Howard Yerges
Encyclopedia
Howard Frederick Yerges, Jr. (April 5, 1925 - December 1, 2000) was an American football
player who played quarterback
for the Ohio State Buckeyes football
team in 1943 and the University of Michigan
Wolverines football
teams from 1944 to 1947. He was the starting quarterback of the 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team
that went undefeated, beat USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl and is considered by some to be the greatest Michigan football team of all time. As of 2009, Yerges was one of three players (along with Justin Boren
and J. T. White
) to play on both sides of the Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry.
. He played quarterback for Grandview High School
in the Grandview Heights section of Columbus, Ohio
. His father, Howard Frederick Yerges, Sr., played for the Ohio State Buckeyes
in the 1910s and later played professional football for the Columbus Panhandles in 1920.
Yerges began his collegiate football career at Ohio State University
, where he received a varsity letter
in football in 1943. As a U.S. Navy trainee, Yerges was transferred to the University of Michigan
prior to the 1944 academic year. The 20-year old sophomore, who had played for the Buckeyes in 1943, joined Fritz Crisler
's Michigan Wolverines football
team in 1944 as a backup quarterback behind Joseph Ponsetto
. Yerges earned a varsity letter in football from Michigan in 1944. Yerges again began the 1945 season as a backup for Joe Ponsetto. He scored a touchdown for Michigan in September 1945 against Great Lakes Naval Training Station Bluejackets, 27-2.
Yerges took over as Michigan's quarterback in November 1945, replacing Ponsetto, after his leg was injured in a game against Illinois. In his first game as Michigan's starting quarterback, Yerges led the Wolverines to a 26-0 win over Minnesota on November 3, 1945. He scored Michigan's first touchdown of the game on a quarterback sneak in the first quarter. He also led the Wolverines to a 7-3 win over Ohio State in 1945.
Yerges was Michigan's starting quarterback in five games of the 1946 season, sharing the quarterback position with Jack Wiesenburger and Pete Elliott
.
In March 1947, the Western Conference faculty representatives approved Yerges for a fifth season of competition, excusing his playing time for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 1943. The ruling proved fortunate for Michigan, as Yerges started nine of ten games for the 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team
that went 10-0, outscored opponents 394 to 53, and won a national championship. Yerges was part of a backfield in 1947 that included Bob Chappuis
, Bump Elliott
and Jack Wiesenberger. The undefeated 1947 team became known as the "Mad Magicians" due to Coach Fritz Crisler
's complex shifts, stunts, and schemes. As the field general of the "Mad Magicians" team, Yerges became known as "Crisler's 'second brain.'"
At the close of the regular season in late November 1947, Yerges was selected as the first-team All-Big Ten quarterback by five selectors, including the Associated Press and United Press, and as a second-team All-Big Ten player by one selector. The AP called Yerges the "unheralded field general and ball-handler of Michigan's magical attack." After the close of the 1947 season, Crisler said, "Pete Elliott was just as good a quarterback as Howard Yerges was the past season, but we used Yerges because the players had so much confidence in him ..."
Yerges played his final game in a Michigan uniform in the 1948 Rose Bowl
, a 49 to 0 win over the University of Southern California
. Yerges both threw and caught touchdown passes in the 1948 Rose Bowl; he received an 18-yard pass from Bob Chappuis
and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dick Rifenberg.
, automotive company.
When the 1947 Wolverines staged a 10-year reunion of their Rose Bowl championship in 1958, Yerges was the subject of a "whatever became of" feature story by the United Press International
. The UPI wrote at the time: "Like all single wing signalcallers, Yerges was the unsung hero of that Wolverine powerhouse that swept to the 1947 Big Ten title and a subsequent 49-0 victory over Southern California in the Rose Bowl. But he blocked, faked and quarterbacked to perfection." As of 1958, Yerges was working as a successful sales executive in St. Louis.
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 who 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...
for the Ohio State Buckeyes football
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...
team in 1943 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...
Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams from 1944 to 1947. He was the starting quarterback of the 1947 Michigan Wolverines 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...
that went undefeated, beat USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl and is considered by some to be the greatest Michigan football team of all time. As of 2009, Yerges was one of three players (along with Justin Boren
Justin Boren
Justin Matthew Boren is an American football offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He has played guard and center during his high school and college football career...
and J. T. White
J. T. White
John T. "J.T." White was a college football assistant coach, and a second-team 1947 College Football All-American center who played for national championship teams at both the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. White also played basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's...
) to play on both sides of the Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry.
Playing career
Yerges was a native of Point Pleasant, West VirginiaPoint Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...
. He played quarterback for Grandview High School
Grandview Heights High School (Columbus, Ohio)
Grandview Heights High School is a public high school in Grandview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. It is the only high school in the Grandview Heights City Schools district, which serves both the city of Grandview Heights and the village of Marble Cliff....
in the Grandview Heights section of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. His father, Howard Frederick Yerges, Sr., played for the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
in the 1910s and later played professional football for the Columbus Panhandles in 1920.
Yerges began his collegiate football career at Ohio State University
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...
, where he received a 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 :...
in football in 1943. As a U.S. Navy trainee, Yerges was transferred to 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...
prior to the 1944 academic year. The 20-year old sophomore, who had played for the Buckeyes in 1943, joined 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...
's Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team in 1944 as a backup quarterback behind Joseph Ponsetto
Joseph Ponsetto
Joseph Ponsetto was an American football player who was the starting quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines football teams of 1944 and 1945. Playing under head coach Fritz Crisler, Ponsetto led the 1944 team to an 8–2 record and a #8 ranking in the final AP Poll...
. Yerges earned a varsity letter in football from Michigan in 1944. Yerges again began the 1945 season as a backup for Joe Ponsetto. He scored a touchdown for Michigan in September 1945 against Great Lakes Naval Training Station Bluejackets, 27-2.
Yerges took over as Michigan's quarterback in November 1945, replacing Ponsetto, after his leg was injured in a game against Illinois. In his first game as Michigan's starting quarterback, Yerges led the Wolverines to a 26-0 win over Minnesota on November 3, 1945. He scored Michigan's first touchdown of the game on a quarterback sneak in the first quarter. He also led the Wolverines to a 7-3 win over Ohio State in 1945.
Yerges was Michigan's starting quarterback in five games of the 1946 season, sharing the quarterback position with Jack Wiesenburger and Pete Elliott
Pete Elliott
-External links:...
.
In March 1947, the Western Conference faculty representatives approved Yerges for a fifth season of competition, excusing his playing time for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 1943. The ruling proved fortunate for Michigan, as Yerges started nine of ten games for the 1947 Michigan Wolverines 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...
that went 10-0, outscored opponents 394 to 53, and won a national championship. Yerges was part of a backfield in 1947 that included 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...
, Bump Elliott
Bump Elliott
Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University and the University of Michigan...
and Jack Wiesenberger. The undefeated 1947 team became known as the "Mad Magicians" due to 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...
's complex shifts, stunts, and schemes. As the field general of the "Mad Magicians" team, Yerges became known as "Crisler's 'second brain.'"
At the close of the regular season in late November 1947, Yerges was selected as the first-team All-Big Ten quarterback by five selectors, including the Associated Press and United Press, and as a second-team All-Big Ten player by one selector. The AP called Yerges the "unheralded field general and ball-handler of Michigan's magical attack." After the close of the 1947 season, Crisler said, "Pete Elliott was just as good a quarterback as Howard Yerges was the past season, but we used Yerges because the players had so much confidence in him ..."
Yerges played his final game in a Michigan uniform in 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...
, a 49 to 0 win over the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. Yerges both threw and caught touchdown passes in the 1948 Rose Bowl; he received an 18-yard pass 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...
and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dick Rifenberg.
Post college life
After graduating from Michigan, Yerges took a job in the fall of 1948 with the mechanical engineering department of a Flint, MichiganFlint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, automotive company.
When the 1947 Wolverines staged a 10-year reunion of their Rose Bowl championship in 1958, Yerges was the subject of a "whatever became of" feature story by the United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. The UPI wrote at the time: "Like all single wing signalcallers, Yerges was the unsung hero of that Wolverine powerhouse that swept to the 1947 Big Ten title and a subsequent 49-0 victory over Southern California in the Rose Bowl. But he blocked, faked and quarterbacked to perfection." As of 1958, Yerges was working as a successful sales executive in St. Louis.