The 24th best athlete in Michigan History is...
Friedman became the starting quarterback, placekicker, and played defensive back midway through his sophomore year at Michigan. 1925 and 1926, Benny led the Wolverines to consecutive 7–1 seasons and first-place finishes in the Big Ten Conference. Against Indiana in 1925, Friedman accounted for 44 points, throwing for five touchdowns and kicking two field goals and eight extra points.
Benny was a consensus All American in both 1925 and 1926 and was the MVP of the Big Ten in 1926.
He played in the NFL for the Cleveland bulldogs in 1927, the Detroit Wolverines in 1928, and the New York Giants from 1929-1931 being named to the All-Pro team 4 times from 1927-1930.
He played in a time when passing the football was quite uncommon and is credited with the popularity of the forward pass. Benny held the record for most passing touchdowns (20) for more than 15 years. His record wasn't broken until 1942.
Benny Friedman was inducted to the College Football Hall of fame in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Previous Posts:
#25 Anthony Thomas http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/25th-best-athlete-michigan-history
So, Michigan football history, right? Cool. You should link to your previous posts. This is an awesome feature.
I mean, there are some outstanding athletes that are non-football guys/gals.
Yeah, to me that would be awesome. Even more so than football. But I acknowledge I'm less of a football freak than most. I'm only 95% football freak.
But, a countdown of the top 25 football players in M history is still pretty fun.
August 10th, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
There are a few non-football players on the list
Oh please someone embed this old Detroit News Pictorial on Benny teaching his brother how to play football.
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To tell you Benny should be much much higher
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...this rating is absurd since Friedman is the most consequential player in the history of the game. If you were listing all football players, Friedman should be #1 or #2 on the list.
August 10th, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^
Eight of Michigan's eleven national football championships were won before the 40s. ...
Remove from list?
I had A.T. at 24 and Bennie at 23. Coincidence?