Bob Chappuis

John U. Bacon contributed a great story to the Detroit News regarding Michigan legend Bob Chappuis.  Very much a human interest piece, but Chappuis was a very interesting human.  Article is here: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120629/OPINION03/206290302/Bob-Chappuis-One-U-M-s-great-ones-from-Greatest-Generation?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p .

Among the tidbits is the fact that Chappuis's father told Chappuis that he could go to any college he wanted - other than Ohio State.  A lot of the article focuses on Chappuis's service in WWII, including a story of him being shot down behind enemy lines in Italy:

he and two crewmates hid in a ditch behind some bushes while Italian soldiers marched by. One of his crewmates pulled out his knife, and motioned for them to attack. Chappuis grabbed his shoulder, pushed him down and whispered, "They've got us outnumbered 10-to-1, and they've got guns. I think you've seen too many Hollywood movies. We are staying put."

I strongly recommend the entire article.  A great read for the long slow summer.

One of the legendary "Mad Magicians" passed away today. Chappuis, the 1947 Heisman runner-up, played for Michigan in 1942 and 1946-7 following service with the US Army Air Force in Italy.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061512aaa.html?utm_mediu...

[Ed-M: Bump'ed like Elliott]

Brian got me thinking about who deserves to be in a Michigan ring of honor, so I did the only thing I know:  Dump a bunch of data into a spreadsheet and rank them arbitrarily. I gave a point for being the College Hall of Fame, Michigan's Hall of Honor, Michigan retiring their number, points equal to the number of years being an All American, being in the top four in the Heisman (another 2 for winning it), and up to a point for winning other post-season awards.  One could include other considerations, such as championships, captaincy, or being President of the United States.

The table below presents the data, sorted first by points and then year.

Some comments:

I would think anyone Chappuis and above deserves to be in.

I included only some 2-point guys of interest in the table below, most of whom aren't in Michigan's Hall of Honor or the Hall of Fame.

Coaches aren't included, except Kipke who is there because of his playing, though I don't know how much of his playing versus coaching got him in the Hall of Fame.

Why is Benbrook not in Michigan's Hall of Honor?

Obviously newer guys benefit from the various awards now available. The Heisman was first awarded in 1935. I would think Heston could have won it.

In 1939 Harmon finished 2nd in the Heisman voting to Nile Kinnick before winning it in 1940.

The All of American data are a bit surprising.  Gerald Ford isn't listed.  I had thought Carter was a three-year All American.  There may be other surprises.  I used a list from the NCAA (data source below), which made it easy, but the list may be flawed.

Data Sources: All-American, Heisman and other award data, Michigan Hall of Honor, and College Football Hall of Fame