Irwin Uteritz Irwin Charles " Utz " Uteritz ( c . 1900 – December 14 , 1963 ) was an American athlete and coach . He played American football and baseball for the University of Michigan from 1921 to 1923 . At 140 pounds , he was one of the lightest quarterback s ever to start for a major college program . Despite his size , Michigan football coach Fielding H . Yost called him " the best field general I ever had . " Uteritz led Michigan to back - to - back undefeated seasons and a national championship in 1923 . He also played three years of baseball for Michigan at second base and shortstop , hit above . 300 and was elected as captain of the 1923 baseball team . Uteritz later served as a football and baseball coach at Northwestern University ( 1924 – 1925 ) , the University of Wisconsin ( 1925 – 1935 ) , the University of California ( 1935 – 1947 ) , and Washington University in St . Louis ( 1947 – 1963 ) . Playing career . Football . A native of Oak Park , Illinois , Uteritz was the quarterback for the Oak Park and River Forest High School football team coached by Glenn Thistlethwaite , who later became the head football coach at Northwestern . In 1920 , Uteritz enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played quarterback from 1921 to 1923 , leading the Wolverines to back - to - back undefeated football seasons in 1922 and 1923 . Over the three years of his football career at Michigan , the Wolverines never lost a football game in which Uteritz played . Uteritz stood five feet seven inches and weighed only 140 pounds in 1922 . He was " one of the lightest ' big time ' quarterbacks in American football history when he played at Michigan from 1921 to 1923 . " Uteritz was known for his speed and his " heady " play as the Wolverines ' field general . He was considered a " triple threat " player who had " about equal ability in kicking , forward passing and carrying the ball . " 1921 season . As a sophomore in 1921 , Uteritz became Michigan ' s starting quarterback after Theodore Banks , who started the first four games at quarterback , was injured . Uteritz took over the for the final three games of the year . His first game as a starter was a 3 – 0 win over Illinois in which Frank Steketee scored the only points on a field goal . His second game as a starter was a 7 – 7 tie with Wisconsin . In addition to serving as quarterback , Uteritz was Michigan ' s punt returner , and a fluke play involving Uteritz resulted in Wisconsin ' s touchdown . Uteritz stood at Michigan ' s five - yard line waiting for a punt to cross the goal line . The ball apparently crossed the goal line , but bounded back . A Wisconsin player fell on the ball for the Badgers ' only touchdown . Uteritz fared better in the final game of the 1921 season , the annual Little Brown Jug game against Minnesota . On Michigan ' s opening drive , Uteritz took the ball on the Gopher 28 - yard line on a delay pass play and " tore down the field to the one - yard line . " On the next play , Uteritz plunged through for a touchdown to give Michigan the first points of the game . Near the end of the second quarter , Uteritz intercepted a pass at Michigan ’ s 41 - yard line and ran the ball back 59 yards going " through the entire team for a touchdown . " Uteritz ' s two first - half touchdowns gave Michigan a 17 – 0 lead . 1922 season . In Uteritz ' s junior year of 1922 , the Wolverines were 6 – 0 – 1 and outscored opponents by a combined tally of 183 to 13 . Uteritz started six of Michigan ' s seven games in 1922 . He missed the opening game against Case as Michigan Coach Fielding H . Yost asked team captain Paul G . Goebel and Uteritz to accompany him to Columbus , Ohio to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes in action against Ohio Wesleyan . The scouting trip appears to have paid off as Uteritz led the Wolverines to 19 – 0 win over an Ohio State team that had been favored to win the Big Ten championship . After the Ohio State game , nationally - syndicated sports writer Billy Evans called Uteritz a " star " and wrote that he was handling the team " in a brainy fashion . " And in November 1922 , the " Associated Press " praised Uteritz ' s performance : " Uteritz , the Michigan quarterback , has shown to unusual advantage , his heady playing being responsible to a large degree for this year ' s victories . " A Wisconsin newspaper called Uteritz " one of the headiest pilots in the Big Ten " and noted that he always knows who should carry the ball and " his judgment at all times is excellent . " After shutting out Illinois ( 24 – 0 ) and Michigan Agricultural ( 63 – 0 ) , the Wolverines had a bye week before playing Wisconsin . Yost used the bye week for another scouting trip , traveling with Uteritz , Harry Kipke and Paul G . Goebel to Madison , Wisconsin to watch the Badgers play . A stenographer was hired to sit next to Yost in the press box to take down his notes of the game . The following week , Michigan defeated Wisconsin 13 – 6 , and Uteritz completed a pass to Harry Kipke in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in the game . After catching Uteritz ' s pass , Kipke ran 35 yards for the winning touchdown . At the end of the 1922 season , Uteritz was selected as a first - team All - American quarterback by syndicated sports writer , Frank G . Menke , and was a third - team selection by Walter Camp and Walter Eckersall . Uteritz was the first Michigan quarterback to be selected on Walter Camp ' s All - American football teams : " Uteritz is the first Michigan signal - caller to be elected for any of Camp ' s mythical teams . Not that Michigan hasn ' t had some good quarterbacks . . . but the palm goes to little Uteritz who in his two campaigns at Michigan has developed into a twinkler of the first degree . " In picking Uteritz as its second - team All - Western Conference quarterback , the " Chicago Evening Journal " wrote : " There were many heady quarterbacks on this seasons squads . For ability to run his team , Uteritz of Michigan , perhaps stood out . He also handled punts well , but called for free catches oftener than he attempted to run with the ball . This is a fair indication of his good sense , for he is of such slight build that he could not survive being dumped time after time by ferocious ends . " Norman E . Brown , sports editor of the Central Press , picked Uteritz as his first - team All - Western quarterback in 1922 , explaining his choice as follows : " Uteritz ' handling of the Michigan team played an important part in its success . He is fast , a good passer , a sure tackler , a quick thinker . " 1923 season . As a senior in 1923 , Uteritz led the Wolverines to an 8 – 0 record and outscored opponents 150 – 12 . Michigan ' s first conference game in 1923 was against Ohio State in Ann Arbor . Fifty - thousand spectators watched Michigan shut out the Buckeyes 23 – 0 . Michigan ' s first two touchdowns were scored on passes by Uteritz , a 16 - yard pass to Herb Steger in the third quarter and a 60 - yard completion to Harry Kipke in the fourth quarter . Uteritz played his last game in a Michigan uniform against the Quantico Marines on November 10 , 1923 . Uteritz had one of his best games in a 26 – 6 win , but he also suffered a leg injury that ended his season . The Marines took a 6 – 0 lead in the first quarter of the game . Uteritz scored a touchdown in the second quarter , diving between center Jack Blott ' s legs to cross the goal - line . After tying the score with a touchdown , Uteritz then kicked for a successful extra point to give Michigan the winning points . Uteritz added his eighth point on an extra point kick in the third quarter . In the fourth quarter , Uteritz " limped perceptibly " after a hard tackle , but remained in the game until Michigan ' s trainer ordered him off the field . After the game , it was determined that Uteritz ' leg had been broken , and he was unable to play in the last two games of the season . On learning that Uteritz would be unable to play in the remaining games , Coach Yost told reporters , " There goes half the football team . He was the best field general I ever had . " Despite missing the last two game of the season , Uteritz was selected as a second - team All - American by Lawrence Perry and a third - team selection by International News Service sports editor Davis Walsh . Baseball . Uteritz also played three seasons on the University of Michigan baseball team . He was an infielder , playing at second base and shortstop . Uteritz was " rated as one of the best infielders of the Western Conference " and had a batting average above . 300 in 1922 . In June 1922 , his teammates elected him team captain of the 1923 Michigan baseball team . Coaching career . After receiving his degree from Michigan , Uteritz spent the rest of his life working as a football and baseball coach . In 1924 , he accepted a position as an assistant coach at Northwestern where his former high school coach George Thistlewaite was then the head football coach . From 1925 to 1935 , Uteritz held various positions at the University of Wisconsin , including assistant football coach , head baseball coach , and assistant athletic director . While coaching at Wisconsin , Uteritz also played baseball for the Madison Blues . From 1935 to 1946 , he was the backfield coach at the University of California , Berkeley . In 1947 , Uteritz was hired as the backfield coach at Washington University in St . Louis . He became the head football coach for Washington University in 1949 . Uteritz was head football coach at Washington for four years from 1949 to 1952 and coached his sons who played quarterback there during his tenure as head coach . The Washington University football team had a record of 18 – 18 in the four years that Uteritz was the head coach . Uteritz also served as the head baseball coach at Washington University for 11 seasons , in 1948 and from 1954 to 1963 , compiling a record of 162 – 66 . Uteritz had long been known by the nickname " Utz . " In 1952 , he had his surname legally changed to Utz . He said he was tired of having his name " kicked around , " and everyone called him Utz anyway . He died in St . Louis at age 63 of an apparent heart attack . He was survived by his wife , the former Genevieve Johnson , and four sons .