Ed Meads George Edgar " Ed " Meads , Jr . ( born c . 1935 ) is a former American and Canadian football player , military field surgeon , and professor of surgery . He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1955 and was selected as the captain of the 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team . He also played college football at the University of Western Ontario ( UWO ) in 1957 while attending medical school . He was selected to 1957 All - Canada team and led UWO to the 1957 Canadian national football championship . Meads later served as a surgeon at two field hospitals during the Vietnam War and received a Bronze Star Medal in 1969 for his contributions there . He later served as a professor of surgery for 34 years at UWO . Early years . Meads was raised in Oxford , Michigan . His father , Dr . George Edgar Meads , Sr . , was a dentist and an alumnus of the University of Michigan . Meads was a star athlete at Oxford High School , receiving a total of 12 varsity letters in football , basketball , baseball , and track . He earned all - state honors in the half - mile . Michigan . Meads received a University of Michigan Regent ' s Scholarship , an academic award , to attend the University of Michigan . He enrolled in 1952 and played for the school ' s all - freshman football team . As a sophomore , he was a backup for the 1953 team . As a junior , Meads started all nine games at right guard for the 1954 Michigan Wolverines football team . That team compiled a 6 - 3 record and was ranked No . 15 in the final AP and UPI poll s . On October 16 , 1954 , made the key play in Michigan ' s 7 - 0 victory over Northwestern . After a Northwestern fumble , Meads recovered the ball at the Northwestern 24 - yard line . Meads ' recover set up the only touchdown of the game . As a senior , Meads was chosen as the captain of the 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team . He later recalled , " And when I became a captain as a senior , it surpassed my wildest expectations and dreams . " Meads started all nine games at right guard , and the team finished the season with a 7 - 2 record and ranked No . 12 and No . 11 in the final AP and UPI poll s . Meads was selected to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile , Alabama on January 7 , 1956 . While attending Michigan , Meads was also a member of the Sphnix and Michigamua honor societies . He graduate from Michigan in 1956 . Western Ontario . After graduating from Michigan , Meads enrolled in medical school at the University of Western Ontario ( UWO ) . He played football at the center position for the UWO football team in 1957 . At the conclusion of the season , Meads was selected by the Canadian Press , coaches , and sports writers as a first - team player on the Senior Intercollegiate Football Union 1957 all - star team . He also helped lead the Western Ontario Mustangs to the 1957 Canadian national football championship and was named the 1957 most valuable player . Meads played for UWO again in 1958 , but suffered a concussion . UWO ' s head coach John Metras refused to let Meads remain on the team out of concern that Meads could suffer a further injury . Meads later spoke about Metras : " He was a very caring and sensitive coach whose exterior belied the interior feeling and warmth he had for his players . " Later years . Meads became a doctor in the 1960s . In the late 1960s , he joined the United States Army Medical Corps . Serving with the rank of Major , he was chief of surgery at field hospital s during the Vietnam War . He received a Bronze Star Medal in 1969 . After his discharge from the U . S . military , Meads settled in London , Ontario . He was the chief of surgery at St . Joseph Hospital from 1980 to 1990 . He was also a professor of surgery at UWO for 34 years . In 2010 , Meads became one of the inaugural inductees into the Oxford Athletic Hall of Fame . He has also been inducted into the UWO Athletics Hall of Fame .