Bob Westfall

Westfall was the first Ann Arbor High School graduate to play for the Wolverines since Hall of Famer John Maulbetsch in 1916.

Robert Barton "Bullet Bob" Westfall (May 5, 1919 – October 23, 1980) was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan (1939–1941) and the Detroit Lions (1944–1947).

Westfall was born in 1919 in Hamtramck, Michigan.

His father abandoned the family when Westfall was two years old which necessitated he and his older sister living in foster homes until his mother was able to move them to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1924.

There, Westfall's mother worked 14-hour days in a laundry six days per week, and the children worked, too, to make ends meet.

At age 10 Westfall started as a caddy and worked other jobs while his sister sewed as they struggled to survive during the Great Depression.

They lived in a tiny second-floor apartment on Greene Street "in The Shadow of the Michigan Stadium"-a location perhaps affecting the future.

Ted Kennedy, who played center in front of Westfall for the four years (1938–1941) they were at Michigan together recalled that Westfall "had asthma attacks so bad he could hardly breathe" but that "he was a very courageous player."

"I remember,"

said Kennedy, "one night before a big Minnesota game-it was for the national championship-Bob had an attack, and they wouldn't let him into health services-he didn't have the right cards or something like that. He had to crawl home on his hands and knees that night, but he played the next day."

He was the starting fullback in every Michigan football game from 1939–1941.

In his sophomore and junior years, he played in a backfield that also included Tom Harmon and Forest Evashevski.

Westfall rushed for 1,864 yards on 428 carries (4.36 yards per carry) in 24 games (Michigan only played 8 games per season then and freshmen were not eligible for varsity play).

This stood as a Michigan fullback career rushing record for 30 years.

Westfall was a stocky runner, listed in the Michigan program at five-feet, eight-inches tall and weighing 180 pounds (five-feet, seven-inches according to some reports ).

He actually was 5'6" tall and weighed 165-170 pounds. He had large powerful legs and one newspaper report called him Michigan's "chunky fullback" and noted that he was "generally recognized as the greatest exponent of the spinner play in collegiate ranks." Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler said of Westfall, "He has the finest running base I've ever seen in football, and he can run in all kinds of weather."

In 1940, Michigan had two of the country's four leading ground gainers.

Tom Harmon netted 852 yards, slightly better than Westfall who netted 808 rushing yards.

Though Westfall's rushing yards ranked him as the country's fourth leading ground gainer in 1940, his performance that year was initially overshadowed by teammate Harmon who led the country in scoring and won the Heisman Trophy.

In October 1940, Westfall rushed for 152 yards on 37 carries in a 28-0 win over Illinois.

Newspaper coverage of the game finally brought Westfall out of Harmon's shadow.

The Associated Press opened its coverage of the game by focusing on Westfall: "A vengeful Michigan football team, with sure footed Bob Westfall smashing thru the Illinois forwards on a slippery turf, crushed Coach Bob Zuppke's eleven ..."

The Hearst newspapers reported on Westfall's performance this way: "In the general practice of watching out for Tom Harmon, the Michigan marvel, to start running, or for Bob Zuppke, the wily Illinois coach, to produce his miracles, no one at first paid much attention to Michigan's fullback, Bob Westfall. That was a mistake."

Westfall outshone Harmon again in a 20-13 win over Northwestern in November 1940.

Westfall scored two touchdowns and, with three minutes to play, made "the defensive gem" of the game by tackling Red Hahnenstein a yard short of a first down on the Michigan seven-yard line.

Under the headline "WESTFALL IS HERO OF THE HEATED GAME," the Associated Press reported that Red Grange was in attendance to watch Harmon try to break Grange's scoring record, "but Bob Westfall, Michigan fullback, stole the show."

By the end of the 1940 season, Westfall had begun to receive the attention of the press.

An Associated Press feature on Westfall in mid-November noted:"'Football fans in record numbers are paying their way to see Michigan's Tom Harmon playing his last season, but many of them are coming away from games with the question, 'Who's that guy, Westfall?' Outside the focus of the publicity spotlight, Bullet Bob Westfall, a stocky 180-pound fullback, has matched All-America Tommy almost yard for yard by rushing this fall and in at least three games has stolen the show from his illustrious teammate.'"

He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1941 and a first-team All-Pro player in 1945.

As a senior in 1941, Westfall was captain of the Michigan football team that went 6-1-1 and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll.

In October 1941, the Associated Press published a feature story on Westfall in which they described him as follows: "Westfall is not a flashy type. The triple threat business is for the other boys. He doesn't kick; He doesn't pass. But, boy, how he can spin with that football. Captain Bob is pudgy and built close to the ground. Once he gets rolling, look out!"

In a November 1941 game against Columbia at Baker Field in New York City, Westfall scored three touchdowns for his highest single-game point total.

Crisler pulled Westfall early in the third quarter to avoid embarrassing Columbia.

Westfall's final game in a Michigan uniform was a 20-20 tie with Ohio State.

Westfall rushed for 162 yards in the game, nearly as much as the entire Ohio State backfield combined.

In 1987, Westfall was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Showing leadership at an early age, Westfall was the class president from 8th grade at Tappan Junior High School through the 12th grade at Ann Arbor High School.

Demonstrating a remarkable talent for athletics, Westfall starred in football, basketball, baseball, and track at Ann Arbor High School.

Engaging in sports at all was remarkable due to severe bronchial asthma that affected him from the age of nine throughout his entire life.

He was diagnosed by doctors at the University of Michigan Hospital as having one of the worst cases of asthma that they had ever encountered.