Herman Everhardus Herman " Flying Dutchman " Everhardus ( September 11 , 1912 – July 1980 ) was an American football player who played halfback for the University of Michigan teams from 1931 – 1933 . He was an All - Big Ten halfback who led the conference in scoring in 1933 . In his junior and senior seasons at Michigan , he led the team to two consecutive undefeated seasons and national championships . While playing football at Michigan , Everhardus was a teammate and fraternity brother of future U . S . President Gerald Ford . Biography . Everhardus was a native of Kalamazoo , Michigan where he attended Kalamazoo Central High School . He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1930 and was a three - year starter at halfback for the Wolverines ' football teams . He became known as the " Flying Dutchman " while playing for Michigan . During his junior and senior years , the Wolverines football teams won back - to - back national championships with a two - year record of 15 – 0 – 1 , outscoring opponents by a combined total of 254 – 31 . In 1933 , Everhardus was the leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference with 64 points on eight touchdowns and ten point after touchdown kicks . He scored three touchdowns and three extra points in a 1933 game against Cornell , including a 52 - yard touchdown run and an 85 - yard kickoff return to open the second half . Everhardus contributed to the Wolverines ' second straight undefeated season as much with his kicking as with his running . In a 10 – 6 win over Iowa in 1933 , Everhardus had a 47 - yard run and kicked for a field goal and extra - point . After the Iowa game , the Associated Press reported : " Herman Everhardus , the flying Dutchman from Kalamazoo , unleashed a toe as true as a navy siege gun and Bill Renner displayed uncanny passing aim today as Michigan ' s powerful football team , playing in snow and ice , swept toward a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship with a hard - earned victory over Iowa . " While playing for Michigan , Everhardus was a teammate and fraternity brother of future U . S . President Gerald Ford . When Ford tried out for the freshman football team , he needed a job to help pay his expenses . Everhardus arranged to get Ford a job waiting tables at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house , where Ford later became a fraternity brother of Everhardus . At the end of the 1933 season , Everhardus was selected as a first - team back on the All - Big Ten teams selected by the United Press and the Newspaper Editors Association ( NEA ) . He was also selected as a second - team All - American by the NEA and the International News Service . In announcing the 1933 All - Big Ten team , the United Press wrote : " Everhardus was Michigan ' s foremost back , with his running and stellar defensive work . He kicked three field goals in crucial games and won the Illinois game with his extra point after touchdown , 7 – 6 . " The NEA wrote the following in naming Everhardus as its first - team All - Big Ten fullback : " The fullback post is well filled by Herman Everhardus , Michigan . Although playing a halfback post , the flying Dutchman is a typical fullback . He showed he could crash tackles and the center of the line equally as well as he could run the ends or snare a pass . Defensively , he was a Gibraltar . " Everhardus was also selected to play in both of the major post - season all - star games . On January 1 , 1934 , Everhardus and Michigan teammate Chuck Bernard played for the East team in the annual East - West Shrine Game in San Francisco . Although the East team lost , Everhardus was credited with " a phenomenal 70 - yard punt . . . which traveled 50 yards from the line in the air . " And in August 1934 , Everhardus was selected as a member of the College All - American team to play the annual game against the NFL champions at Soldier Field in Chicago . The College All - Americans played the NFL champion Chicago Bears to a scoreless tie , and the Associated Press cited Everhardus as one of three college stars who " stood out on the floodlighted field . " In addition to his performance in the backfield , Everhardus gained attention for a 60 - yard kick that pinned the Bears deep in their own territory late in the game . After graduating from Michigan , Everhardus signed a contract to play professional football for the Detroit Lions , but obtained a release from the contract so that he could accept a position as an assistant football coach at Penn State .