Ralph Heikkinen Ralph Isaac “ Hike ” Heikkinen ( May 14 , 1917 – January 12 , 1990 ) was an All - American guard for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1936 - 1938 . He was a consensus All - American in 1938 , the first player from the Gogebic Range area of Michigan ’ s Upper Peninsula to win the honor . His exploits were widely reported in the Upper Peninsula press , where he became a local hero . He played professional football for the NFL Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 . From 1940 - 1944 , he was the line coach for the Virginia Cavaliers football team while attending the University of Virginia School of Law at the same time . After practicing law in New York for a time , he spent a year as a line coach and law professor at Marquette University in 1947 . After leaving Marquette , Heikkinen worked as executive secretary and attorney for Studebaker - Packard Corporation . He later joined the legal staff at General Motors ( GM ) , retiring in 1978 after 20 years of service in GM ’ s legal department . Heikkinen also helped initiate and implement a corporation - wide alcohol treatment and education program at General Motors . Youth in the Upper Peninsula . Born in Hancock , Michigan in Michigan ' s Upper Peninsula , Heikkinen was the son of Finnish immigrants , and grew up in Ramsay , Michigan , a heavily Finnish American community in the Gogebic Range area . He attended A . D . Johnston High School , in Bessemer , Michigan from 1933 - 1935 . As a junior in 1933 , Heikkinen was elected president of the student council . Heikkinen was a superior student who graduated with high honors student , and finished third in his high school class academically . When a new library opened in Bessemer in 1934 , Heikkinen was the first person to check out a book , A . B . Demille ’ s “ Three English Comedies . ” He was also an officer in the school ' s ROTC program , and received honors for his participation in the high school ’ s military , athletics and student affairs programs . Despite weighing only , Heikkinen won a spot on his high school football team ; his high school coach Robert Reihsen said he won a spot due to his aggressive play . Local papers reported that Heikkinen ’ s line play during high school was marked by hard tackling and blocking . During his junior season in 1934 , Coach Reihsen recalled Heikkinen played every minute of every game . Coach Reihnsen ' s team was known as the “ Speed Boys , ” and gave up only two points in the first four games , outscoring opponents , 65 – 2 . In November 1934 , Coach Reihsen took Heikkinen to Minneapolis to attend his first Big Ten football game , the Little Brown Jug match between Michigan and Minnesota . Reihsen recalled that , after the game , Heikkinen said : “ Some day I ’ m going to play in this stadium . ” University of Michigan . Heikkinen won an academic scholarship . In July 1926 , Heikkinen won an academic scholarship to the University of Michigan . The " Bessemer Herald " noted : “ It was no surprise to learn that Ralph Heikkinen of Ramsay has been awarded a University of Michigan Alumni scholarship , although only 50 high school seniors in the state can win the honor each year . . . Ralph is a very good student ; he ranked third in scholastic standings in a class of 128 . . . Heikkinen was also an outstanding guard on the B . H . S . football team for two years and he intends to try out for the Wolverine freshman squad this fall . ” The scholarship was renewed from year to year and covered Heikkinen ’ s tuition . To supplement his income , Heikkinen worked eight - hour days in a Fort Dearborn plant during his freshman year . The president of the Gogebic Range U - M Alumni Club later recalled that Heikkinen won his scholarship by passing a competitive examination . Of those receiving scholarships , Heikkinen was credited with the finest all around record of any undergraduate among the alumni scholarship students . Heikkinen ’ s diminutive stature . When Heikkinen graduated from high school , he weighed only and was thought too light to play Big Ten football . His height was reported variously as , , and . Heikkinen was described by the Detroit News as a “ pigmy ” compared to Michigan ’ s last great guard , Albert Benbrook , who was and more than . He was also described as “ the stock atom , ” and the “ pint - sized ” lineman . But Heikkinen viewed his size as an asset : “ My size had been a help rather than a hindrance . It is easier for a small man to pull out of the line and run interference than a big one . I had no trouble out - charging big men ; it was the small men who gave me all the trouble . ” Freshman and sophomore years . Heikkinen did not excel on the freshman team , but was invited by Coach Harry Kipke to spring practice in 1936 to try out for the varsity team . In April 1936 , the people back in Bessemer gave Heikkinen a vote of confidence ; the school board approved a $ 55 payment to Heikkinen as “ advance payment ” for some form of employment to be given “ during the coming summer months . ” However , Heikkinen did not win a starting spot on the 1936 team and was not even ranked among the top sophomore guards on the team . At the end of the 1936 season , the highest praise Coach Kipke could muster was to call him “ one of the better defensive linemen on the squad . ” Assistant coach Bennie Oosterbaan said Heikkinen had “ the right attitude , ” and coach Wally Weber described him as “ a hard worker . ” However , the " Michigan Daily " noted : “ The only weakness of the Ramsay boy is his lack of speed . Speedy guards are needed to pull out of the line and lead the interference , and Heikkinen hasn ’ t quite shown that he is fast enough to move in Big Ten competition as yet . ” Role of Hunk Anderson . The first person on the Michigan staff to believe in Heikkinen was Heartley “ Hunk ” Anderson . A fellow native of the Upper Peninsula ( Tamarack City , Michigan ) , Anderson played guard at Notre Dame from 1919 – 1921 and was Knute Rockne ’ s successor as Notre Dame ’ s head coach in 1931 . In 1937 , Anderson became Michigan ’ s line coach , and came to the conclusion during spring practice that Heikkinen was Michigan ’ s best football player . After a strong showing in spring practice , Heikkinen “ hardened up ” over the summer working at the Wakefield Iron . 1937 season . In 1937 , Heikkinen won the starting job at right guard , but the team finished 4 – 4 , and were outscored by opponents 110 – 54 . They were soundly defeated by Minnesota , 39 – 6 , and Ohio State , 21 – 0 . Heikkinen was the one bright spot in the Wolverines ’ 1937 season . In early November 1937 , Hunk Anderson described Heikkinen as “ the smallest but best lineman in the Michigan forward wall . ” Anderson continued in his praise for Heikkinen : “ Heik has shown the stuff in both of our tough games against Minnesota and Northwestern . . . Minnesota didn ’ t split our guards more than twice during the game . Heik was responsible for a lot of that . My conception of a good guard is one that stops anything that comes his way on defense and leads the blocking on offense . Heik has done just that . When we have the ball he is our fifth man in the backfield . He pulls out most of our plays and bowls over the opposition . We have made most of the gains through the line over his position . ” Heikkinen ’ s interception of a forward pass proved to be the key break in a 7 – 0 win over Penn . He also blocked kicks for points after touchdown in one - point wins over Illinois ( 7 – 6 ) and Chicago ( 13 – 12 ) . Without Heikkinen ’ s big plays against Penn , Illinois and Chicago , the Wolverines likely would have been 1 – 5 – 2 instead of 4 – 4 . Even in a 21 – 0 loss to Ohio State , Heikkinen blocked two kicks . Described at the end of the season as Kipke ’ s “ pride and joy , ” Heikkinen averaged 50 minutes a game in 1937 , and was the only Michigan player selected to the All - Big Ten team ( UP first team ; AP second team ) . He was also voted by his teammates as the team ’ s Most Valuable Player , an honor never before bestowed on a junior . And Hunk Anderson noted , “ if Michigan ’ s record had been better , Heikkinen would have made the All - America . There isn ’ t a better guard in the country ; I don ’ t know another as good . Wait til next year . ” A Detroit newspaper wrote that Heikkinen was the surprise of the 1937 season . “ Heikkinen has no spectacular record as a high school player to show . He was a reserve guard last season and really just started to show up in spring practice this year . ” The Bessemer Herald reported on the impressive turnaround of the first player from the Gogebic Range to be named All - Big Ten : “ Heikkinen , one of the quietest and least boisterous men on the Michigan grid squad , has suddenly shot from obscurity into the Western Conference hall of fame . . . From a lowly bench warmer last year , ‘ Hike ’ became one of the most consistent first - stringers this season . He played many if not more minutes than any other member of the squad . ” After the team ’ s 4 – 4 finish , Michigan dismissed Harry Kipke as head coach . Hunk Anderson , described by Heikkinen as the “ greatest line technician in football today , ” also resigned as line coach . Asked about rumors that players did not like Kipke , Heikkinen said those reports were probably originated by disgruntled players who did not make the squad or were in other ways dissatisfied . However , just over a year later , in February 1939 , Heikkinen led the opposition when Kipke ran for the University ’ s Board of Regents and campaigned actively for Kipke ’ s opponent . Political campaigning in 1938 . Heikkinen majored in political science and did political organization work for the Young Republicans during the summer of 1938 in Gogebic and Ontonagom Counties . He was the Upper Peninsula field representative for gubernatorial candidate Harry S . Toy in 1938 , traveling more than 16 , 000 miles over the course of the summer . 1938 season . In 1938 , with Heikkinen returning at guard , a new coach in Fritz Crisler , and sophomores Forest Evashevski and Tom Harmon joining the varsity squad , the Wolverines began to turn things around . They finished with a 6 – 1 – 1 record and were ranked # 16 in the final AP poll . Harmon and Evashevski made immediate contributions , but Heikkinen was once again voted the team ’ s Most Valuable Player . Having been the first junior to win the award in 1937 , he became the first player to receive the award twice in 1938 . Though line coach Hunk Anderson did not return in 1937 , Michigan hired Clarence “ Biggie ” Munn to replace him . Munn was a unanimous All - American guard for Minnesota in 1931 . Under the new coaching staff of Crisler and Munn , Heikkinen became one of the best college football players in the country . After the 1938 season , Heikkinen credited Crisler and Munn for his development . Heikkinen noted that Michigan linemen were taught not to depend on sheer strength . " We have not been taught to rear up and hurl back the opposition . We have not been taught to roll it back by power . We have been schooled to out - block and out - trick the other side . Our method is to be alert . We try to catch the other fellows off balance . " Michigan won the first game of the season against Michigan State , 14 – 0 , and Heikkinen drew attention for playing 59 of 60 minutes in the game . The team ' s only loss was a close 7 – 6 defeat to Minnesota in the third game of the season . The fourth game of the season was a 45 – 7 win over Yale . An Ann Arbor newspaper reported that Gerald R . Ford , former Michigan center then serving as a scout for Yale , “ tried to feed Hike a line . . . on how impossibly inferior ” Yale ’ s team would be . According to the report , Heikkinen , “ in his typically pungent manner , nipped Ford ’ s eulogies in the bud with some poignant remarks on who was trying to kid who and how . ” The 1938 Northwestern game ended in a scoreless tie . Heikkinen led a goal - line stand that preserved the tie . Northwestern reached the 11 - yard line on a 51 - yard pass play . A penalty took the ball to the six - yard line . On first down , they drove to the five , then to the two , and then to the one - yard line for a first down . On first down with a yard to go , Heikkinen stopped Northwestern a foot short of the goal line . Heikkinen called time out and encouraged the players when the ball was on the one - foot line , and the Michigan team kept the Wildcats from the end zone in an impressive goal - line stand . In the Ohio State game , his former coach Anderson said : “ He was the fifth man in the Ohio backfield . He pulled out of the line to lead the Michigan interference , blocked , went down under punts , smeared Ohio running plays and what not ! ” Detroit News sports editor H . G . Salsinger wrote : “ He was Michigan ’ s outstanding player for the last two years . He was probably the best offensive guard Michigan ever had , and fitted perfectly into the new Michigan running attack . Fast and powerful , Heikkinen frequently blocked out two defense players . Heikkinen was the fastest charger in the Michigan line . He outmaneuvered opponents . On defense it was impossible to gain through his position , and he had a way of jamming opposing lines and making holes so that his secondary could break through and stop the ball carrier . ” Ann Arbor newspaper writer , Bud Benjamin , wrote about Heikkinen : “ If ever a player deserved national recognition it is the brilliant Ralph Heikkinen , 180 pounds of inspired dynamite in a great Michigan line . . . . He came out of a small town in northern Michigan , Hike , did , a sandy haired , extremely reserved Finnish boy with an irrepressible urge to play football . ” He played between 50 and 60 minutes of every game in 1937 and 1938 and not once was a timeout called on his account or a substitution made for him due to injury . “ He was on his feet – active , explosive , dynamic - - all the time . ” Selection as an All - American . Heikkinen was chosen as a consensus first - team All - American by more than 25 sports magazines , newspapers and wire services , including the Associated Press , the United Press , Grantland Rice for Collier ' s Weekly , the Newspaper Enterprise Association Service , the New York Sun , and Chesterfield Cigarettes as selected by Eddie Dooley . Heikkinen received 226 points in the United Press poll , the fifth highest total in the balloting . The UP noted : “ He dominated the voting for guards on ballots from the East , West , South and North . He has a trick on defense of jamming the opposition line and making a hole for a teammate to go through and get the ball carrier . On offense he excels in swinging out to lead the interference and often gets in two blocks on a play . Motion pictures of the Ohio State - Michigan game show Heikkinen jamming opposing linesmen back from one to three yards on almost every play . He is so good that professional teams have approached him , but he wants to study law . ” In announcing its selection , the Associated Press noted : “ An all - Big Ten guard for two years , Heikkinen tears down under punts , pulls out of the line to lead interference and tackles hard . He is Michigan ’ s first All - American in five years . A 60 - minute performer , seldom fooled by intricate maneuvers , Heikkinen is regarded by Coach Fritz Crisler as the finest guard he has ever seen . ” The NEA said : “ Ralph Heikkinen , Michigan senior and Ramsay , was small as guards go . He stood only five feet eight and weighed 182 pounds but he was the fastest guard in the Big Ten . . . one of the best Fritz Crisler ever saw . He had a great offensive charge . A corking blocker , especially when pulling out of the line , he was chosen as the Wolverines ’ most valuable player in 1937 . ” Another reporter described Heikkinen as “ Michigan ’ s 182 - pound dynamo , ” who was “ fast as a halfback , and possessing the quickest charge his coach , Fritz Crisler , has seen . ” In addition to the All - American honors , Heikkinen finished second in voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten Conference ’ s Most Valuable Player . He was also chosen to play in the East - West Shrine Game in San Francisco on January 1 , 1939 . And in July 1939 , Heikkinen was elected with 846 , 943 votes ( fourth highest vote count of any player ) to play in the annual game between the College All - Stars and the NFL New York Giants . The Ironwood Daily Globe boasted that residents of Michigan ’ s sparsely populated Gogebic Range had accounted for 25 , 000 of Heikkinen ’ s votes . Heikkinen the poet . Many of the articles reporting on Heikkinen ’ s All - American selection focused on his academic performance and on his love of poetry . While at Michigan , Heikkinen was also the president of the undergraduate “ M ” club in 1938 and president of U - M ’ s senior honor society , “ Michigamua . ” Detroit News sports editor H . G . Salsinger wrote that Heikkinen “ writes poetry , and one of his poems appeared in a literary publication in 1938 . ” The Associated press noted that Heikkinen was “ a high - ranking student whose hobby is poetry ” An Ann Arbor paper wrote : “ He ’ s extremely intelligent , dabbling in such fields as creative writing , drama , and poetry with considerable vim and no little skill during his spare moments . He is completely unassuming , unusually quiet , and above all a real gentleman . " In August 1939 , Heikkinen was hired by a magazine to write a story on college football . Newspapers reported that Heikkinen was “ collecting dividends on the reputation he made as a poet and writer as an undergraduate . ” In 1937 , Heikkinen was the subject of an article titled , “ But He ’ s No Sissy . ” The articles noted that Heikkinen “ adheres strictly to a liquid diet ” and drank a full quart of milk after every game as part of a special diet due to a stomach disorder . Hero of the Upper Peninsula . Heikkinen was the first player from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to win All - Big Ten honors in 1938 , and he topped that in 1939 as the region ’ s first All - American . His exploits were followed closely both during the summer and during the football season in the Gogebic Range ’ s newspapers , The Ironwood Daily Globe and The Bessemer Herald . When he was named an All - American by the AP , it was front page news , and the sports sections ran banner headlines . The " Ironwood Daily Globe " reported : “ Football honors are coming so fast for Ralph I . Heikkinen . . . that it ’ s hard for range fans who have watched Ralph ’ s progress on the gridiron to keep up with the latest developments . The latest and greatest tribute came today with the releasing of the Associated Press all - America team on which he was named for a guard position . Heikkinen has twice been named on the all - conference eleven and twice selected as Michigan ’ s most valuable player , the latter award never before having gone to a Michigan man two years in a row . There remains only one greater honor possible – that of being named to Grantland Rice ’ s official all - America team . ” When he was named to the Grantland Rice team the following week , the Globe reported : “ Heikkinen ’ s exceptional analytical ability on defense and his near - perfect blocking on offense this last season has gained him a position on every major all - star team chosen this year . ” On December 8 , 1938 , the Globe announced that a banquet honoring Heikkinen would be held with “ Hike ” himself traveling north to attend . In the week leading up to the banquet , the Globe published an interview with “ Hike ” ’ s high school football coach , Robert Reihsen . On the day of the banquet , the Bessemer Herald ran an editorial urging the city of Ramsay to name a street or park in Heikkinen ’ s honor : “ Ramsay has never received the national publicity that its native son , Ralph Heikkinen , has brought to it this fall . By newspapers , magazines and radio the Gogebic range ’ s first All - American football star ahs brought renown to himself , his home town and his school . If Ramsay has any street , public building , park or athletic field , that are now without title , or the names of which can be changed , why not dedicate something to Ralph Heikkinen who has so nobly proved himself to be Bessemer township ’ s leading citizen for 1938 ? Other communities have done as much for their heroes . As far as the University of Michigan is concerned Heikkinen has already written his name forever on the athletic scroll of honor . He takes his place with a long line of All - American Wolverines . They are never forgotten at the Ann Arbor institution . ” At the testimonial dinner , Heikkinen ’ s six - year - old brother , Donald Heikkinen , was asked to name the greatest football player in the world and responded , “ Ralph . ” Donald offered that Ralph was best because he used “ proper technique , ” and found it difficult to choose his older brother ’ s greatest play because “ there were so many of them . ” Referring to the Ohio State game , Donald noted , “ Ralph crushed through and smeared ‘ em . ” Heikkinen , or “ Hike ” as he was known to Yoopers , was presented with a purse of $ 36 representing the No . 36 he wore for Michigan . Heikkinen ’ s high school coach was the “ toastmaster , ” and the local school superintendent , E . J . Oas , said that Heikkinen is “ not only all - American , he ’ s all man and all gentleman . ” A nine - piece orchestra played , and led the community in singing . And the local American Legion post presented him with a medal . The Bessemer Herald reported that “ friends and admirers of Ralph Heikkinen . . . came from all parts of the Upper Peninsula last night to pay tribute to the football star . ” The following day , he spoke to students in the assembly room of Bessemer high school where the school band gave a concert and Heikkinen was “ given a boisterous welcome by the students . ” The Upper Peninsula press continued to report on Heikkinen ’ s every move , as he returned home shortly before Christmas , before heading west to play in the East - West Shrine Game . On his departure for California , The Bessemer Herald said : “ Ralph has made every major All America team in the nation this year . . . . Our nation has had many great men to emulate . The children of the Ramsay school not only have these in common with all others , but we have our own local hero who ahs gained national repute as a gentleman , scholar and last , but not least , a great athlete . To say that we are proud of Ralph is putting it mild . We feel that we are very honored to have had him as a student of the Ramsay school . ” The celebration resumed again in January 1939 when Michigan coach Fritz Crisler accompanied Heikkinen back to the Upper Peninsula for another banquet . Filmed highlights of Michigan ’ s 1938 season , featuring Heikkinen , were shown at the banquet . Even in April 1939 , Heikkinen ’ s appearances at banquets in the Upper Peninsula drew large crowds and wide press coverage . In 1954 , Heikkinen was one of the twenty initial inductees into the Gogebic Range Sports Hall of Fame . Professional football . Heikkinen signed on as an assistant coach at Michigan in the spring 1939 initially expressing ambivalence about playing professional football . Then , on September 9 , 1939 he had accepted an offer to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL . Heikkinen had previously refused offers to play pro football , but the persistence of coach Potsy Clark , and Crisler ’ s assurance that a coaching job would be open for him in 1940 , persuaded Heikkinen to try professional football . Heikkinen noted on signing , though , that he would definitely return to law school in 1940 . It was reported that Heikkinen signed a contract for “ at least $ 175 a game ” with the Dodgers . Heikkinen was cut by the Dodgers after playing only three games . When Heikkinen was released , one writer noted that Heikkinen “ was perhaps the biggest disappointment among the highly ballyhooed players who came up this season . ” Brooklyn ’ coach Clark noted that that an “ All - American man doesn ’ t mean a thing to us ” in the NFL . Clark said : “ Heikkinen weighed only 183 pounds and was pretty light for our league . He reported late and didn ’ t give himself a fair chance to show me what he could do . I just didn ’ t think he was in the right physical shape and mental shape . The Upper Peninsula press disputed accounts that Heikkinen had not cut it in the NFL . Heikkinen ’ s friends said that Heikkinen asked for his own release in order to accept the opportunity to study law and coach football at the University of Virginia . One Upper Peninsula paper reported : “ Had Heikkinen wanted to , he still could be a member of the Brooklyn squad . However , the Dodgers moguls co - operated with Ralph and released him from his contract when he informed them of the Virginia offer . ” Later years . In October 1939 , Heikkinen was hired as the line coach at the University of Virginia , where he also studied law . An influential alumnus of Virginia interviewed Heikkinen when the Dodgers played the Detroit Lions and was instrumental in securing Heikkinen ’ s position with Virginia . Heikkinen worked as Virginia ’ s line coach from 1940 – 1944 and graduated first in his class from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1944 . Fellow Michigan All - American , Edliff Slaughter , was also a Virginia coach with Heikkinen . During World War II , in 1943 , Slaughter and Heikkinen turned from coaching to teaching aerial navigation at the University of Virginia Flight Preparatory School . On March 3 , 1941 , Heikkinen married Margaret Jackson , in Davenport , Iowa . In March 1947 , Hekkinen was appointed line coach at Marquette University in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . Heikkinen was line coach under head coach Frank Murray at Virginia and joined Murray again at Marquette . In between the stints at Virginia and Marquette , Heikkinen was a New York attorney . While serving as Marquette ’ s line coach , Heikkinen also carried a full teaching schedule as an assistant law professor on the faculty of Marquette law school . Heikkinen only stayed one year at Marquette , returning to the practice of law in New York in 1948 . After leaving Marquette , Heikkinen worked as executive secretary and attorney for the Studebaker - Packard Corporation . He later joined the legal staff at General Motors , retiring in 1978 after 20 years of service in GM ’ s legal department . Heikkinen helped initiate and implement a corporation - wide alcohol treatment and education program at GM . In 1987 , Heikkinen was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor . He died of heart failure in Pontiac , Michigan at age 72 . He was survived by his wife , Margaret Helen Heikkinen , and six children , Ralph Heikkinen , Jr . , James Heikkinen , Peggy Parisen , Elizabeth Heikkinen , Linda Heikkinen , and Pamela Ronci . His funeral was held at St . Paul Methodist Church in Bloomfield Hills , Michigan .