Merv Pregulman

Mervin Pregulman (October 10, 1922 – November 30, 2012) was an All-American football player, businessman, and philanthropist.

Merv Pregulman was born on October 22, 1922, and raised in Lansing, Michigan.

He was born with Jewish ancestry.

His father, George Pregulman, had little formal education, but became a millionaire through his business ventures.

Pregulman went to Lansing Central High School, which was close to the campus of Michigan State University (then known as Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science).

In his senior year of high school, Pregulman was "captain of the all-state football team".

Despite growing up and attending high school close to Michigan State, Pregulman chose to attend the University of Michigan.

He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1943.

At Michigan, he played for Coach Fritz Crisler from 1941 to 1943.

He was a versatile lineman who "moved from guard to tackle to center as needed, and who played each position with skill, confidence and winning effectiveness."

In 1941, Pregulman was a 19-year-old sophomore starting at right guard.

On October 18, 1941, he intercepted a pass thrown by College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham and ran it back 65 yd for the game-winning touchdown in a 14–7 victory over Northwestern.

That year, Pregulman was named a Grantland Rice All-American honorable mention and was given the team's Meyer Morton Award as the most improved player during spring drills.

The 1941 Michigan team finished the year with a record of 6–1–1, outscored its opponents 147–41, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.

In 1942, the Michigan team was 7–3 and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the AP poll.

Michigan played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the first time in 25 years and won, 32–20.

Pregulman was named to the All Big Ten team.

The 1942 Wolverines' offensive line that included Pregulman, Julius Franks (U-M's first African-American All-American), Al Wistert, Robert Kolesar, Bill Pritula and Elmer Madar, was known as the "Seven Oak Posts."

In 1943, the Michigan football team was 8–1, outscored its opponents, 302–73, and was co-champion of the Big Ten Conference, finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll.

The only loss was to Notre Dame, 35–12.

The Wolverines did not allow any other opponent to score more than seven points that season and defeated Minnesota, 49–6, and Ohio State 45–7.

For the 1943 season, Pregulman was named Grantland Rice first-team All-American at guard, UP All-American second-team at tackle, and AP All-American third-team at tackle.

His biography at the University of Michigan Athletic History site says: "Originally a center he was shifted to guard, then back to center where his accurate passes were a vital factor in Michigan's famed single-winged attack. Smart and aggressive, he never turned in a performance below the high standard he set for himself."

Sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote that Pregulman was "fast and alert … was voted the best combination center, guard, and tackle the Middlewest had known in years."

In addition to his father, Pregulman said he had three heroes in his life: Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler, Michigan's line coach (and future Michigan State head coach) Biggie Munn, and Axle Martin, a university professor.

Pregulman was a first-round draft pick (seventh overall pick) of the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Draft.

In 1944, Pregulman entered the United States Navy where he served as a gunnery officer on the USS Taluga in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

The Taluga left Norfolk, Virginia, in October 1944.

On December 10, 1944, the ship reached Ulithi, an atoll in the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, which served as the ship's base of operations until the end of World War II.

For the next 11 months, Pregulman and the Taluga crew were in and out of Ulithi picking up oil and other supplies and delivering them to units of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

He was inducted into the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, narrowly surviving a kamikaze attack on his ship in 1945.

He played four years of professional football with the Packers (1946), Detroit Lions (1947–48), and New York Bulldogs (1949).

He later became the president of Siskin Steel & Supply Co.in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He was also active in philanthropy and community service, including service as president of the Siskin Foundation and a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation's board of trustees.

In 1969, Pregulman was selected for the Michigan Wolverines' all-time football team.

He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1988.

He was also part of the second group inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

In 2004, he became the 13th recipient of the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford Award.

In 2005, Pregulman was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 61st on the all-time team.