Frank Steketee Frank W . Steketee ( April 26 , 1900 – December 26 , 1951 ) was an All American football halfback and fullback who played with the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1918 , 1920 , and 1921 . As a freshman in 1918 , he was the team ' s only All - American , scored three touchdowns and kicked three extra points in his first game , and led the Wolverines to an undefeated national championship season . He was regarded as one of the best kickers in football at the time and reportedly once kicked a 100 - yard punt . High school . Steketee was born and raised in Grand Rapids , Michigan . He was the son of prominent Grand Rapids businessman Jacob Steketee . Steketee was a star athlete at Grand Rapids Central High School . College football All - American at Michigan . After graduating from high school , Steketee attended the University of Michigan , where he became known as " Stek . " He played halfback and fullback for Fielding H . Yost ' s Michigan Wolverines football teams in 1918 , 1920 , and 1921 , missing the 1919 season due to military service during World War I . Though he was a skilled runner and " line - plunger , " Steketee was principally known for his punting and place kicking . There are press accounts of Steketee once having kicked a record 100 - yard punt . According to one account : “ I remember " The Saturday Evening Post " doing a writeup on U . of M . It told how Frank Steketee stood behind his own goal posts and made a punt which was picked up by the opposing team behind their goal posts . ” “ As a result of his prodigious field goals , Stek is given credit for Michigan victories over Syracuse , Illinois and Minnesota . ” Michigan ’ s undefeated 1918 season . As a freshman in 1918 , Steketee was named an All - American . In a season shortened to five games due to the deadly 1918 flu pandemic and war - related travel restrictions , the Wolverines were 5 – 0 and national champions . They shut out four of their opponents , including a 14 – 0 shutout over Ohio State . For the season , the Wolverines outscored their opponents 96 – 6 . In the opening game against Case Institute of Technology , Steketee entered the game as a substitute and made an impressive debut . In a 33 – 0 victory , Steketee accounted for 21 points , “ making three of the five touchdowns and kicking three out of five attempts at goal . ” In the third game of the season , Steketee ’ s performance was even more impressive . Michigan defeated Syracuse , 15 – 0 , on a field inches deep in mud , with rain falling throughout the game . Steketee scored all 15 points in the game , kicking three field goals and scoring a touchdown . The " Syracuse Herald " reported : “ One man stood out in the Michigan triumph , Steketee of Grand Rapids . He made the entire 15 points scored by his team and otherwise mussed up perfect good intentions on the part of the visitors . ” In the fourth quarter , Steketee also intercepted a pass from Ackley and ran 20 yards for a touchdown to complete the scoring . The final game of the 1918 season pitted the undefeated Wolverines against the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes . In a 14 – 0 victory , Steketee again had a hand in all 14 points scored . The game was scoreless in the fourth quarter when Steketee kicked a 73 - yard punt that pinned Ohio State at its two - yard line . Ohio State attempted to punt out of its end zone , but Michigan ’ s Angus Goetz broke through and blocked the punt which was recovered for a touchdown . Steketee also threw a touchdown pass to end Robert Dunne from Ohio State ’ s 12 - yard line in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring . In addition to being Michigan ’ s only All - American in 1918 , Steketee was also the only member of Michigan ' s undefeated 1918 team to receive a " gold football " from Coach Fielding H . Yost . He was the first player in school history to be named an All - American in his freshman year . The freshman rule had been relaxed in 1918 because of World War I . The 1920 season . Steketee served in the Naval Reserve in 1919 and missed the 1919 season . Without Steketee in the lineup , the Wolverines record dropped to 3 – 4 in 1919 , as they gave up 102 points , 96 points more than they had allowed in 1918 . In July 1920 , " The New York Times " reported on Steketee ' s return , noting that Michigan supporters were “ greatly rejoiced by the announcement from the office of the Registrar of the University that Frank Steketee , the famous 1918 All - American fullback , will be eligible for the 1920 eleven . ” The paper also opined that , had Steketee been eligible in 1919 , “ the season ’ s long succession of defeats might have been averted . ” As the season got underway , newspapers asked the question : “ Is Michigan Coming Back ? ” One wire service account noted : " Frank Steketee , a member of the 1918 team , and who was given the position of fullback on Walter Camp ’ s All - American eleven , will be back on the line - plunging job this year . Steketee is as good a booter as they come , and he promises to be one of the national gridiron stars again this year . " With Steketee back in the lineup , the Wolverines improved to 5 – 2 in 1920 , outscoring opponents 121 – 21 . In the 1920 Illinois game , Michigan lost , 7 – 6 , as a 50 - yard place kick by Steketee with a few minutes left missed " by a few inches . " The season ’ s other loss came to Ohio State , 14 – 7 . However , an Ohio newspaper account noted that , despite the loss , “ Steketee was the offensive star for the Wolverines , his 26 - yard gain around right end in the first quarter being the most spectacular run of the game . ” Another account reported : “ Several spectacular gains by Steketee for Michigan featured the third period . ” Though no Wolverine player made the All - American team in 1920 , Steketee was selected as first - team All " Big Ten " by Chicago experts . 1921 season . In 1921 , the Wolverines improved to a 5 – 1 – 1 record and outscored their opponents 187 – 21 . Pre - season accounts noted : " In Frank Steketee , Michigan has one of the best distance punters in the conference . " After losing to Ohio State , 14 – 0 , Michigan rebounded the following week to defeat Illinois , 3 – 0 , on a “ placement kick ” by Steketee . " The New York Times " reported that Steketee was “ the outstanding figure of the Michigan offense . ” Steketee scored the game ’ s only points on a kick from the 15 - yard line near the end of the first half . Later in the game , Steketee “ broke up the match ” when he intercepted a long pass , and later “ broke through and blocked Anderson ’ s attempted place kick . ” Steketee ’ s final game in a Michigan uniform came against rival Minnesota in the battle for the Little Brown Jug . Michigan beat Minnesota , 38 – 0 , as Steketee scored a touchdown after Michigan ’ s Frank Cappon fumbled the ball at the Minnesota four - yard line , the ball rolled across the goal - line and Steketee pounced on it . Steketee also had a long run in the fourth quarter to set up Michigan ’ s final score . Multi - sport star . Steketee was also a letter winner for the Wolverines ’ hockey , swimming and golf teams . His grandson , Michigan Court of Appeals Judge David H . Sawyer , said : “ He was one of these athletes who did everything . They say he was an accomplished gymnast , too , but they didn ’ t have gymnastics at Michigan back then . ” Bernard Kirk ' s death . In December 1922 , Steketee was a pall - bearer along with Harry Kipke , Paul Goebel and other Michigan teammates , at the funeral of Bernard Kirk in Ypsilanti , Michigan . Kirk had been Michigan ’ s starting left end and died in an automobile accident on December 17 , 1922 . The funeral was also attended by Michigan Governor Alex Groesbeck , U - M President Marion LeRoy Burton , and the coaches of the Western Conference football teams . Later life . Steketee served as a medic in World War II . He worked as an account examiner for the finance division of Michigan Department of Highways from January 1945 until his death in December 1951 . On the day after Christmas in 1951 , Steketee was stricken by a heart attack and collapsed at his desk in the state highway department headquarters . He died three hours later at Lansing ' s St . Lawrence Hospital . He was survived by his widow , Emma , and a son Frank W . Steketee , Jr . Steketee was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 .