Bob Wiese
| No. 38 | |
 | |
| Date of birth | January 25, 1923 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Jamestown, North Dakota |
| Date of death | November 19, 1971 (aged 48) |
| Place of death | Lake County, Ohio |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Fullback, Quarterback |
| US college | Michigan |
| NFL draft | 1945 / round: 5 / pick: 39 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1942–44, 1946 | Michigan Wolverines |
| 1947–48 | Detroit Lions |
Robert Lee Wiese (January 25, 1923 – November 19, 1971) was an American football player. He played college football for Fritz Crisler's University of Michigan Wolverines football teams in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946—missing the 1945 season due to military service. He also played professional football for the Detroit Lions in 1947 and 1948.[1]
Biography
Wiese was born in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1923. He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he joined the football team coached by Fritz Crisler in 1942.[2] In his first year with the team, he started eight games at the fullback position. and was given Meyer Morton Award as the player who showed the greatest development and promise during spring practice.[2]
In 1943, Coach Crisler asked Wiese to assume the quarterback position, and Wiese started five games at the new position as well as three games at his customary fullback position.[3] Wiese was a key player in a Michigan offense that scored 302 points[3]—more points than a Michigan team had scored in 25 years (including the Tom Harmon years). The 1943 Michigan Wolverines football team finished the season with an 8-1 record, outscored its opponents 302 to 73, tied with Purdue for the Big Ten Conference championship, and was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press poll.[3] On a team that included stars and Hall of Famers (including Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch and Bill Daley), Wiese was given the award as the team's Most Valuable Player.[3] His teammates also chose him to serve as captain of the 1944 team.
As captain of the 1944 team, Wiese returned to the fullback position, with Joseph Ponsetto taking over as quarterback. Wiese led the team to a 6–1 record in the first seven games of the season, including victories over Big Ten powers Minnesota (28–13), Northwestern (27–0), and Purdue (40–14). However, Wiese was called into active military service on November 1, 1944 and missed the final three games of the season.[4]
After being discharged from the military, Wiese was granted a fourth year of eligibility and returned to the Michigan football team in 1946. Wiese was the starting fullback in six of Michigan's games in the 1946 season.[5]
He went on to play for the Detroit Lions in the 1947 and 1948 football seasons.[1]
In his later years, Wiese worked as a marketing manager for North American Rockwell Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio. He died in a plane crash in November 1971. Wiese and two other Rockwell executives had chartered a twin-engine plane to take them to Detroit for a company meeting. The plane crashed in a field in Lake County, Ohio, killing the three Rockwell executives and the pilot.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Bob Wiese profile". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ a b "1942 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ a b c d "1943 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "1944 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "1946 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "3 Executives Killed in Plane Crash in Ohio". Chicago Tribune. Nov 19, 1971.