Tom Maentz Tom Maentz ( born c . 1934 ) is a former American football player who played end for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1954 - 1956 . Maentz played on offense and defense and also served as the punter for the Michigan football team . Maentz and Ron Kramer became known as Michigan ' s " touchdown twins " and were the first University of Michigan athletes to appear on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . Maentz was a second - team All - American in 1955 and captain of the 1956 football team . In 1994 , he was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor . Early years . A native of Holland , Michigan , Maentz enrolled at Michigan at the same time as Michigan ' s legendary Hall of Fame end , Ron Kramer . Maentz and Kramer played together as ends on Michigan ' s freshman team in 1953 and were the starting ends for Michigan from 1954 - 1956 . Though he played in Kramer ' s shadow , Maentz was also recognized as one of the best ends in the county . Kramer later recalled playing with Maentz on the freshman team , helping the varsity team prepare for the Ohio State game . Kramer noted , " Surprisingly , we started throwing the ball to Tom Maentz and me , and the backs couldn ' t cover us . " 1955 season . Maentz and Kramer , who became known as Michigan ' s " touchdown twins , " were the first Michigan football players to appear on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . In October 1955 , Maentz was selected by the Associated Press as for the Lineman of the Week award after scoring two touchdowns in a 33 - 21 win over Iowa . Michigan Coach Bennie Oosterbaan said of the pair , " They are the two greatest ends in the country . " After the Iowa game , Michigan halfback Tony Branoff said , " Tom played one of the greatest games . He ' s as good as Kramer and after he caught that touchdown pass Iowa ' s heads were down . " In awarding Maentz Lineman of the Week honors , the Associated Press referred to him as " that other end " and noted : " Little was heard of Maentz when the season started . He was overshadowed by big Ron Kramer , Michigan ' s other versatile end who himself snagged two passes for 79 yards and a touchdown . . . It was Maentz who grabbed five passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns , including the one that gave Michigan its first lead over the Hawkeyes in the last three minutes of the game . " Despite a back injury that required him to wear a protective plaster shell screwed to his hip pad , Maentz led Michigan in pass receiving yards in 1955 and was selected as an All - Big Ten end . Maentz also excelled as a kicker , punting 15 times in 1955 for 602 yards and an average of 40 . 1 yards . Maentz was also named a second - team All - American by the United Press for 1955 . " Detroit News " sports writer Watson Spoelstra published a column in 1955 about Maentz in which he wrote : " Tom Maentz isn ' t quite as big as Ron Kramer . He can ' t run as fast , but Maentz stepped up his speed this season . . . Oosterbaan marveled aloud about Maentz ' s spectacular catch just before the half at Minnesota . The play cleared the way to victory . Oosterbaan spoke with admiration of Maentz ' s catch of a 33 - yard pass by Tony Branoff in the end zone against Iowa . ' He had to run like mad to get that ball , ' Bennie said . ' Tom never gives up . ' . . . ' Tom never will be as big as Kramer , ' Bennie said . ' But he is well knit . ' " 1956 season . After Maentz was selected as the captain of the 1956 team , residents of his hometown held a " Tom Maentz Night " at the Holland Civic Center attended by 600 area residents . At the time , Maentz called it " the greatest honor I ' ve ever received and I ' ll never forget it . " Michigan ends coach , Matt Patanelli described Maentz as a " ideal athlete , " who was a champion in the classroom and on the football field . Patanelli noted that Maentz had demonstrated his toughness , continuing to play football after suffering a broken jaw as a freshman , a neck injury as a sophomore , and a back injury as a junior . After the 1956 season , Maentz played in the East - West All - Star Shrine Game and was named as a third - team All - American by the United Press , Central Press Association , and Newspaper Enterprise Association . Later years . Kramer and Maentz both graduated in 1957 , and both were drafted by professional football teams . Kramer was drafted by the Green Bay Packers as the fourth pick in the draft , and Maentz was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals as the 22nd pick in the draft . From their freshman year in 1954 , Kramer and Maentz remained close friends . In 2001 , " Sports Illustrated " published a profile of the two men , 35 years after their appearance on the magazine ' s cover . The article noted : " Kramer , a two - time All - America , and Maentz , team captain in 1956 , were two of the finest pass - catching ends in the country . They also played defense and even punted the ball . It seems they ' ve done everything together since coming to Ann Arbor from different sides of the state . Maentz was the quiet kid from western Michigan , the son of a banker ; Kramer was the unpolished Detroiter . But , says Kramer , they found a ' common denominator ' in football , and for four years lived in the same dorms and at the Sigma Chi fraternity house . Both were married in 1957 and fathered boys born a day apart the following July . " Kramer was one of the initial inductees into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1978 , and Maentz joined him as an inductee in 1994 . In 2003 , Maentz donated funds to build a new locker room for the Wolverines at Michigan stadium .