Bob Wiese
Encyclopedia
Robert Lee Wiese 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.
in 1923. He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he joined the football team coached by Fritz Crisler in 1942. 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.
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. Wiese was a key player in a Michigan offense that scored 302 points -- 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. 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. 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.
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.
He went on to play for the Detroit Lions
in the 1947 and 1948 football seasons.
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.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
's University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946—missing the 1945 season due to military service. He also played professional football for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in 1947 and 1948.
Biography
Wiese was born in Jamestown, North DakotaJamestown, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,527 people, 6,505 households, and 3,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.7 per square mile . There were 6,970 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile...
in 1923. He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he joined the football team coached by Fritz Crisler in 1942. 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.
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. Wiese was a key player in a Michigan offense that scored 302 points -- more points than a Michigan team had scored in 25 years (including the Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
years). The 1943 Michigan Wolverines football team
1943 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1943 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1943 college football season. The 1943 team compiled a record of 8–1 and was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press poll...
finished the season with an 8-1 record, outscored its opponents 302 to 73, tied with Purdue for the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship, and was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll. On a team that included stars and Hall of Famers (including Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:...
and Bill Daley
Bill Daley (American football)
William Edward "Bullet" Daley was an All-American fullback who played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1940–1942 and for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1943. The Gophers were National Champions in his freshman and sophomore years...
), Wiese was given the award as the team's Most Valuable Player. 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
Joseph Ponsetto
Joseph Ponsetto was an American football player who was the starting quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines football teams of 1944 and 1945. Playing under head coach Fritz Crisler, Ponsetto led the 1944 team to an 8–2 record and a #8 ranking in the final AP Poll...
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.
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.
He went on to play for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in the 1947 and 1948 football seasons.
In his later years, Wiese worked as a marketing manager for North American Rockwell Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio
Ashtabula, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,962 people, 8,435 households, and 5,423 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,775.9 people per square mile . There were 9,151 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile...
. 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
Lake County, Ohio
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 230,041. The county seat is Painesville, and the county name comes from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie....
, killing the three Rockwell executives and the pilot.