Tom Harmon
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No. 98
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| Halfback | |||||||||
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Personal information
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| Date of birth: September 28, 1919 | |||||||||
| Place of birth: Rensselaer, Indiana | |||||||||
| Date of death: March 15, 1990 (aged 70) | |||||||||
| Place of death: Los Angeles, California | |||||||||
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Career information
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| High school: Gary (IN) Mann | |||||||||
| College: Michigan | |||||||||
| NFL Draft: 1941 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | |||||||||
| Debuted in 1946 | |||||||||
| Last played in 1947 | |||||||||
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Career history
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Career highlights and awards
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Career NFL statistics
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| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |||||||||
| College Football Hall of Fame | |||||||||
Thomas Dudley "Tom" Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990) was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors. As a player, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1940 and is considered by some to be the greatest football player in Michigan Wolverines history.[1]
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Early life [edit]
Harmon was born in the Harmon's family home at 118 South Weston Street in Rensselaer, Indiana, the youngest child of Louis A. and Rose Marie (née Quinn) Harmon, who had relocated from Livingston County, Illinois around 1900. In 1924, the family moved to Gary, Indiana. He attended Horace Mann High School in Gary, Indiana, graduating in 1937. While at Horace Mann High School, Harmon was already an outstanding athlete. In addition to 14 varsity letters, he was twice named All-State quarterback, Captain of the basketball team, and as a senior, won the 100 yard dash and the 200 yard low hurdles at the State Finals in Indianapolis, Indiana.[citation needed]
Harmon played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940, where he majored in English and Speech, hoping for a future career in broadcasting, and won the Heisman Trophy his senior season. He made his name as a tailback in the single-wing formation, and also excelled as a kicker. Harmon rushed for 2,134 yards during his career at Michigan, completed 100 passes for 1,304 yards and 16 touchdowns, and scored 237 points. During his career he played all 60 minutes 8 times.[1] He also was a member of the varsity basketball team for two years.[2]
In his final football game (against Ohio State), Harmon led the Wolverines to a 40–0 victory, scoring three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, four extra points, intercepting three passes, and punting three times for an average of 50 yards. In an unprecedented display of sportsmanship and appreciation, the Ohio State fans in Columbus gave Harmon a standing ovation at game's end. No other Wolverine player has been so honored, before or since.
He led the nation in scoring in both 1939 and 1940 (a feat that remains unmatched)[1] and was elected to the College Football All-America Team both years. His career points per game average of 9.9 stood as an NCAA record for ten seasons.[3] In 1940, he won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award both given to the outstanding college football player of the year.
While on campus, he was an active member of the Michigan Alpha Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Years later, the national fraternity leadership established the Harmon-Rice Award in his honor (the Rice name in the award honored Grantland Rice) that is presented each year to the most outstanding Phi Delt collegiate athlete in the nation. In 2007, Harmon was ranked #16 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. Also, Harmon was ranked #5 on the Big Ten Networks' program "Big Ten Icons", honoring the greateast athletes in the Big Ten Conferences history.
NFL draft [edit]
Harmon was taken by the Chicago Bears with the first selection in the 1941 NFL Draft.[4] Instead he opted to play with the New York Americans of the rival American Football League. After graduating from college he had a brief career as an actor, starring as himself in the biopic Harmon of Michigan. He appeared occasionally in films throughout the forties and fifties.
World War II [edit]
During World War II Harmon enlisted as a pilot in the Army Air Corps on November 8, 1941. Early in 1943, Harmon parachuted into the South American jungle when his plane flew into a tropical storm. None of the other crewmen bailed out or survived. He was the object of a massive regional search operation once his plane was reported missing. Four days later he stumbled into a clearing in Dutch Guiana. He transferred to single seat fighters. Harmon was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for his actions with the 449th Fighter Squadron. These included having his plane shot down over Japanese occupied China. He saved his silk parachute and it was later used as the material for his wife's wedding dress.[citation needed]
Pro football career [edit]
From 1946 to 1947 Harmon played football professionally with the Los Angeles Rams, but wartime injuries to his legs limited his effectiveness. He focused his professional career as planned on being a sports broadcaster on radio and television, one of the first athletes to make the transition from player to on-camera talent. In 1954, Harmon was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
After football [edit]
Harmon married actress/model Elyse Knox, and much of their family entered show business. He is the father of actresses Kristin Nelson and Kelly Harmon. His son is an actor and former UCLA quarterback Mark Harmon, who is married to actress Pam Dawber. Harmon's grandchildren include actress Tracy Nelson and twins Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson, who perform as the rock and country music act Nelson.
Harmon narrated the film A Glimpse of Greatness–The Story of Ken Hubbs, which chronicles the life of the late Chicago Cubs second baseman. For several years in the 1970s, starting with its introduction, he was the TV spokesman for Kellogg's Product 19 cereal. His 10-minute broadcasts were a staple of the ABC and (later) American Information Radio networks. He was also seen on KTLA, Channel 5, Los Angeles. In the early 1980s he handled play-by-play duties for the Oakland Raiders pre-season telecasts.[citation needed]
Death [edit]
Harmon died of a heart attack on March 15, 1990 in Los Angeles, California at age 70.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Jones, Todd (2007). "Michigan". In MacCambridge, Michael. ESPN Big Ten College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Enterprises. p. 59. ISBN 1-933060-49-2.
- ^ Michigan Basketball 2007–08 (media guide).
- ^ "2009 Division I Football Records Book: Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Records". National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 46. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (25 April 2013). "These Bears draft picks gained fame in other areas". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
External links [edit]
- Tom Harmon at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Tom Harmon at the Heisman Trophy
- The Heisman 75 Years - Tom Harmon on ESPN.com
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- 1919 births
- 1990 deaths
- American football halfbacks
- American sports announcers
- College football announcers
- Los Angeles Rams players
- Michigan Wolverines football players
- Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players
- National Football League announcers
- National Football League first overall draft picks
- New York Americans (1940 AFL) players
- All-American college football players
- Heisman Trophy winners
- United States Army officers
- United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
- Recipients of the Purple Heart medal
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- People from Gary, Indiana
- Actors from Indiana
- Disease-related deaths in California
