Merv Pregulman Mervin Pregulman ( October 10 , 1922 – November 29 , 2012 ) was an All - American football player , businessman , and philanthropist . He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was selected as a first - team All - American in 1943 . He was inducted into the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II , narrowly surviving a kamikaze attack on his ship in 1945 . Pregulman was a first - round draft pick ( seventh overall pick ) of the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Draft . He played four years of professional football with the Packers ( 1946 ) , Detroit Lions ( 1947 – 48 ) , and New York Bulldogs ( 1949 ) . He later became the president of Siskin Steel & Supply Co . in Chattanooga , Tennessee . He was also active in philanthropy and community service , including service as president of the Siskin Foundation and a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation ' s board of trustees . In 2004 , he became the 13th recipient of the University of Michigan ' s Gerald R . Ford Award . He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 . Childhood . Pregulman was born and raised in Lansing , Michigan . His father , George Pregulman , had little formal education , but he became a millionaire in business in Lansing . Pregulman went to Lansing Central High School , not far from the campus of Michigan State University ( then known as Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science ) . In his senior year of high school , Pregulman was " captain of the all - state football team . " College football . Despite growing up in the shadow of Michigan State , Pregulman chose to attend the University of Michigan . At Michigan , he played for Coach Fritz Crisler from 1941 – 43 . He was a versatile lineman who " moved from guard to tackle to center as needed , and who played each position with skill , confidence and winning effectiveness . " 1941 season . In 1941 , Pregulman was a 19 - year old sophomore starting at right guard . On October 18 , 1941 , he intercepted a pass thrown by College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham and ran it back for the game - winning touchdown in a 14 – 7 victory over Northwestern . That year , Pregulman was named a Grantland Rice All - American honorable mention and was given the team ' s Meyer Morton Award as the most improved player during spring drills . The 1941 Michigan team finished the year with a record of 6 – 1 – 1 , outscored its opponents 147 – 41 , and was ranked No . 5 in the final AP poll . 1942 season . In 1942 , the Michigan team was 7 – 3 and finished the season ranked No . 7 in the AP poll . Michigan played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the first time in 25 years and won , 32 – 20 . Pregulman was named to the All Big Ten team . The 1942 Wolverines ' offensive line that included Pregulman , Julius Franks ( U - M ' s first African - American All - American ) , Al Wistert , Robert Kolesar , Bill Pritula and Elmer Madar , was known as the " Seven Oak Posts . " 1943 season . In 1943 , the Michigan football team was 8 – 1 , outscored its opponents , 302 – 73 , and was co - champion of the Big Ten Conference , finishing the season ranked No . 3 in the final AP poll . The only loss was to Notre Dame , 35 – 12 . The Wolverines did not allow any other opponent to score more than seven points that season and defeated Minnesota , 49 – 6 , and Ohio State 45 – 7 . For the 1943 season , Pregulman was named Grantland Rice first team All - American at guard , UP All - American second team at tackle , and AP All - American third team at tackle . Awards and accolades . His biography at the University of Michigan Athletic History site says : " Originally a center he was shifted to guard , then back to center where his accurate passes were a vital factor in Michigan ' s famed single - winged attack . Smart and aggressive , he never turned in a performance below the high standard he set for himself . " Sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote that Pregulman was " fast and alert . . . was voted the best combination center , guard , and tackle the Middlewest had known in years . " In addition to his father , Pregulman said he had three heroes in his life : Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler , Michigan ' s line coach ( and future Michigan State head coach ) Biggie Munn , and Axle Martin , a university professor . In 1969 , Pregulman was selected for the Michigan Wolverines ' all - time football team . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1988 . He was also part of the second group inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 . In 2005 , Pregulman was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the " Motown Sports Revival , " ranking 61st on the all - time team . Service in World War II . In 1944 , Pregulman was inducted into the United States Navy where he served as a gunnery officer on the USS Taluga in the Pacific Theater of Operations . The Taluga left Norfolk , Virginia in October 1944 . On December 10 , 1944 , the ship reached Ulithi , an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean , which served as her base of operations until the end of World War II . For the next 11 months , Pregulman and the " Taluga " crew were in and out of Ulithi picking up oil and other supplies there and carrying them to units of the U . S . Pacific Fleet . During that time , they supported carrier strikes and landings on Luzon in the Philippine Islands , landings on Okinawa , strikes on Formosa , and the final sweep of the Japanese home islands in the summer of 1945 . Between April and July 1945 , Pregulman and the " Taluga " crew spent much of their time in and around the anchorage at Kerama Retto , just west of the southern end of Okinawa . At dawn on April 16 , 1945 , ten kamikaze s attacked their formation . One of the kamikazes dove at " Taluga " , strafed her deck , and then made for her superstructure . The attacker careened off the ship ' s bridge and hit the wheelhouse . However , only 12 men were injured , and the oiler was soon back in action . Pregulman normally would have been in the wheelhouse , but he went on deck just before the attack . He recalled : " If he had been five minutes later , I would have been in the wheelhouse and I certainly wouldn ' t be here . " He recalled that the plane sheared off the top of the wheelhouse , and blew a hole in the deck , but no American soldiers were killed . Just 11 days after the cessation of hostilities , " Taluga " entered Tokyo Bay on August 26 , 1945 , and took up duty as station oiler until early October . On November 18 , 1945 , the ship left Japan to support ships engaged in the occupation of China and Korea . She visited Tsingtao and Jinsen before returning to Yokosuka , Japan , on December 6 , 1945 . On January 31 , 1946 , the " Taluga " began its return to the United States , arriving in San Pedro , California , on February 16 . Professional football . Green Bay Packers . Pregulman was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round ( seventh choice overall ) of the 1944 NFL Draft , but he was called into military service in the Navy . After completing his military service , Pregulman finally signed with the Packers in June 1946 . A Wisconsin sports writer touted the signing : " Curly Lambeau came up with a dandy for the Green Bay Packers when he landed Merv Pregulman . . . . At Michigan he was a star at three different positions - - tackle , guard and center . I ' ve a hunch that he would do just as well at end . " Pregulman appeared in nine games for a Packers ' team that had a 6 – 5 record in 1946 . Detroit Lions . During the spring of 1947 , Pregulman joined the coaching staff of the Michigan State Spartans football team when Biggie Munn took over as head coach . Munn had been Pregulman ' s position coach at Michigan . In June 1947 , Pregulman was traded by the Packers to the Detroit Lions in exchange for his former teammate at Michigan , Paul White . Pregulman played in all 24 games for the Lions during the 1947 and 1948 seasons . The Lions went 3 – 9 in 1947 and 2 – 10 in 1948 . Pregulman had three interceptions and recovered three opponent fumbles for the Lions . He also handled the Lions ' kicking duties in 1948 , kicking two field goals in six attempts , and completing 26 extra points in 27 attempts . He also had a punt return for nine yards ( 8 m ) in 1947 . New York Bulldogs . In August 1949 , Pregulman was traded by the Lions to the New York Bulldogs in exchange for John Treadaway and John Prochlik . He played in all 12 games for the Bulldogs team that went 1 – 10 – 1 . In June 1950 , Pregulman announced that he was retiring from football . He said he had received a contract to play for the Philadelphia Eagles , but had decided to remain in Lansing , Michigan , where he was in the furniture business . Business career . After his football career ended , Pregulman initially went into the furniture business . In 1957 , Pregulman moved with his wife Helen to her hometown , Chattanooga , Tennessee . His wife was the granddaughter of Robert Hyman Siskin , the founder of Siskin Steel & Supply Co . The company was started in 1900 by Siskin , a Lithuanian immigrant , as a small scrap metal business . His two sons , Mose and Garrison Siskin expanded the company into one of Chattanooga ' s leading businesses . In 1978 , when Mose Siskin died , Pregulman was named president and chief executive officer . In 1980 , Siskin was generating about $ 50 million in annual revenues . Under Pregulman ' s management over the next 15 years the company ' s annual revenues tripled to $ 151 million , as the company expanded its operations throughout the Southeast . In 1985 , Siskin bought Birmingham , Alabama - based Steel Supply Company , which subsequently took on the Siskin name . Next , Siskin built a steel service center in Nashville in 1989 to cut transportation costs and accommodate Nissan Motors and Saturn Corporation automobile plants in the area . When Pregulman retired , his son John Pregulman took over as the company ' s president . In 1996 , Siskin Steel was sold to Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co . for $ 71 million in cash . Under an agreement with Reliance Steel , the company remained under local management with Merv Pregulman continuing to serve as vice - chairman , and his son John Pregulman continuing as president . In 2002 , John Pregulman left Siskin . Philanthropy and community service . Pregulman was also active in philanthropy and community service . For many years , he was the chairman of the Siskin Memorial Foundation and played a lead role in building the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation , one of the leading rehabiliation centers in the United States . Even after he retired , he remained active as the Foundation ' s vice - chairman . He was also president of the Jewish Community Federation of Chattanooga , a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation ' s board of trustees , and a leader at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and The McCallie School , a boy ' s preparatory school near his home in the Missionary Ridge section of Chattanooga . He also played an important role in raising money to build Finley Stadium , opened in 1997 , and has served on the board of directors for the Finley Stadium / Davenport Field Corporation . Pregulmanparticularly active in community service efforts directed at improving health care and has received awards from the Tennessee Medical Association and the Chattanooga / Hamilton County Medical Society . In 1997 , Pregulman and his wife were given Chattanooga ' s top philanthropist honor at the 10th Annual National Philanthropy Day Luncheon and Award presentation , for their varied efforts since moving to Chattanooga in 1957 . After his wife spoke , Pregulman told the attendees : " Helen ( his wife ) comes by charity work very honestly . When you talk about philanthropy and community there ' s no need to write them down on paper , the words come from the heart . " In 1998 , Pregulman and his wife Helen ( also a U - M graduate ) endowed a scholarship at the University of Michigan . The Mervin and Helen S . Pregulman Endowed Scholarship Fund is awarded based on students ' leadership ability , financial need , and commitment to work in the Jewish community after graduation . Pregulman said : " Helen and I are committed to Jewish communal service . We see it as essential to the health and vitality of the Jewish communities throughout the world . The students . . . will play an integral role in administration and related activities at synagogue s and Jewish Community Center s in the future . We hope to encourage more leadership from our young adults through this scholarship program . " In 2004 , Pregulman was the 13th person to receive the Gerald R . Ford Award . The award is the highest honor bestowed on a former University of Michigan athlete and is given for " excellence in scholarship , sport and society . " Pregulman was also a vocal opponent of efforts in 2005 to impose historic district zoning restrictions on the Missionary Ridge area of Chattanooga , where Pregulman lives . The ridge was the site of a Civil War battle and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places . Pregulman argued that historic zoning would limit the rights of property owners : " We live with enough restrictions . We don ' t need them . " A transcript of an interview with Pregulman is part of the American Jewish Committee Oral History Collection at the New York Public Library .