947 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team, nicknamed the "Mad Magicians", represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 college football season. Coached by Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines finished undefeated and untied with a 10–0 record...
. Before the 1948 Rose Bowl
1948 Rose Bowl
The 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
, one article noted that the two brothers roomed together at Michigan and arranged their programs so that their classes were identical. The article observed: "They look alike, act alike and think alike and in Ann Arbor, Mich., when they walk down the street any Michigan student can recognize Bump and Pete, the inseparable Elliott Brothers, Wolverines right half and quarterback respectively." The brothers shared the same distinctive golden red hair, and the two were so close that they told a reporter in 1947 that a girl had to receive "the Bumper stamp of approval" before passing Pete's test.
1946 season
After being discharged from the Marine Corps, Elliott attended the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he joined his brother, Pete, in Michigan's backfield
Backfield
The backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The backfield or offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the quarterback, running back, and/or fullback.-Play...
. Elliott "practically stepped off a World War II transport
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
from Marine Corps duty in China to Michigan's Ferry Field
Ferry Field
Ferry Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It opened in 1906 and was home to the Michigan Wolverines football team prior to the Michigan Stadium opening in 1927. It had a capacity of 46,000....
and stardom." With less than a week of conditioning after his discharge from the Marines, he was reported to be giving Michigan's coaching staff "something lovely to look at."
In a 14–14 tie with Northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
in mid-October 1946, Elliott scored all 14 of Michigan's points. He scored the first touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
late in the first quarter on a 37 yard pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
from Bob Chappuis
Bob Chappuis
Robert Richard "Bob" Chappuis is a former American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II...
in the corner of the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
. In the fourth quarter, Michigan fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
Bob Wiese intercepted a pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
on Michigan's 1- yard line, and lateralled
Lateral pass
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
to Elliott on the Michigan 40-yard line. From that point, Elliott ran it back 60 yards down the sideline
Sidelines
The "sidelines" is a term commonly used to define the white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field. American football sidelines, for example, mark the edge of the field. Should a player pass through the sidelines, he is considered out of bounds...
for his second touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
. He again scored two touchdowns in Michigan's 21-0 win over Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
on November 2, 1946. He also helped Michigan to a 28–6 win over Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
with a bullet pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
to end Bob Mann
Bob Mann (American football)
Robert "Bob" Mann was an American football end. A native of New Bern, North Carolina, Mann played college football at Hampton Institute in 1942 and 1943 and at the University of Michigan in 1944, 1946 and 1947. He broke the Big Ten Conference record for receiving yardage in 1946 and again in 1947...
in the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
.
Big Nine MVP in 1947
In 1947, Elliott played for the Wolverines team known as the "Mad Magicians" that went undefeated and untied, and defeated the USC Trojans, 49–0 in the 1948 Rose Bowl1948 Rose Bowl
The 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
. The team is considered to be the greatest Michigan team of all time. Along with Bob Chappuis
Bob Chappuis
Robert Richard "Bob" Chappuis is a former American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II...
, Elliott was one of the key players in Michigan's undefeated season. He led the Big Nine
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
in scoring, made the All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
team picked by the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, and was voted Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in the Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
to win the Chicago Tribune Silver Football
Chicago Tribune Silver Football
The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the Chicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois was the award's first recipient.The winner of the Silver...
trophy. Elliott was one of two Michigan players in 1947 (the other was fullback Jack Weisenburger) who played both offense and defense. Indeed, Elliott was actually a four-way threat as he contributed in rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
, receiving
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
, punt returns, and defense. He scored a total of 12 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s in 1947—eight rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
, two receiving, one on a punt return, and another on an interception return. He contributed 911 all-purpose yardage
All-purpose yardage
All-purpose yards or All-purpose yardage is an American football and Canadian football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the...
– 438 rushing, 318 receiving, and 155 on punt returns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry as a rusher, 19.9 yards per reception, and 17.2 yards per punt return. Michigan head coach Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
called Elliott the greatest right halfback he had ever seen.
Elliott had a breakthrough season that began with the team's "Blue" versus "White" exhibition game in mid-September in which he scored four touchdowns, including 50 and 60 yard runs. He scored touchdowns in each of the team's early season wins over Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(55–0), Stanford
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
(49-13), and Pitt (69-0). His touchdown against Pitt came on defense, as he intercepted a pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
and ran it back 37 yards. In the Big Nine opener against Northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
, Elliott scored on a nine-yard run less than two minutes after the game started, as the Wolverines won, 49-21. In Michigan's closest contest of the 1947 season, a 13-6 win over Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
, Elliott caught a 40-yard pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
from Bob Chappuis
Bob Chappuis
Robert Richard "Bob" Chappuis is a former American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II...
on his fingertips at the Minnesota 15-yard line and went on to score with a minute and 15 seconds to go in the first half. Said one reporter: "It was the exceptional speed of Elliott on this play that turned the tide. He completely outmaneuvered the Minnesota secondary."
The biggest challenge of the 1947 season came in a 14–7 win over Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....
. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
described Elliott as Michigan's "Big Cog" in the Illinois game, and the United Press proclaimed: "Bump Elliott Steals Show in 14 to 7 Defeat of Illinois Saturday." In the first quarter, he ran back a punt 75 yards for a touchdown, as Bob Mann "bulldozed the path with a vicious block", and "the Bloomington blaster scampered down the sidelines." Elliott also set up the Wolverines second score with a long reception to the Illinois four-yard line. He also played a key role on defense, intercepting a pass at the Michigan nine-yard line to halt an Illinois drive. Another article concluded: "The individual hero was Bump Elliott, a 168-pound halfback who loped 74 yards for one touchdown and caught a pass for a 52 yard gain to set up the second and winning marker."
He finished the season scoring two touchdowns each in games against Indiana and Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
. At the end of the season, Elliott and Bob Chappuis
Bob Chappuis
Robert Richard "Bob" Chappuis is a former American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II...
both received 16 of 18 possible points in voting by the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
for the All-Big Nine football team. Elliott weighed only 160 pound during his All-American season in 1947. Asked later about how he managed to compete at his weight, Elliott noted, "I was awful lucky to get by at that weight."
1948 Rose Bowl against USC
As the Big Nine Conference champions, the 1947 Wolverines were invited to play in the 1948 Rose Bowl1948 Rose Bowl
The 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
game against the USC Trojans. Michigan dominated the game, winning 49–0, as "the shifty Chappuis and the speedy Elliott began to fake (the Trojans) out of their shoes." Elliott scored on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Chappuis. In August 1948, Elliott was chosen as the captain of the College All-Stars in their game against the Chicago Cardinals at Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
. Injured in practice, Elliott was unable to play as the Cardinals beat the All-Stars, 28–0.
Application for 1948 eligibility denied
Elliott applied for an extra year of eligibility in 1948. Due to his military service, he played in only three games as a freshman and six games in his sophomore season. Under the Big Nine conference code, he was eligible for a fifth season due to a war-caused stay at Purdue in 1943-1944. However, his request was denied by the Big Nine Conference. The decision was criticized by Michigan's representative on the Big Nine faculty committee as a "grave injustice." Nonetheless, Elliott set the Michigan career interception return yardsReturn yards
Return yards is an American football and Canadian football statistical measure that takes several forms. In American and Canadian football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's Goal line...
record that stood for five years until Don Oldham pushed the record from 174 yards to 181 yards. His 174 career yards still ranks fifth in school history.
Coaching career
The Elliot brothers served as assistant coaches together at Oregon StateOregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
in 1949 and 1950, before going their separate ways. The Elliotts coached against each other in the early 1960s while Bump was the head football coach at Michigan and Pete held the same position at the University of Illinois. In November 1963, Pete Elliott's Illinois team was ranked No. 2 in the country and the favorite for the Rose Bowl when it faced off against Bump Elliott's Michigan team. Michigan had a record of 2–3–1 when the brothers met in 1963, but Michigan came out on top, 14–8, marking the fourth time in four games that Bump's Wolverines came out on top of brother Pete's Illini.
After graduating from Michigan, Bump turned down an offer to play professional football for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, saying he said he had obtained a job in Chicago outside of football. Elliott also considered going into medicine as his father had done, but he chose instead to go into coaching. He started his coaching career at Michigan in the fall of 1948 as assistant backfield coach. In the spring of 1949, he was hired as an assistant coach under Kip Taylor
Kip Taylor
-External links:...
at Oregon State
Oregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
, where he remained for three seasons, from 1949–1951. Elliott later recalled, "I was only 24 when Kip Taylor hired me as backfield coach at Oregon State, and it bothered me a little because there were two backs on the squad who were older than I was." It was even worse for his brother Pete, who was 22 when he was hired to coach the ends. Bump recalled: "After practice one night some players noticed Pete light up a cigaret
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
. One of his ends drew Pete aside and said in a fatherly voice, 'You shouldn't smoke
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, coach; I didn't do it when I was your age." Oregon State had an overall record of 14–15 in Elliott's three years as an assistant coach.
In 1952, Elliott was hired as an assistant at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
under its head coach, Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
, another former All-American at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. On being hired at Iowa, Elliott said, "I should feel at home back in the Big Ten. I grew up in Bloomington – 40 miles from Illinois. I played at Purdue and Michigan and coached at Michigan. My father went to Iowa and Northwestern and now I’m coaching at Iowa." He stayed at Iowa until 1957. Elliott was with the Hawkeyes in 1956 when they went 9–1, won the Big Ten championship, and defeated his former team, Oregon State, 35–19, in the 1957 Rose Bowl game.
He returned to Michigan in 1957 as a backfield coach under Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
. In 1959, Elliott was elevated to head football coach at Michigan. He was the head coach for ten years from 1959 to 1968, posting a career record of 51–42–2, for a .547 winning percentage. In Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
play, his record was 32–34–2 (.485). His record over the ten years at Michigan was as follows:
Although his tenure at Michigan was unsuccessful by the school's historic standards, he did lead the 1964 Wolverines to a 9–1 record, a Big Ten title and a win in the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
against Oregon State
Oregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
. His final team, in 1968, won eight of its first nine games but then suffered a humiliating 50–14 loss against Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Despite having a 36-point lead, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes
Woody Hayes
Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University , Miami University , and Ohio State University , compiling a career college football record of 238–72–10.During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio...
passed for, and failed to get, a two-point conversion after the final score and with 1:23 remaining in the game. When asked why he went for the two-point conversion, Hayes reportedly said, "Because we couldn't go for three!" Shortly after the game, Elliott resigned, and athletic director Don Canham
Don Canham
Donald Canham was a track and field athlete and coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the athletic director at the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1988. There, he became nationally renowned for his ability to market and sell products bearing the name or logo of the school...
hired Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
to replace him as head coach. Schembechler would use the memory of the 1968 Ohio State loss to motivate his team the following season.
There were reports during the 1968 season that Elliott had been given an ultimatum: "Either win or face the possibility of being kick upstairs." There were also reports when Don Canham was hired that Elliott had expected to be named athletic director and that there was "bad blood" between Canham and Elliott.
However, Canham later denied that Elliott was "eased out" of his job. In an interview with Joe Falls
Joe Falls
Joseph Francis Falls was an American journalist. He began his career in his native New York City. At the age of 17 in 1945, he took a job as a copyboy for the Associated Press. After an apprenticeship of eight years, Falls moved to the Detroit bureau of the AP.In Detroit, Falls flourished...
, Canham said: "Bump and I are close personal friends. Bump is not naïve – he knows that when you work at a place for 10 years and you’re not winning consistently, it doesn’t become fun for anybody – the coach, the alumni, the players or anybody else. We talked about this and we talked about it openly. If Bump had said to me, ‘Look, give me a couple of more years,’ I would have given it to him. I mean that. I didn’t fire Bump Elliott. My first year as director Bump had an 8 and 2 record. Anyone could live with that."
According to Canham, he met with Elliott in December 1968 and offered him the job of associate athletic director. Canham told Elliott he could stay on as coach if he wanted, but Canham could not promise him that the job of associate athletic director would still be open in another couple of years. Canham said: "Bump smiled at me and said, ‘I don’t have to think about it.’ He was ready to get out. I did not force him, and I mean that in all honesty. But the job had ceased to be fun for him."
Schembechler later recalled that he remained loyal to Elliott when he took over as Michigan's head coach in 1969. When Schembechler won the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship in 1969, he said, "I made certain I let everyone know I won with Bump's kids. Bump was a man of great class and he showed it to me again and again in that first year, never getting in the way, always trying to be helpful, always trying to encourage me." After Michigan won the 1969 Ohio State game
1969 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game
The 1969 edition of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is considered one of the best-known games of the series, as well as one of the biggest upsets in college football history. The Buckeyes of Ohio State University went into the game as the top-ranked team in the country, with a 22-game winning...
, the team presented the game ball to Elliott, and Schembechler noted that "I don’t remember when I felt happier about anything in my life."
From 1969 to 1970, Elliott was the associate director of athletics at Michigan.
Athletic director at Iowa
Elliott became the athletic directorAthletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1970, succeeding Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
. He came to Iowa in the midst of a feud between athletic director Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
and football coach Ray Nagel
Ray Nagel
Raymond Robert "Ray" Nagel is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and at the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football record of...
. Evashevski resigned in May 1970, and Elliott was hired to replace him. On accepting the job, Elliott noted: "It's difficult to leave a town where you’ve lived for 13 years (Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
), but the opportunity is so good at Iowa with the people and the school that no one could pass it up."
During Elliott's tenure, the school's teams won 41 Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championships and 11 NCAA titles, as well as making three Rose Bowl appearances and one trip to the Final Four in basketball. The university also built a basketball arena (Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Carver–Hawkeye Arena is a 15,500-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located in Iowa City, Iowa. Opened in 1983, it is the home court for The University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's wrestling, gymnastics, and volleyball teams. It was named for the...
), erected an indoor workout center for football and added more than 10,000 seats to its football stadium. His career at Iowa was marked by a general resurgence in the competitiveness of Iowa athletics. Elliott hired a number of notable coaches, including Lute Olson
Lute Olson
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
, Dan Gable
Dan Gable
Dan Gable is an American amateur wrestler. He is famous for having only lost one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career—his last, and winning gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany while not giving up a single point...
, Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
, C. Vivian Stringer
C. Vivian Stringer
Charlaine Vivian Stringer is a prominent African American basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women's basketball...
, and Dr. Tom Davis
Tom Davis (basketball)
Dr. Thomas "Dr. Tom" Davis is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College, Boston College, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University from 1971 to 2007....
. During Elliott's 21 years as athletic director, the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
won 41 Big Ten championships in football (1981, 1985, 1990), wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
(1974–1990), men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(1970, 1979), baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(1972, 1974, 1990), men's gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
(1972, 1974, 1986), men's swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
(1981, 1982), women's basketball (1987–1990), field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
(1981–1983, 1985–1987), and women's cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(1982). See Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
for complete list of championships.
Elliott was known as "a coach's AD." "He hired coaches he trusted, then gave them the resources, latitude and support they needed to operate as they saw fit – providing they played by the rules." Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable
Dan Gable
Dan Gable is an American amateur wrestler. He is famous for having only lost one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career—his last, and winning gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany while not giving up a single point...
said his wife cried on learning that Elliott had retired. In 1999, Gable wrote: "Right after I came to coach at the University of Iowa, I had a meeting with Bump Elliott, who was the Athletic Director. I’ll never forget what Bump said to me: ‘Don’t ask for the moon. Strive to get there, sure, but do it wisely through continuing to build upon what you already have. As you build, come see me, and we’ll see how I can help you out.’ I now call that bit of wisdom the Bump Elliott Rule, and it serves a good reminder to keep things in perspective. Gradual, solid growth is better than any quick fix.""The one thing we emphasized from the start was that our staff had to make sure we were 100 percent loyal to each other and the university," Elliott said at the time of his retirement. "There could be no jealousy between the coaches and various programs. I wanted no one talking behind anyone's backs. I wanted absolute loyalty. If not, then that person could leave any time."
Elliott was also the one who hired Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
as Iowa's football coach in 1979. Fry later said that Elliott was one of the principal reasons he chose to coach at Iowa. In his autobiography, Fry wrote: "Iowa had one thing in its favor as far as I was concerned: Bump Elliott was its athletic director. Bump had a reputation as being a fair, honest and well-liked administrator." Elliott told Fry that he would be the last football coach Bump ever hired. Fry was puzzled and asked Elliott what he meant. Elliott said, "Simple, I don’t think they’ll give me a chance to hire another coach, so if you don’t make it, neither will I." He is the only person to have been with Rose Bowl teams in five capacities – player, assistant coach, head coach, assistant athletic director, and athletic director.
Family
Elliott and his wife Barbara met while he was with the Marine Corps at Purdue and she was studying pre-school education there. They married in 1949, and have three children, Bill (born c. 1952), Bob (born May 1953), and Betsy (born c. 1955). Son Bob Elliott was Iowa's defensive coordinatorDefensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
under Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
in the 1990s.
Honors and accolades
Elliott has received numerous honors and accolades, including the following:- Recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver FootballChicago Tribune Silver FootballThe Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the Chicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois was the award's first recipient.The winner of the Silver...
as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Nine Conference in 1947; - Selected as an All-AmericanCollege Football All-America TeamThe College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
by the American Football Coaches AssociationAmerican Football Coaches AssociationThe American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
in 1947; - Inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1986 for his contributions in football, basketball, baseball, and as a football coach;
- Inducted into the College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1989; - Inducted into the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1997;
- Inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2002; and
- Elliott Drive, the Iowa CityIowa City, IowaIowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
street on which Carver-Hawkeye ArenaCarver-Hawkeye ArenaCarver–Hawkeye Arena is a 15,500-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located in Iowa City, Iowa. Opened in 1983, it is the home court for The University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's wrestling, gymnastics, and volleyball teams. It was named for the...
is located, is named in his honor.
Head coaching record
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines head football coaches
- 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team1947 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team, nicknamed the "Mad Magicians", represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 college football season. Coached by Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines finished undefeated and untied with a 10–0 record...
- University of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorThe University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...