Best Player to Wear #98
Who would thought it could be this easy. There was only one player to wear this number in the history of Michigan Football, one of only five retired jersey numbers. This gentleman was a All-American in both 1939 and 1940 and winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1940. As a Halfback, he rushed for 2,134 yards. He led college football in scoring in both 1939 and 1940, a feat that has not been repeated in the history of college football. He also spent time under center, completing 100 passes for 1,304 yards. During his career he played all 60 minutes 8 times. He also was a member of the varsity basketball team for two years. Wikipedia recounts his final game:
"In his final football game, against Ohio State he 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 him a standing ovation at game's end. No Wolverine player has been so honored since."
I give you number 98, one of Michigan's greatest players:
98 Harmon, Tom HB 1938-40
[I am planning on doing a re-cap every ten position numbers, giving my assessment of the general consensus.]
He is probably one of the best football players for the maize and blue (period).
Why stop at the Maize and Blue...he is one of the best to play college football.
to categorize players in different eras.....given the changes in the game and the physical attributes of the athletes over the years....
Also... I have a friend that is a OSU fan.... the only CFB stats he even considers during the "modern era" are post-Cooper years..... LOL go figure...
This has to be a trip down memory lane. That is the fun of it. Debating players of differing eras who wore the same number. It is also a way for all of us to take a closer look at some of the people who wore the Maize and Blue and learn about the people who made this team great before we were even born.
...all time in football when they did the list a few years ago.
That does not suprise me at all.
greatest athletes of all time.
I wish they would make a movie about his life or something. I did a quick google search to look for a book about him and I found this from Life Magazine, which I think is pretty cool. I really like the letterman sweater.
is so amazing. He left his unmatched football success at Michigan to fight for our country in WWII and was nothing short of a hero. His playing career and combat valor are nothing short of spectacular.
...he also bagged a movie starlet. Guy has a resume, you know?
Guy was an exceptional human being in a way 99% of people couldn't even get within yelling distance of, I think.
I'm not trying to say that Tom Harmon was anything other than a ridiculously great athlete, but calling him one of the best football players ever seems a little much. The game was obviously a lot different in the late '30s, and the players were a lot more...pale. I can't think of Babe Ruth as baseball's GOAT for the same reason - he was playing against a significantly restricted population of players.
They did a study, which I just searched for and couldn't pull up, but it was on a TV show I think last year that used old film to determine Babe Ruth's bat speed, and compare it to modern players. It was off the charts -- not as fast as Barry Bonds, but up there with Hank Aaron and beat out lots of today's big sluggers.
In other words, Babe, hotdogs and all, would have been an exceptional baseball player today.
However, your premise, for a lot of players, is viable.
They did draw from a smaller field. MLB was America's king sport at the time, so it got a greater percentage of the white athletic population (whereas today other sports siphon off baseball talent. However, I look at any statistic before re-integration of baseball with a big dose of skepticism, since perhaps as much as half of the best players in America at the time were barred from Major League play. The biggest reason they drew from a smaller field, though, was population -- there were simply a lot fewer people around back then.
From the videos I've seen of Harmon play, I get the feeling he was enough of an athletic standout to get a "commitable" offer from Rich Rod -- he was slippery, strong, and lightning-quick. A majority of the "great" players from whence-when-back-in-le-jour probably would not have cut mustard today, even with the training and advanced diets, etc. But the creme de la creme of those ages, typically, would be able to perform in any age.
is actually based on old data, I don't know.
But I did see an old program in which researchers during Babe's prime, wanted know why he was such a great hitter.
Essentially, the key was their study of his reaction times. They were off-the-charts faster than anyone else.
And that, I think, would translate to success to this day and age as well.
in one of my favorite youtube videos. Just look up "keith jackson intro" and the 2003 intro should come up. Maybe later, I'll play around with my new HTML skills and try to put it here.
wait for it...
DARY
I don't care when you played - Three rushing TDs, two passing TDs, three INTs, and some accurate/booming kicks/punts? That is simply amazing. How many of today's players would be able to do as well playing both sides of the ball? I realize that the now/then debate has no end, but if this guy was born now, he would have been bigger and stronger to fit what evolution has done to our bodies. What really seems to make good players great is a hard work ethic, and a passion for being better than anyone else. It's the same drive that makes you shoot a million free-throws a day. Why would this same person born now instead of decades ago have any less drive to succed?
and people continued to wear that number through the ages, Harmon would always win this battle.
tom harmon hands down
Question: Do they have Old 98's jersey up in the locker rooms or something somewhere? Maybe in the trophy case?
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