MICHIGAN WOLVERINES FOOTBALL 1947 (42 autographs) NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

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Autographed Michigan Football - 1947 National Champs
OVER
Over 70 Years Old - Autographed football - signed by most every member of the
1947 University of Michigan National Championship Football Team.
I have not seen another ball like this anywhere - truly a one of a kind item!  This ball shows the signs of being 70 plus years old - but the signatures are clear.  I've included a list of the 42 signatures, and their location on the ball - the names take you back in time to a truly remarkable team, including Lennie Ford who went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing professional football for 11 years.  Many of them repeated as National Champions in 1948.
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. Although ranked second in the
Associated Press
poll at the end of the regular season, the Wolverines defeated the
USC Trojans
by a score of 49–0 in the
1948 Rose Bowl
game, and
were selected as the nation's number-one team by a 226–119 margin over
Notre Dame
in an unprecedented post-bowl Associated Press poll.
The 1947 team has been selected as the best team in the history of Michigan football.
Led by team captain,
Bruce Hilkene
, quarterback
Howard Yerges
, and
All-American
halfbacks
Bob Chappuis
and
Bump Elliott
, the 1947 Wolverines outscored their opponents, 394–53. The Wolverines victory in the 1948 Rose Bowl still is tied for the most points scored, and the largest margin of victory, in
Rose Bowl
history.
The 1947 Wolverines are also remembered as the first fully to embrace the concept of defensive and offensive specialization. Previously, most players had played their positions on both offense and defense. But in 1947, Coach
Fritz Crisler
established separate offensive and defensive squads. Only
Bump Elliott
and Jack Weisenberger played on both squads. In November 1947,
Time
magazine ran a feature article about the 1947 Wolverines (with
Bob Chappuis
’ photograph on the cover) called, "The Specialist."
The
Time
article focused on the new era of specialization marked by Crisler’s decision to field separate offensive and defensive units.
The article noted: "Michigan's sleight-of-hand repertory is a baffling assortment of
double reverses
,
buck-reverse laterals
, crisscrosses, quick-hits and spins from seven different formations. Sometimes, watching from the side lines, even Coach Crisler isn't sure which Michigan man has the ball. Michigan plays one team on offense, one on defense...Whenever Michigan's defensive team regains the ball, Crisler orders: 'Offense unit, up and out,' and nine men pour onto the field at once."
Crisler's
single-wing formation
in action was "so dazzling in its deception" that the media nicknamed the 1947 team the "Mad Magicians".
Signatures include:
1947 All-Americans
:
Bob Chappuis
(first-team All-American by the Associated Press, United Press, Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Central Press, NEA and INS wire services);
Bump Elliott
(first-team All-American by the Saturday Evening Post; second-team by the Associated Press, the United Press, the Central Press, and the Football Writers Association of America);
Lennie Ford
(second-team All-American by the United Press and Central Press);
Bob Mann
(second-team All-American by the Associated Press);
J.T. White
(second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America).
All-Conference:
Bob Mann
, Howard Yerges,
Bob Chappuis
,
Heisman Trophy voting:
Bob Chappuis
finished 2nd in the Heisman voting behind
Johnny Lujack
. Lujack had 742 points, and Chappuis had 555.
College Football Hall of Fame:
Bob Chappuis
,
Bump Elliott
,
Al Wistert
Pro Football Hall of Fame:  Lennie Ford
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