1959 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–5 record (3–4 against conference opponents), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 161 to 122.[1][2]

1959 Michigan Wolverines football
Fred Julian (#16) carries the ball in 1959
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1959 record4–5 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coachBump Elliott (1st season)
MVPTony Rio
CaptainGeorge Genyk
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
1959 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 6 Wisconsin $ 5 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Michigan State 4 –2 –0  5 –4 –0
Purdue 4 –2 –1  5 –2 –2
No. 13 Illinois 4 –2 –1  5 –3 –1
Northwestern 4 –3 –0  6 –3 –0
Iowa 3 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Michigan 3 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Indiana 2 –4 –1  4 –4 –1
Ohio State 2 –4 –1  3 –5 –1
Minnesota 1 –6 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The season ended with a 23–14 victory over Ohio State before a crowd of 90,093 at Michigan Stadium. In his final game for Michigan, quarterback Stan Noskin ran for a touchdown and passed for another.[3]

Left guard George Genyk was the team captain, and fullback Tony Rio received the team's most valuable player award.[2] The team's statistical leaders included Stan Noskin with 747 passing yards, right halfback Fred Julian with 289 rushing yards, and right end Robert Johnson with 264 receiving yards.[4]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26Missouri*
L 15–2050,533[5]
October 3Michigan State
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
L 8–34103,234[6]
October 10Oregon State*
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 18–774,693[7]
October 17No. 2 Northwestern
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
L 7–2067,975[8]
October 24at Minnesota
W 14–657,354[9]
October 31No. 10 Wisconsin
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
L 10–1968,063[10]
November 7at Illinois
W 20–1545,573[11]
November 14at Indiana
L 7–2624,171[12]
November 21Ohio State
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
W 23–1490,093[3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game

[1][2]

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1959 season include those listed below.[4][13]

Rushing
PlayerAttemptsNet yardsYards per attemptTouchdowns
Fred Julian722894.02
Bennie McRae762423.21
Darrell Harper672243.32

Passing
PlayerAttemptsCompletionsInterceptionsComp %YardsYds/CompTDLong
Stan Noskin115611553.069711.4546

Receiving
PlayerReceptionsYardsYds/RecpTDLong
Robert Johnson2026413.2020
Bennie McRae410225.5146
Tony Rio89011.3226

Kickoff returns
PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Bennie McRae714821.1030
Fred Julian59018.0021
Darrell Harper46215.5022

Punt returns
PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Darrell Harper310133.7183
Reid Bushong46215.5021
Jim Raeder33812.7025

Players

The starting lineup of the 1959 football team was made up of the following players. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.[2]

  • Jared Bushong - started 5 games at right tackle
  • Alex Callahan - started 8 games at right guard
  • Donald R. Deskins - started 2 games at right tackle
  • Mike Fillichio - started 1 game at left guard, 1 games at right guard
  • George Genyk - started 8 games at left guard
  • John Halstead - started 9 games at left end
  • Darrell Harper - started 9 games at left halfback
  • Willard Hildebrand - started 1 game at right tackle
  • Thomas Jobson - started 9 games at left tackle
  • Robert Johnson - started 9 games at right end
  • Fred Julian - started 7 games at right halfback
  • Brad Myers - started 2 games at right halfback
  • Stan Noskin - started 9 games at quarterback
  • Tony Rio - started 9 games at fullback
  • Jon Schopf - started 2 games at right tackle
  • Jerry Smith - started 9 games at center

Awards and honors

Team honors and awards for the 1959 season went to the following individuals.[2]

The 1959 team honored at Michigan Stadium on the occasion of its 55-year reunion in 2014.
  • Captain: George Genyk
  • Most Valuable Player: Tony Rio
  • Meyer Morton Award: Willard Hildebrand
  • John Maulbetsch Award: Bob Brown

Coaching staff

Michigan's 1959 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.[2]

References
  1. "1959 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. "1959 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. Hal Middlesworth (November 22, 1959). "Happy Ending for U-M! Ohio State Upset, 23-14". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "1959 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  5. "Missouri 'Shows Up' Michigan, 20-15". Detroit Free Press. September 27, 1959. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Bob Pille (October 4, 1959). "Spartans Spank 'M' Good!". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Jack Berry (October 11, 1959). "Oregon State Helps U-M Avert Record: Bump, Wolverines End Dry Spell, 18 to 7". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Hal Middlesworth (October 18, 1959). "'Cats Win, 20-7: U-M Gives All -- But NW Takes". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Charles Johnson (October 25, 1959). "Michigan Trips Minnesota 14-6: 2 Quick TDs in 3rd Period Beat Gophers". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Hal Middlesworth (November 1, 1959). "Own Passes Foul Up Michigan: Wisconsin Intercepts 6 to Win". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Michigan Spoils Illinois' Rose Bowl Hopes, 20-15". The Sunday Pantagraph. November 8, 1959. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Hoosiers Post 26-7 Triumph". The Hammond Times. November 15, 1959. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2017.(statistics retrieved by entering "1959" in the box for "Games & Totals by Season" and then, at the next screen, choosing "Display Season Totals")
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