Herb Steger Herbert F . Steger ( July 12 , 1902 – July 20 , 1968 ) was an American football player , coach and official . He played for the University of Michigan from 1922 to 1924 . Steger later served as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University from 1925 to 1931 and a Big Ten Conference football official from 1931 to 1953 . Biography . Oak Park . A native of Oak Park , Illinois , Steger was the halfback for the Oak Park High School football team coached by Glenn Thistlethwaite , who later became the head football coach at Northwestern . During the time that Steger played for Thistlethwaite , the Oak Park football team went through four consecutive seasons without a loss . Michigan . In 1921 , Steger enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played halfback from 1922 to 1924 , helping the Wolverines to back - to - back undefeated football seasons in 1922 and 1923 . He was considered a " triple threat " player who had " about equal ability in kicking , forward passing and carrying the ball . " In Steger ' s sophomore year of 1922 , the Wolverines were 6 – 0 – 1 and outscored opponents by a combined tally of 183 to 13 . In Steger ' s first game for Michigan , he ran 60 yards for a touchdown on his first carry . Steger developed appendicitis late in the 1922 season and underwent surgery in Chicago in December 1922 . As a junior in 1923 , Steger helped lead the Wolverines to an 8 – 0 record and outscored opponents 150 to 12 . Michigan ' s first conference game in 1923 was against Ohio State in Ann Arbor . Fifty - thousand spectators watched Michigan shut out the Buckeyes 23 – 0 . Michigan ' s first touchdown was scored on a 16 - yard pass from Irwin Uteritz to Steger in the third quarter . Some suggested during the 1923 season that Steger " has even outshone , the great Kipke . " An NEA news service profile in late October 1923 praised Steger ' s diverse talents : " Steger , today , ranks as one of the best gridders Yost has had in seasons . Captain Harry Kipke not excepted . Fleet of foot , a good forward passer , splendid punter , and an expert field goal kicker , the former Oak Park lad is a triple threat artist de luxe . There is no getting away from that . He also is as good a bet as the Wolverines boast on the receiving end of a pass , having the uncanny ability to grab ' em out of the air on almost impossible chances . " At the end of the 1923 football season , Steger was elected as captain of the 1924 Michigan Wolverines football team . Through the first half of October 1924 , the Wolverines remained undefeated , and Steger had never played a game for a losing football team . In four years at Oak Park and two full seasons at Michigan ( 1922 and 1923 ) , Steger ' s teams had not lost a single game . In the buildup to the 1924 game between Michigan and Red Grange ' s Illinois team , the press played up Steger ' s winning streak . The following excerpt typifies the coverage : " In Captain Herbert Steger Michigan has something more than a dog - gone good halfback . It has a symbol of good fortune and victory . Steger is Michigan ' s rabbit ' s foot . In all the time he has been playing football he has yet to taste the unpalatable dregs of defeat . . . . Steger was one of the best backs in the conferehce last year . But you can tell the wide world that Michigan is pinning part of its hopes for the Big Ten championship this season on the luck of its captain . He hasn ' t failed yet . When he meets Illinois and matches the old rabbit ' s foot against Red Grange ' s threats he will be subjecting his charmed football life to its severest strain . " His streak came to an end in the Illinois game on October 19 , 1924 . The game was the dedication game for the new Memorial Stadium in Urbana , Illinois . Grange took Steger ' s opening kickoff and ran it back 95 yards for a touchdown . Grange scored five touchdowns in the game and ran for 402 yards . After the game , Illini fans and player praised Steger for his sportsmanship and bravery in the game . Illini players reported that Steger had " arched his body over Grange while tackling him to prevent an injury to the man who blasted the hopes of Michigan . " Steger was the Wolverines ' second leading scorer in 1924 with five touchdowns for 30 points . At the end of the 1924 season , Steger was selected as a third - team All - American by " All - Sports Magazine " , based on the combined vote of 312 prominent football coaches , officials and sport writers from all sections of the country , " representing the opinions of the best informed critics in all parts of the country . " Northwestern . In 1925 , Steger accepted a position as an assistant coach at Northwestern where his former high school coach George Thistlewaite was the head football coach . After Northwestern tied Michigan for the 1926 Big Ten Conference football championship , the Athletic Board at Northwestern gave Steger a gold football as " a tribute to his coaching prowess . " He served as a backfield coach for the Wildcats through the 1931 football season . Later years . From 1931 to 1968 , Steger worked as an insurance broker with offices at 175 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago . He also worked as a Big Ten Conference football official from 1931 to 1953 . Steger died in July 1968 at his home on Chicago Avenue in Oak Park , Illinois . He was 66 years old at the time of his death and was survived by his wife , Bernice Steger , and a daughter , Judith Arado .