Robert Kolesar Robert C . " Bob " Kolesar ( April 5 , 1921 – January 13 , 2004 ) was an American football player and medical doctor . He played at the guard position for the University of Michigan from 1940 to 1942 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1946 after a stint in the U . S . Army during World War II . While playing at Michigan , he was part of a line that was known as the " Seven Oak Posts " . Kolesar retired from professional football after one season to pursue a medical career , and later established a practice in Saginaw , Michigan . He died in 2004 . College career . A native of Cleveland , Ohio , Kolesar attended John Adams High School before graduating and enrolling at the University of Michigan . At Michigan , Kolesar played at the guard position for Fritz Crisler ' s Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1940 to 1942 . The 1942 Wolverines ' line , which included Kolesar , Julius Franks , Al Wistert , Merv Pregulman , and Elmer Madar , became known as the " Seven Oak Posts " . They got the nickname because substitutions were rare for the seven players who formed the Michigan line . One account of the " Seven Oak Posts " noted : Michigan ' s 1942 line had assumed the nickname , the " Seven Oak Posts " , and started the same men each week ; the only rest the seven enjoyed coming in the second half of the Harvard game . Soon the two platoon era at Michigan and everywhere else would doom demonstrations of this kind of gridiron endurance . But these Wolverines offered many a thrill . Kolesar was a medical student at Michigan , and a news story about him in October 1942 ran under the headline , " A Maulin ' Medical Man . " At the end of the 1942 season , Kolesar and Michigan quarterback George Ceithaml were invited to compete in the annual Blue and Gray Game at Montgomery , Alabama . Professional career . In 1943 , Kolesar enlisted in the U . S . Army , but remained at the University of Michigan as a medical student . Although he had an additional year of eligibility under the wartime NCAA rules , the Army ruled that its trainees were too busy to play college football . He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 12th round of the 1943 NFL Draft with the 101st overall pick . After being ruled ineligible for college football , Kolesar signed with the Detroit Lions in September 1943 . Kolesar said at the time that he would continue his medical studies while playing for the Lions ; he said he would be able to practice three days a week and would be available for weekend games . Kolesar , however , did not appear in any games for the Lions in the 1943 NFL season , and in August 1944 he was selected to play against the Chicago Bears in the College All - Star Game , a now - defunct matchup between the NFL champions and the country ' s best college players . In February 1946 , after completing his military service , Kolesar signed to play with Paul Brown ' s newly - organized Cleveland Browns football team . Kolesar played for the Browns in their 1946 inaugural season in the All - America Football Conference . The team won the AAFC championship that year . Later life and medical career . After one season with the Browns , Kolesar elected to return to medical school at the University of Michigan . He later went into private practice as a physician in Saginaw , Michigan . Kolesar ' s son , Thomas , played football at Princeton University . Kolesar died in 2004 at age 82 while living in Midland , Michigan .