Ted Petoskey

Frederick Lee "Ted" Petoskey (January 5, 1911 – November 30, 1996) was a three-sport athlete at the University of Michigan, a Major League Baseball player, a collegiate coach in three sports and an athletic director.

At the University of Michigan, Petoskey received eight varsity letters in three sports.

On October 22, 1926, Petoskey became the first receiver in Michigan High School Athletic Association history to garner five receiving touchdowns in a high school football game.

As a sophomore in 1931, Petoskey was touted as "a second Bennie Oosterbaan," and earned a spot on the United Press All-Big Ten Conference second team.

In his junior year, Petoskey was one of the favorite pass receivers for quarterback Harry Newman, who won the Douglas Fairbanks trophy as the Most Valuable Player in college football.

In American football, he was a two-time All-American end for the undefeated Michigan Wolverines football teams that won back-to-back college football national championships in 1932 and 1933.

Coach Harry Kipke shifted Petoskey to fullback midway through the 1932 season, and he scored two touchdowns in a 32–0 win over Illinois.

The United Press noted: "A running attack which featured Ted Petoskey, converted from an end to a fullback in the last week by Coach Harry Kipke dovetailed nicely with the Wolverine aerial play to produce the touchdowns. With Petoskey plunging the line and sweeping inside the ends for many sizeable gains, the Michigan eleven showed power through the line for the first time this season."

An Associated Press writer warned opponents to watch out for Petoskey: "It is about time for grid foeman to wake up when Ted Petoskey, end and fullback on the University of Michigan football team, gets to dreaming. Petoskey's dreams have a habit of coming true, and happily for Petoskey, most of his dreams are good ones."

Petoskey was selected as a first-team All-American in 1932 by the All-American Football Board, a second-team All-American by the New York Sun, and a third-team All-American by the United Press.

After the 1932 team compiled a perfect 8–0 record (outscoring opponents 123–13) and won the national championship, the press credited the squad's "esprit de corps" as a key to their success.

As an example of Wolverine teamwork, a United Press story pointed to a fumble in the Minnesota game.

"Michigan recovered, with both Ted Petoskey, end, and Charles Bernard, center, at the bottom of the heap. Bernard credited Petoskey. Petoskey said Bernard recovered."

He was also a guard and captain of Michigan's basketball team in the 1933–34 season.

During his senior year, Petoskey started all eight games at left end for the 1933 Michigan Wolverines football team, as Michigan won its second consecutive national championship, and Petoskey was again named an All-American.

Although Petoskey was principally an end, Coach Kipke played Petoskey at fullback in some games in 1933.

An October 1933 newspaper story reported on his versatility: "Ted Petoskey, Michigan's brilliant right end was moved into the backfield for last night's practice ... This is the second time Petoskey has figured in such a shift. Last fall he was converted into a fullback before the Illinois game and proved a capable ground gainer. Monday he was given a trial as a forward passer, and made an impressive showing."

In his final game for the Michigan football team, Petoskey also kicked a 35-yard field goal against Northwestern, representing the final points scored for Michigan in its 1933 championship season.

After the 1933 season, Petoskey was chosen as a first-team All-American in the Central Press Association poll of team captains, and for the second-team by Grantland Rice.

Petoskey also finished third in the voting for the Associated Press 1933 Big Ten Athlete of the Year award.

In choosing Petoskey for his All-American team, football writer Lawrence Perry said: "Ted Petoskey of Michigan is one of the finest ends who ever played the game. A former halfback, he is superb as an end-around runner. He receives forward passes with great accuracy and when he catches the ball he is difficult to bring down."

Coach Kipke credited the play of halfback, Herman Everhardus, and his ends for the undefeated season: "Our ends, Ward and Petoskey, were near perfection."

When the Associated Press picked Petoskey as only a second-team All-American in 1933, ten-year-old Mary Lee Grossman from Saginaw, Michigan protested in a letter to AP sports editor, Alan Gould, that he had "chosen wrong" in leaving Petoskey and Whitey Wistert off the first-team.

To avoid any appearance of bias, the Saginaw native noted: "You may think I am a friend of these boys but I do not know either of them. I hope you change your mind."

Gould responded to Miss Grossman in his column: "You may be right, Mary Lee, but it's too late now to change our mind."

Petoskey was also the captain of the 1933–34 Wolverines basketball team.

For the versatile Petoskey, baseball was his best sport.

As a baseball player in 1934, Petoskey led the Big Ten Conference with a .452 batting average.

Petoskey played parts of the 1934 and 1935 Major League Baseball seasons as an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds and played minor league baseball until 1944.

The 1934 University of Michigan yearbook, called the Michiganensian, described Petoskey's contributions as follows: "After three years of Varsity football, Petoskey is recognized as one of Michigan's greatest all-time ends. At the end of his junior year, he was chosen All American, and recognized as one of the greatest defense players in the country. He was alert, followed every play, and opponents found it almost impossible to gain around his end."

Petoskey also served in a variety of collegiate coaching positions, including head coach of the University of South Carolina's basketball team (1935–1940), athletic director and football coach at Wofford College, and head baseball coach at the University of South Carolina (1940–42, 1948–56).

Petoskey was raised in St. Charles, Michigan and attended nearby Saginaw Eastern High School.

In 1955, Kipke rated Petoskey as one of the six best players he ever coached: "If I had to name the best player I ever coached, it would have to be among Harry Newman, Francis Wistert, Otto Pommerening, Ted Petoskey and Maynard Morrison."

As of August 2002, the record had not been surpassed.

While playing for Saginaw, Petoskey was an all-state end two years and an all-state fullback another.

He once played in a game with University of Michigan head coach Fielding H. Yost in the stands.

Petoskey ran back the opening kickoff for 87 yards and a touchdown and, after hearing that Yost was in the stands, ran back another kickoff in the second half for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Petoskey was a three-sport player for the Michigan Wolverines.

While enrolled at Michigan, he earned eight varsity letters—three in football, three in baseball and two in basketball.

In Petoskey's three years as a varsity football player, the Wolverines had a combined record of 23–1–2 and won two national championships.