1953 Michigan Wolverines football team

American college football season

1953 Michigan Wolverines football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 20
Record	6–3 (3–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bennie Oosterbaan (6th season)
MVP	Tony Branoff
Captain	Dick O'Shaughnessy
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium
Seasons← 1952 1954 →

1953 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Michigan State +	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Illinois +	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
No. 15 Wisconsin	4	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Ohio State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
No. 20 Michigan	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Iowa	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Purdue	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In its sixth year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 6–3 record (3–3 against conference opponents), tied for fifth place in the Big Ten, outscored opponents by a combined total of 163 to 101, and was ranked No. 20 in the final AP Poll and No. 19 in the Coaches Polls.

Center Dick O'Shaughnessy was the team captain, and right halfback Tony Branoff received the team's most valuable player award. Two Michigan players received All-Big Ten honors: left end Bob Topp was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team player, and left halfback Ted Kress.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Duncan McDonald with 293 passing yards, Tony Branoff with 501 rushing yards, and Bob Topp with 331 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 26	Washington*		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 50–0	44,086
October 3	Tulane*	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 26–7	51,960
October 10	Iowa	No. 5	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 14–13	49,551
October 17	Northwestern	No. 5	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 20–12	64,420
October 24	at Minnesota	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	L 0–22	62,795
October 31	Penn*	No. 16	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 24–14	56,795
November 7	at No. 4 Illinois	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 3–19	69,507
November 14	at No. 4 Michigan State		Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 6–14	51,421
November 21	Ohio State		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 20–0	87,048
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1953 season include those listed below.

Rushing

Player	Attempts	Net yards	Yards per attempt	Touchdowns
Tony Branoff	100	501	5.0	5
Ted Kress	101	339	3.4	5
Bob Hurley	47	282	6.0	1

Passing

Player	Attempts	Completions	Interceptions	Comp %	Yards	Yds/Comp	TD	Long
Duncan McDonald	46	20	3	43.5	293	14.7	4	49
Lou Baldacci	51	21	6	41.2	285	13.6	1	36
Ted Kress	43	19	7	44.2	238	12.5	1	44

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Yds/Recp	TD	Long
Bob Topp	23	331	14.4	2	66
Gene Knutson	11	201	18.3	1	33
Tony Branoff	11	151	13.7	1	44

Kickoff returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Ted Kress	10	203	20.3	0	33
Tony Branoff	6	130	21.7	0	28

Punt returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Tony Branoff	8	90	11.3	0	18
Ted Kress	12	63	5.3	0	16

Personnel

Letter winners

The following 31 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1953 team. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.

Fred Baer, 5'11", 180 pounds, junior, LaGrange, IL - fullback
Lou Baldacci, 6'0", 205 pounds, sophomore, Akron, OH - started 9 games at quarterback
James T. Balog, 6'3", 210 pounds, senior, Wheaton, IL - started 9 games at left tackle
Richard E. Balzhiser, 6'0", 186 pounds, senior, Wheaton, IL - started 9 games at fullback
Richard A. Beison, 6'0", 200 pounds, senior, East Chicago, IN - started 9 games at right guard
Donald C. Bennett, 6'2", 195 pounds, senior, Chicago - tackle
Tony Branoff, 5'11", 180 pounds, sophomore, Flint, MI - started 9 games at right halfback
Theodore J. Cachey, 5'11", 185 pounds, senior, Chicago - guard
J. Daniel Cline, 5'10", 168 pounds, junior, Brockport, NY - halfback
Donald Dugger, 5'10", 185 pounds, senior, Charleston, WV - started 9 games at left end
George S. Dutter, 6'2", 190 pounds, senior, Fort Wayne, IN - end
James W. Fox, 6'0", 185 pounds, sophomore, Saginaw, MI - guard
H. Ronald Geyer, 6'2", 220 pounds, junior, Toledo, OH - tackle
Edward L. Hickey, 5'8", 160 pounds, senior, Anaconda, MT - halfback
Robert S. Hurley, 5'10", 180 pounds, senior, Alamosa, CO- fullback
Raymond K. Kenaga, 5'11", 170 pounds, junior, Sterling, IL - quarterback
Eugene P. Knutson, 6'4", 210 pounds, senior, Beloit, WI - started 8 games at right end
William P. Kolesar, 6'0", 190 pounds, sophomore, Mentor, OH - tackle
Ted Kress, 5'11", 175 pounds, senior, Kansas City, MO - started 9 games at left halfback
Duncan B. McDonald, 6'0", 175 pounds, junior, Flint, MI - quarterback
G. Edgar Meads, 6'0", 190 pounds, sophomore, Oxford, MI - guard
John M. Morrow, 6'2", 220 pounds, sophomore, Ann Arbor, MI - started 4 games at center
Dick O'Shaughnessy, 5'11", 190 pounds, senior, Seaford, NY - started 5 games at center
H. John Peckham Jr., 6'2", 220 pounds, sophomore, Sioux Falls, SD - center
Thad C. Stanford, 6'0", 175 pounds, senior, Midland, MI - end
Dick Strozewski, 6'0", 205 pounds, senior, South Bend, IN - started 9 games at left tackle
Bob Topp, 6'2", 190 pounds, senior, Kalamazoo, MI - started 8 games at left end, 1 game at right end
John J. Veselenak, 6'2", 190 pounds, junior, Flint, MI - end
Art Walker, 5'11" 200 pounds, junior, South Haven, MI - tackle
Gerald H. Williams, 6'2", 188 pounds, sophomore, Flint, MI - started 1 game at left end
Ronald M. Williams, 5'9", 185 pounds, senior, Massillon, OH - guard

Coaches and staff

Michigan's 1953 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.

Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
Assistant coaches:

Jack Blott - line coach
Cliff Keen - assistant football coach, head wrestling coach
Bill Orwig - offensive backfield coach
Matt Patanelli - defensive ends coach
Don Robinson - defensive backfield coach
Wally Weber - freshman coach
J. T. White - assistant line coach, scout, and junior varsity coach

Trainer: Jim Hunt
Manager: Richard Petrie

Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1953 season went to the following individuals.

Captain: Dick O'Shaughnessy
All-Conference: Ted Kress, Bob Topp
Most Valuable Player: Tony Branoff
Meyer Morton Award: Tony Branoff

References

^ "1953 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
^ "1953 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
"Coaches Pick Gopher's Giel". Ludington Daily News. November 24, 1953. p. 6.
^ "1953 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
Middlesworth, Hal (November 1, 1952). "Penn Rallies to Lead; U-M Rallies to Win". The Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Mich. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2017.(statistics retrieved by entering "1953" in the box for "Games & Totals by Season" and then, at the next screen, choosing "Display Season Totals")
"31 Wolverines Given Major Grid Letters". The Michigan Daily. November 24, 1953. p. 3.
Balzhiser was the first University of Michigan athlete to be inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame.
^ "Robinson, Orwig In New Grid Jobs". March 26, 1953. p. 3 – via Bentley Historical Library.

v t e Michigan Wolverines football
Venues	Washtenaw County Fairgrounds (1883–1892) Regents Field (1893–1905) Ferry Field (1906–1926) Michigan Stadium (1927–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Chicago (defunct) Illinois Michigan State Minnesota: Little Brown Jug Northwestern: George Jewett Trophy Notre Dame Ohio State (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	Early years Yost era Kipke years Crisler years Oosterbaan years Elliott years The Ten Year War Snow Bowl 1969 Ohio State game 1973 Ohio State game Miracle at Michigan 2001 Michigan State game 2006 Ohio State game 2007 Appalachian State game 2015 Michigan State game Sign-stealing scandal Biff M Club banner "The Victors" "Varsity" "We Don't Give a Damn" "Mr. Brightside" Marching band
People	Head coaches Trainers Players All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold

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