# 1952 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1952 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1952 Big Ten Conference football season. In its fifth year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 5–4 record (4–2 against conference opponents), tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 207 to 134. For the second consecutive season, Michigan was not ranked in the final AP Poll; it was ranked at No. 17 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.
Defensive end Merritt Green was the team captain, and quarterback Tony Branoff received the team's most valuable player award.
Lowell Perry was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) as a first-team defensive back on the 1952 College Football All-America Team. Five Michigan players received All-Big Ten honors: linebacker Roger Zatkoff (AP-1, UP-1); guard Bob Timm (AP-1); center Dick O'Shaugnessy (UP-1); left halfback Ted Kress (UP-1); and defensive tackle Art Walker (AP-1).
The team's statistical leaders included Ted Kress with 559 passing yards and 623 rushing yards and Lowell Perry with 492 receiving yards.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 27 | No. 1 Michigan State* | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | L 13–27 | 96,490 |
| October 4 | at Stanford* | | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | L 7–14 | 25,000 |
| October 11 | Indiana | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | W 28–13 | 53,840 |
| October 18 | at Northwestern | | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL (rivalry) | W 48–14 | 40,000 |
| October 25 | Minnesota | No. 19 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug) | W 21–0 | 72,404 |
| November 1 | Illinois | No. 15 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | L 13–22 | 65,595 |
| November 8 | Cornell* | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | W 49–7 | 48,614 |
| November 15 | No. 10 Purdue | No. 20 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | W 21–10 | 58,964 |
| November 22 | at Ohio State | No. 12 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | L 7–27 | 81,541 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Game summaries
### Northwestern

* Ted Kress 20 Rush, 218 Yds

## Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1952 season include those listed below.

### Rushing

| Player | Attempts | Net yards | Yards per attempt | Touchdowns |
| Ted Kress | 135 | 627 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Tony Branoff | 86 | 342 | 4.0 | 2 |
| Dick Balzhiser | 75 | 327 | 4.4 | 2 |

### Passing

| Player | Attempts | Completions | Interceptions | Comp % | Yards | Yds/Comp | TD | Long |
| Ted Kress | 85 | 45 | 7 | 52.9 | 559 | 12.4 | 4 | 52 |
| Ted Topor | 58 | 33 | 4 | 56.9 | 440 | 13.3 | 2 | 25 |
| Duncan McDonald | 17 | 7 | 2 | 41.2 | 90 | 12.9 | 2 | 38 |

### Receiving

| Player | Receptions | Yards | Yds/Recp | TD | Long |
| Lowell Perry | 31 | 492 | 15.9 | 5 | 52 |
| Ted Topor | 18 | 208 | 11.6 | 4 | 32 |
| Thad Stanford | 12 | 200 | 16.7 | 0 | 48 |

### Kickoff returns

| Player | Returns | Yards | Yds/Return | TD | Long |
| Tony Branoff | 6 | 145 | 24.2 | 0 | 31 |
| Don Oldham | 7 | 123 | 17.6 | 0 | 30 |
| Frank Howell | 6 | 100 | 16.7 | 0 | 26 |

### Punt returns

| Player | Returns | Yards | Yds/Return | TD | Long |
| Lowell Perry | 12 | 73 | 6.1 | 0 | 15 |
| Don Oldham | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 0 | |
| Dave Tinkham | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 6 |

## Personnel
### Letter winners

The following players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1953 team. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.
* Fred Baer, 5'11", 180 pounds, sophomore, La Grange, IL – started 3 games at fullback
* James Balog, 6'3", 210 pounds, junior, Wheaton, IL – started 8 games as defensive right tackle
* Richard Balzhiser 6'1", 185 pounds, junior, Wheaton, IL – started 5 games at fullback
* James V. Bates, 6'0", 195 pounds, sophomore, Farmington, MI - end
* Richard Beison, 6'0", 200 pounds, junior, East Chicago, IN – started 8 games at offensive right guard
* Donald Bennett, 6'2", 195 pounds, junior, Chicago, IL – started 4 games as offensive left tackle
* William E. Billings, 5'11", 180 pounds, senior, Flint, MI - quarterback
* Tony Branoff, 5'1", 180 pounds, freshman, Flint, MI – started 6 games as right halfback
* Ted Cachey, 5'11", 185 pounds, junior, Chicago, IL - guard
* J. Daniel Cline, 5'10", 168 pounds, sophomore, Brockport, NY - halfback
* Robert Dingman, 6'0", 180 pounds, senior, Saginaw, MI - end
* Donald Dugger, 5'10", 178 pounds, junior, Charleston, WV - guard
* George Dutter, 6'2", 190 pounds, junior, Fort Wayne, IN – started 9 games as defensive right guard
* H. Ronald Geyer, 6'2", 215 pounds, sophomore, Toledo, OH - tackle
* Merritt Green, 6'0", 180 pounds, senior, Toledo, OH – started 9 games as defensive left end
* Frank Howell, 5'8", 165 pounds, senior, Muskegon Heights, MI – started 3 games as right halfback, 1 game as safety
* Robert Hurley, 5'10", 185 pounds, junior, Alaamosa, CO - fullback
* Stanley Knickerbocker, 5'10", 165 pounds, sophomore, Chelsea, MI - halfback
* Gene Knutson, 6'4", 210 pounds, junior, Beloit, WI – started 9 games as defensive right end
* Ted Kress, 5'11", 175 pounds, junior, Detroit – started 9 games as left halfback
* Laurence LeClair, 6'0", 190 pounds, senior, Anaconda, MT – started 9 games as linebacker
* Robert K. Matheson, 5'10", 190 pounds, senior, Detroit - guard
* Duncan McDonald, 6'0", 175 pounds, sophomore, Flint, MI - quarterback
* Wayne F. Melchiori, 6'0", 185 pounds, senior, Stambaugh, MI - center
* Don Oldham, 5'9", 167 pounds, senior, Indianapolis – started 4 games as defensive back, 2 games as safety
* Dick O'Shaughnessy, 5'11", 190 pounds, junior, Seaford, NY – started 9 games at center
* Bernhardt Pederson, 6'2", 215 pounds, senior, Marquette, MI -started 6 games at offensive right tackle
* Lowell Perry, 6'0", 180 pounds, senior, Ypsilanti, MI – started 9 games as offensive left end, 4 games as safety
* Russell Rescorla, 5'11", 180 pounds, senior, Grand Haven, MI – started 3 games as defensive back
* Thad Stanford, 6'0", 190 pounds, junior, Midland, MI – started 9 games at offensive right end
* Ralph Stribe, 6'1", 205 pounds, senior, Detroit - tackle
* Dick Strozewski, 6'0", 200 pounds, senior, South Bend, IN – started 5 games as offensive left tackle
* Bob Timm, 5'11", 185 pounds, senior, Toledo, OH – started 8 games as offensive left guard
* David Tinkham, 5'10", 178 pounds, senior, East Grand Rapids, MI – started 9 games as defensive back
* Ted Topor, 6'1", 212 pounds, senior, East Chicago, IN – started 9 games as quarterback
* Bob Topp, 6'2", 190 pounds, junior, Kalamazoo, MI - end
* Art Walker, 5'11", 198 pounds, sophomore, South Haven, MI – started 9 games as defensive left tackle
* Ronald Williams, 5'9", 185 pounds, junior, Massillon, OH – started 7 games as defensive left guard
* Thomas Witherspoon, 5'11", 185 pounds, senior, Detroit - halfback
* Roger Zatkoff, 6'2", 210 pounds, senior, Hamtramck, MI – started 9 games as linebacker, 1 game as offensive right tackle

### Coaching staff

* Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
* Assistant coaches:
   * Jack Blott - line coach
   * George Ceithaml - backfield coach
   * Cliff Keen - head wrestling coach and assistant football coach
   * Bill Orwig - end coach
   * Don Robinson - junior varsity coach
   * Wally Weber - freshman coach and scout
   * J. T. White - assistant line coach
* Trainer: Jim Hunt
* Manager: Gerry Dudley

## Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1952 season went to the following individuals.
* Captain: Merritt Green
* All-Americans: Lowell Perry
* All-Conference: Roger Zatkoff, Art Walker, Bob Timm, Dick O'Shaughnessy, Ted Kress
* Most Valuable Player: Ted Topor
* Meyer Morton Award: Gene Knutson