1957 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1957 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. In its 10th year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 5–3–1 record (3–3–1 against conference opponents), finished in sixth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 187 to 147.[1][2]

1957 Michigan Wolverines football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1957 record	5–3–1 (3–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bennie Oosterbaan (10th season)
MVP	Jim Pace
Captain	Jim Orwig
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium

1957 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Michigan State	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Iowa	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
No. 19 Wisconsin	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Purdue	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Illinois	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Left tackle Jim Orwig was the team captain. Left halfback Jim Pace received the team's most valuable player award,[2] won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten,[3] and was selected as a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten player.[4][5][6]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jim Van Pelt with 629 passing yards, Jim Pace with 664 rushing yards, and left end Gary Prahst with 233 receiving yards.[7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	at USC*	No. 10	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 16–6	44,739	[8]
October 5	Georgia*	No. 10	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 26–0	85,002	[9]
October 12	No. 2 Michigan State	No. 6	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 6–35	101,001	[10]
October 19	Northwestern	No. 18	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 34–14	70,884	[11]
October 26	at No. 14 Minnesota	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis (Little Brown Jug)	W 24–7	64,680	[12]
November 2	No. 3 Iowa	No. 12	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	T 21–21	90,478	[13]
November 9	at Illinois	No. 11	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (series)	L 19–20	46,007	[14]
November 16	Indiana	No. 18	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 27–13	56,254	[15]
November 23	No. 3 Ohio State	No. 19	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 14–31	101,001	[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1957 season include those listed below.[7][17]

Rushing

Player	Attempts	Net yards	Yards per attempt	Touchdowns
Jim Pace	123	664	5.4	7
Brad Myers	69	252	3.6	2
Jim Byers	31	161	5.2	0
Bob Ptacek	60	161	2.7	0

Passing

Player	Attempts	Completions	Interceptions	Comp %	Yards	Yds/Comp	TD	Long
Jim Van Pelt	80	42	3	52.5	629	15.0	7	45
Stan Noskin	52	24	5	46.1	344	14.3	1	37

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Yds/Recp	TD	Long
Gary Prahst	15	233	15.5	2	45
Brad Myers	9	159	17.7	2	33
Walt Johnson	9	122	13.6	0	22
Jim Pace	11	122	11.1	2	14

Kickoff returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Jim Pace	5	114	22.8	0	35
Mike Shatusky	6	110	18.3	0	24
Stan Noskin	3	68	22.7	0	25

Punt returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Jim Pace	8	98	12.3	1	65
Bob Ptacek	8	82	10.3	0	25
Brad Myers	5	40	8.0	0

Players

The starting lineup of the 1957 football team was made up of the following players. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.[2]

• Robert Boshoven - started 1 game at right end
• Dave Bowers - started 1 game at left end
• James Byers- started 4 games at fullback
• Alex Callahan - started 1 game at left guard
• James Davies - started 9 games at right tackle
• Larry Faul - started 8 games at left guard
• Jerry Goebel - started 5 games at center
• John Herrnstein - started 4 games at fullback
• Dick Heynen - started 1 game at left tackle
• Walter Johnson - started 8 games at right end
• Jerry Marciniak - started 1 game at right guard
• Brad Myers - started 3 games at right halfback
• Stan Noskin - started 2 games at quarterback
• Marv Nyren - started 8 games at right guard
• Jim Orwig - started 8 games at left tackle
• Jim Pace - started 9 games at left halfback
• Gary Prahst - started 8 games at left end
• Mike Shatusky - started 6 games at right halfback
• Gene Snider - started 4 games at center
• Jim Van Pelt - started 7 games at quarterback (7)

Other players on the team included the following:

• Willie Smith - tackle

Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1957 season went to the following individuals.[2]

• Captain: Jim Orwig
• All-Americans: Jim Pace[4]
• All-Big Ten: Jim Pace[6]
• Most Valuable Player: Jim Pace
• Meyer Morton Award: Charles Teusher
• John Maulbetsch Award: George Genyk

Coaching staff

Michigan's 1957 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.[2]

• Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
• Assistant coaches: Jack Blott, Don Dufek, Bump Elliott, Robert Hollway, Cliff Keen, Matt Patanelli, Walter Weber
• Trainer: Jim Hunt
• Manager: Lynn Evans

References

1. "1957 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
2. "1957 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
3. "Vote Pace Most Valuable In Big Ten: Michigan's Halfback Beats Spartans' Currie By 1 Point". Chicago Tribune. December 15, 1957. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1248. ISBN 1401337031.
5. "Iowa Tackle Is Lone Repeater On All-America Team". The Gettysburg Times. December 5, 1957. p. 5.
6. "Coaches' All-Big Ten Team". The Sandusky Register. November 30, 1957. p. 8.
7. "1957 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
8. Braven Dyer (September 29, 1957). "Michigan Beats Stubborn SC, 16-6: 44,739 See Stubborn SC Lose To Michigan, 16-6". Los Angeles Times. pp. III-1, III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Hal Middlesworth (October 6, 1957). "Wolverines Dump Georgia, 26-0: But Fail To Answer 'How Good'". Detroit Free Press. pp. E1, E3 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Tommy Devine (October 13, 1957). "Spartans Brush Off M, 35-6". Detroit Free Press. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Tommy Devine (October 20, 1957). "U-M Sputters -- Then Roars, 34-14: Rips 'Cats On 3 TDs in Last Period". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
12. Charles Johnson (October 27, 1957). "Michigan Takes Jug With 24-7 Win; Minnesota Rallies To Stave Off Rout". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. S1, S4 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Tommy Devine (November 3, 1957). "Iowa Settles for 21-21 Tie with U-M". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Fighting Illini Gain 20-10 Victory Over Michigan in Big Ten Fray". The Pantagraph. November 10, 1957. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Hal Middlesworth (November 17, 1957). "Wolverines Win, But Indiana Puts Up Fight". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
16. Tommy Devine (November 24, 1957). "M at Its Best, But Bucks Better, 31-14". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
17. "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 "1957" in the box for "Games & Totals by Season" and then, at the next screen, choosing "Display Season Totals")