John Ghindia John V . Ghindia , Jr . ( October 12 , 1925 – March 16 , 2012 ) was an American football player . He played for the University of Michigan ' s undefeated football teams in 1947 and 1948 and was the starting quarterback on the 1949 Michigan Wolverines football team that finished the season ranked No . 7 in the country . Early years . Ghindia was born in Trumbull County , Ohio , in 1925 . His father , John V . Ghindia , Sr . ( 1897 – 1983 ) , was a Romanian immigrant who came to the United States in 1915 and worked in a steel mill . As a youth , Ghindia moved with his family to Ecorse , Michigan . Ghindia played football for the University of Michigan under head coaches Fritz Crisler and Bennie Oosterbaan from 1946 to 1949 . He played for Michigan ' s " B " team as a freshman in 1946 . As a sophomore , he was a backup at fullback and halfback for the undefeated 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team . As a junior , he played for undefeated , national championship 1948 team . However , Ghindia missed most of the 1948 season after suffering a knee injury in the first game of the 1948 season against Michigan State ; Ghindia ' s knee required surgery in the off - season . 1949 season . In 1949 , Bill Bartlett began the season as Michigan ' s starting quarterback . In the second game of the season , head coach Oosterbaan made a surprise move starting Ghindia at quarterback against Stanford . Ghindia led the Wolverines to a 27 - 8 win over Stanford . According to the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Ghindia " called a masterful game " against Stanford . Another newspaper described Ghindia ' s performance as follows : " Michigan ' s ' new ' quarter - back , the veteran John Ghindia of Ecorse , Mich . , a lad who came up the hard way , from the reserves , and who started his first game at the signal calling position against Stanford , will handle the field general spot Saturday . The 179 - pound [ sic ] blocking back , who handled the generalship assignment reminiscent of Howard Yerges and Pete Elliott , quarterbacks on the 1947 and 1948 championship teams respectively , pulled a shaky first half team together and knitted into a confident , coordinated outfit . Significant was the fact that his precision blocking paved the way for the Wolverine running attack . " The following week , Ghindia fumbled on Michigan ' s 13 - yard line leading to an Army touchdown and a 14 - 0 deficit in the second quarter ; Army defeated Michigan 21 - 7 , ending Michigan ' s 25 - game winning streak dating back to the 1946 season . After consecutive losses to Army and Northwestern , Ghindia led the Wolverines to a 14 - 7 win against Minnesota . After the game , Arch Ward of the " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote , " John Ghindia ' s performance today should dispel all doubt about the caliber of Michigan ' s field generalship . He called plays expertly . " Ghindia started seven of nine games for the 1949 team that finished with a record of 6 - 2 - 1 , tied for the Big Ten Conference championship and was ranked No . 7 in the final AP poll . Ghindia ' s value was as a play - caller and blocking back rather than as a pass er or rush er . Ghindia completed only one of seven passes in 1949 for 11 yards and threw two interceptions ; halfback Chuck Ortmann was the team ' s leading passer with 627 passing yards . Ghindia carried the ball only four times in 1949 for negative seven rushing yards . Coaching career . In July 1953 , Ghindia accepted the position of head coach of all sports at St . Patrick High School in Wyandotte , Michigan . He was the school ' s first full - time coach . Ghindia later served as a high school football coach in his home town of Ecorse , Michigan . He was also a successful high school tennis coach , leading Ecorse High School to several state championships . His tennis teams compiled a record of 251 - 82 from 1964 to 1986 . Ghindia retired from teaching in 1986 . Ghindia also served as the director of the Ecorse Recreation Department starting in 1962 and used the position to further tennis in Ecorse . Ghindia has been inducted into the Catholic League Hall of Fame , the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame .