Ed Frutig Edward C . Frutig ( August 19 , 1918 – February 26 , 2011 ) was an American football end who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1938 to 1940 . He was selected as a first - team All - American in 1940 by William Randolph Hearst ' s International News Service . A teammate of Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon for three years at Michigan , he was Harmon ' s main receiver . Frutig played professional football with the Green Bay Packers ( 1941 , 1945 ) and Detroit Lions ( 1945 – 1946 ) of the National Football League . Early years . Frutig was born and raised in River Rouge , Michigan , the son of a River Rouge councilman . 1938 season . Frutig attended the University of Michigan from 1937 to 1941 . He came to Michigan with very little football reputation and is reported to have “ barely made the freshman squad ” in 1937 . Frutig put himself through college by covering Ann Arbor for a Detroit newspaper . As a sophomore in 1938 , he was part of coach Fritz Crisler ' s first Michigan football team . This was the year that Crisler introduced the Winged Helmet at Michigan . He was “ just another varsity candidate as a sophomore ” in 1938 but before the season was over , he was “ the best end ” on the team . “ That ’ s real development , ” said Fielding H . Yost . Going into the 1938 season , Michigan had not scored a touchdown against Ohio State in four years . On November 19 , 1938 , the drought ended as Michigan beat the Buckeyes , 18 – 0 . In the fourth quarter , Frutig caught two passes from Tom Harmon , one a 22 - yard pass to the 18 - yard line and then a five - yard pass for a touchdown . 1939 season . As the 1939 season got underway , former Michigan head coach Fielding H . Yost called Frutig the greatest Michigan pass receiver since Bennie Oosterbaan . Yost said , “ He ' s got the grace and the speed . And the tips of his fingers appear coated with glue . ” Frutig was also described as “ a sweet defensive player . ” In the Big Ten opener against Iowa , Frutig caught a 27 - yard pass from Tom Harmon and was pushed out of bounds at the two - yard line to set up Michigan ' s first touchdown in a 27 – 7 win . However , he suffered a twisted knee in the Iowa game and did not play against Chicago . He came back in the Minnesota game but was injured again , with a dislocated ankle tendon , and did not play the rest of the season . 1940 season . Frutig finally put together a complete season as a senior in 1940 . Michigan started all eight games at end for the 1940 Wolverines team that went 7 – 1 and finished the season ranked No . 3 in the AP poll . The only loss was a 7 – 6 defeat to Minnesota . The 1940 season was the year Tom Harmon won the Heisman Trophy and Frutig ' s accomplishments were largely overshadowed . In Michigan ' s eight games , Frutig had 12 receptions for 181 yards ( over 15 yards per catch ) and three touchdown s . He also blocked five punts and won a reputation as a superior defensive player . As the 1940 season was about to start , Yost said that Frutig was the best pass catcher he had seen in ten years , though he admitted Frutig was " not the best wingman " in other areas of play . In the season opener against the California Bears , Michigan won , 41 – 0 , and Frutig blocked one of Reinhard ’ s punts , setting up Harmon ' s fifth touchdown . In the second period against Illinois , Frutig caught a Harmon pass at the 25 - yard line and ran untouched across the goal line . On the next possession , Illinois drove the ball to the Michigan 12 - yard line , but Frutig intercepted a Pfeffer pass to end the threat . Against Pennsylvania , Frutig made a “ leaping catch on the goal line ” for a touchdown on a pass from Harmon , as the Wolverines won , 14 – 0 . Frutig played all 60 minutes against Penn and said afterward he could have played 60 minutes more . “ Of course , ” Frutig added , “ I ' d need that boy Al Wistert right by me if I had to play much more than the regulation time . ” The season ' s only loss came to Minnesota in a close 7 – 6 game . Frutig nearly won the game for Michigan as he blocked a George Franck punt , which Reuben Kelto recovered on the Minnesota three - yard line . But Minnesota intercepted Harmon ' s pass in the end zone , and Michigan lost by one point . Harmon had also missed a point after touchdown kick earlier in the game . Despite the loss , one columnist said of Frutig ' s performance against Michigan : “ The best end I saw all year I saw in this game . That was Frutig of Michigan and that goes for offense and defense . He ruined about six coming in there trying to block those Gopher punts . He did block one . ” Against Northwestern , Frutig blocked a punt from the end zone to set up Harmon ' s 30th touchdown of the season . In his final game in the Michigan uniform , a 40 – 0 win over Ohio State , Frutig caught his third touchdown pass of the season . Aside from his pass receiving and defense , Frutig won praise as a punt blocker . In Michigan ' s eight games in 1940 , Frutig “ personally blocked five punts , all of them at a crucial moments . ” Oddly , despite numerous accounts referencing his punt blocking exploits , Frutig is not listed among NCAA Division I players to have blocked as many as three punts in a season . Frutig was a first - team All - American pick by Hearst Publications ' International News Service and football writer Maxwell Stiles . Frutig was selected as a third - team All - American by UP , AP and Central Press Association . Frutig , Harmon and Forest Evashevski teamed up one last time in the 16th annual East - West Shrine Charity Football Game in San Francisco on New Year ' s Day 1941 . Evashevski and Frutig scored the East ' s only touchdowns , with Frutig scoring on a 21 - yard pass from Harmon into the end zone . Frutig leaped high to grab Harmon ' s pass “ while boxed in between two West defense men . ” Professional football and military service . Frutig was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1941 NFL Draft , and played for the team in 1941 . However , when the United States entered World War II , Frutig enlisted in the United States Navy where he earned his wings as a pilot . While serving in the Navy , Frutig was named to the All - Navy All - American football team in 1942 . He also played for the Navy ' s Corpus Christi Flyers team that compiled a 4 – 3 record playing against southwest college teams . He also played for the Navy ' s Corpus Christi Flyers team that compiled a 4 – 3 record playing against southwest college teams . In 1942 , he was transferred from Corpus Christi to the naval air base at Grosse Ile , Michigan where he served as an instructor . Later years . In the late 1940s and early 1950s , Frutig served as the end coach at Washington State College . Former teammate Forest Evashevski was the head coach who recruited Frutig to Washington State . Frutig was credited with developing Ed Barker , Washington State ' s end who broke two Coast Conference pass - catching records in 1951 . He resigned in December 1951 to take a job with an advertising firm in East Lansing , Michigan and went on to become successful in the advertising business . In 1967 , Frutig and Bob Westfall were the leaders of the Alumni for Evy Committee , organized to bring Evashevski to Michigan as both head football coach and athletic director . Instead , Bo Schembechler and Don Canham were hired to the jobs . Frutig ' s daughter , Suzy Bales , has published 13 books about gardening , including " The Garden in Winter " published in 2007 . Notes . See discussion on this article ' s talk page regarding controversies as to Frutig ' s birth year , listed in some sources as 1920 , and concerning conflicting sources as to whether Frutig blocked five punts in 1940 .