Ernie Vick Henry Arthur " Ernie " Vick ( July 2 , 1900 – July 16 , 1980 ) was an American football and baseball player . He was selected as an All - American center in 1921 , played on the 1926 World Series champion St . Louis Cardinals , and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 . University of Michigan . Born in Toledo , Ohio , Vick graduated from Toledo Scott High School . He attended the University of Michigan where he lettered four years in football ( 1918 – 1921 ) and two year in baseball ( 1921 – 1922 ) . Football . As a 180 - pound freshman in 1918 , Vick was permitted to play varsity football under the Students ' Army Training Corps rule in effect during World War I . He was named to a number of All - Western teams as a freshman in 1918 . In 1919 , owing to " the lack of backfield material " in Ann Arbor , Vick was moved to the fullback position . After being laid up with a foot blister in Michigan ' s early games , Vick built a reputation as " a star line plunger " who was " fast for his weight . " In 1920 , Vick was moved back to the center position , where he was Michigan ' s starter in 1920 and 1921 . Michigan ' s Coach Fielding H . Yost said of Vick : " He is the most accurate passer from center that has ever put a ball into play . Under pressure he was dependable at all times . " Vick was named to Walter Camp ' s All - American team in 1921 . Camp said of Vick : " He is the only man who has throughout the season added great power and aggressiveness to steadiness and consistency . " After exception was taken by many to Camp ' s selection of Vick , Michigan ' s Harry Kipke wrote a column in the Lansing State Journal defending the selection . Kipke wrote : " Vick is the greatest lineman Michigan has had since the days of " Germany " Schultze . He is good on the offense and even greater on the defense . He has studied football and knows the game from all angles . His defensive work is the best that has been seen on the western gridirons in years . . . . He is a rough , rugged and dependable man to have in the pivot position . " Kipke noted that Coach Yost had so much confidence in Vick that he would often ask Vick ' s opinion on plays and players . Kipke said , " When as great a coach as Yost takes in his confidence one of the men playing on his team , he must be far superior to any player on the eleven . " After Vick ' s selection as an All - American , newspapers across the country published articles about his unusual practice schedule . Vick enrolled in Michigan ' s medical school in the fall of 1921 , and the heavy load of classes and study prevented him from practicing with the team . A substitute ran through the signals at practice each night , but Vick donned his uniform and played the center position on game days . Under the headline " All - American Center Played Only Seven Hours in 1921 , " " The Bridgeport Telegram " noted : " Allowing that there were seven conference games on Michigan ' s grid schedule in the fall , it can safely be said that ' Ernie ' did not play more than that number of hours during the entire season . " Press accounts praised Vick for " his absolute dependability in passing the ball , coupled with his almost superhuman defensive play . " It was also reported that , despite his lack of practice time , Vick " never had one minute of time taken out , " and was never " credited with a bad pass to a back field man . " The " Michigan Alumnus " devoted more than a page to Vick after his selection as an All - American , including the following : " Followers of football at Michigan did not doubt Vick ' s supremacy as a centre . . . . Vick was unquestionably the mainstay of the line . There was hardly a play that he did not get into . It is admitted that there was not a better lineman in the West at diagnosing a play , and when the play was completed Vick usually emerged from the mass of men who had stopped the formation . " After Vick graduated from Michigan , sports columnist Billy Evans wrote , " The name Vick will live long in the memory of those who like Big Ten football . Michigan will always remember his great work . " Baseball . Vick also played on Michigan ' s baseball team , as a catcher , in 1921 and 1922 . During Vick ' s two seasons on the Michigan baseball team , they had a record of 42 - 10 . Vick proved himself to be " a great baseball player " and was considered the best catcher in the Big Ten in 1921 . At the conclusion of the 1921 season , the team voted unanimously to elect Vick as the captain of the 1922 Woverines baseball team . Vick had been set to join the St . Louis Cardinals in 1922 , but opted to stay for his senior year after being selected as the team ' s captain . Former Michigan baseball coach Branch Rickey had seen Vick ' s ability and reportedly kept a contract ready for Vick to sign " any time he desires . " Vick ended his athletic career at Michigan with the conclusion of the baseball season in June 1922 . Professional athlete . Baseball . As soon as the college baseball season had ended , Vick signed with the St . Louis Cardinals and joined the team in Boston on June 5 , 1922 . He made his Major League debut on June 29 , 1922 , but spent most of the 1922 season playing for the Cardinals ' affiliate in the American Association at Syracuse . Vick batted . 320 with Syracuse in 1922 . In the spring of 1923 , Vick played wqith the Houston Buffs , and did not play in any Major League games during the 1923 season . In 1924 , Vick appeared in 16 games for the Cardinals and compiled a . 348 batting average and . 423 on base percentage . After the 1925 season , columnist Billy Evans wrote that Vick was an " excellent baseball prospect , " but injuries had " kept him from proving his real worth as a big leaguer . " His most serious injury was " a badly shattered thumb " that threatened to end his career . In 1926 , Vick appeared in 24 games for the Cardinals team that won the 1926 World Series . Vick was best known in baseball as the catcher for Grover Cleveland Alexander . Vick played in his last Major League game on September 25 , 1926 . In April 1927 , Vick refused to follow the Cardinals ' orders and report to Houston in the Texas League , and was sold to Indianapolis in the American Association . In four seasons with the Cardinals , Vick appeared in 57 Major League games , compiled 26 hit and scored 12 runs . In 1958 , when Vick visited the Baseball Hall of Fame , a New York newspaper reported that he was wearing a 1926 World Series ring that had been on his finger for 32 years . The paper reported that there was " a twinkle in his eyes " when he saw his picture in the team photo of the 1926 Cardinals , seated in the front row with Billy Southworth , Bob O ' Farrell and Grover Cleveland Alexander . When he arrived at the plaque of his former teammate , Rogers Hornsby , Vick remarked , " This is a great moment in my life . Rajah , the greatest hitter in all National League history , and , maybe including the American League . " Football . In 1922 and 1923 , Vick returned to Ann Arbor after baseball season ended . He served there as a line coach for the football team under Fielding H . Yost in 1922 and George Little in 1923 . During his coaching days , Vick published an article about proper technique for centers in which he described the center as " the mainspring of the football machine . " He noted there were two ways of passing the ball to the backfield — the spiral or end - over - end . Vick wrote that he preferred the end - over - end , because he was a more accurate passer that way . In October 1925 , Vick told a reporter that he loved football and enjoyed coaching , but he had decided to sever his connection with football as a means of making a living . Vick complained that the salaries paid by the western schools was insufficient to make it worthwhile . In 1925 , Vick decided not to return to Ann Arbor and instead signed to play professional football with the Detroit Panthers . He played in 10 games for the Panthers in 1925 . With Vick playing at center , the 1925 Panthers finished with a record of 8 - 2 - 2 , allowing only 39 points on defense — 2nd best in the NFL . In 1927 , Vick signed with George Halas ' s Chicago Bears team . Vick was secured by the Bears after the Panthers fell " on the financial rocks . " Vick played in 10 games for the 1927 Bears team . In 1928 , Vick split the season between the Bears and the Detroit Wolverines , playing one game for Chicago and six for Detroit . Big Ten official and manufacturer ' s representative . In February 1929 , Vick signed a contract to serve as an umpire in the Piedmont League . And in the fall of 1929 , Vick was working as a bond salesman in Michigan , but also signed up to serve as an assistant football coach under Bud Daugherty at Albion College . Vick later worked as a football official for the Big Ten Conference . He spent 22 years working games for the conference before retiring in 1953 . He also officiated in baseball games and worked the Rose Bowl game and other important post - season contests . He also worked as a manufacturer ' s representative before retiring in 1959 . Vick died in July 1980 , in Ann Arbor , Michigan .