In 2011, former Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon and former Coach Brady Hoke introduced the Legends Jersey, effectively un-retiring the jerseys of Michigan football legends from the past and making the numbers available for current players to wear with a special patch.
When a QB named Devin Gardner stareted wearing #98, most fans had enough of the gimmick. Now, it's over. Below is the press release from Michigan today ending the Legends Jersey gimmick and re-retiring 6 jersey numbers from past legendary players.
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Michigan Announces Plans to Retire Jerseys of Legends
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced today (Tuesday, July 28) plans to take the jerseys associated with the Michigan Football Legends back off the field. Gerald Ford (#48), Tom Harmon (#98), Desmond Howard (#21), Ron Kramer (#87), Bennie Oosterbaan (#47) and the Wistert brothers (#11) - Albert, Alvin and Whitey - will have their jerseys retired in a ceremony against Ohio State on Nov. 28.
At this time, Howard’s #21 jersey will officially be retired. Howard’s was the only jersey of the six that was not formally retired at Michigan prior to the implementation of the legends program. He is the second of three Heisman Trophy winners for the University of Michigan and is currently an analyst on ESPN’s College Football GameDay Show on Saturdays during the football season.
“During the search process for our new football coach, I had a meeting with the Michigan Football team and they expressed their feelings associated with wearing these legendary jerseys,” said Jim Hackett, U-M’s Interim Athletic Director. “At one end of the spectrum they are awed by the legacy of the men who wore them and at the other end of the spectrum, and as part of a team sport, they wondered why we would call attention to one of our team members. I brought this issue to our new head coach Jim Harbaugh. He agreed with me that it needed a review. I then talked to the families of these great Michigan players. I called them directly and laid out the paradox of seeing players as a team and the due respect to these individual great players.
“The right plan is to retire them and display them in Towsley Museum which is connected to Schembechler Hall,” added Hackett. “Because we don’t have the display area inside the stadium, we have found an area on the concourse where fans can see and honor these retired jerseys.”
Following are biographical sketches on the Michigan greats whose jerseys will be retired:
No. 11
All three brothers earned first-team-All-America honors, an accomplishment that has never been duplicated at any level of intercollegiate competition. Additionally, all three Wisterts have been enshrined in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and inducted into the Michigan Hall of Honor.
FRANCIS "WHITEY" WISTERT earned six letters at Michigan – in football and baseball -- and was a unanimous All-America selection at tackle in 1933. He played on two national champion teams (1932, ’33) and graduated in 1934. He spent a few years with the Cincinnati Reds organization and went on to earn his law degree in 1939.
ALBERT WISTERT was the second of the three brothers to earn All-America honors, doing so in 1942 when he was also U-M’s MVP. He was All-Big Ten in 1940, ’41 and ’42. After graduating in 1943, he spent nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, five of them as team captain. An All-Pro tackle from 1944-48, he played on two World title teams.
ALVIN WISTERT was the last of the three Wistert brothers. He earned All-America recognition in 1948 and 1949 after his 32nd birthday. He was a member of the 1948 national champion team, captained the 1949 team and graduated in 1950. He turned down several coaching positions to enter the insurance field.
No. 21
DESMOND HOWARD raced his way to the 1991 Heisman Trophy. Capping off the season with a 93-yard punt return against Ohio State, he solidified his hold on the Heisman Trophy. He concluded his U-M career as a member of four Big Ten champion teams and participated in three Rose Bowls. He tallied 134 catches for 2,146 yards and 32 touchdowns, in addition to posting 45 kick returns for 1,211 yards and two scores – a U-M record.
No. 47
BENNIE OOSTERBAAN was a three-time All-American in football, a two-time All-American in basketball, and a Big Ten batting title champion in baseball for the Wolverines. The Muskegon native turned down offers to play professionally, and instead chose to coach, leading Michigan to the 1948 football national championship. He remained an administrator with the athletic department until he retired in 1972.
No. 48
GERALD FORD, the 38th President of the United States, was a three-year letterman (1932-34) as a center and linebacker, and a member of Big Ten and national championship teams in 1932 and 1933. He was the team's Most Valuable Player in 1934. After turning down professional contract offers to play for the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, Ford entered a career in politics. In April 1981, he opened the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library on North Campus, and in 1999 the University renamed its world-renowned School of Public Policy after Ford.
No. 87
RON KRAMER was a two-time consensus All-American (1955-56) and a three-time All-Big Ten first team selection (1954-56). He was a standout two-way player at offensive and defensive end, and also saw time at running back, quarterback, kicker and receiver. The former Green Bay Packers All-Pro tight end was a nine-time letterman in three sports at Michigan: football, basketball and track. Kramer led the Wolverines in scoring for two seasons on the gridiron, while doing the same in basketball.
No. 98
TOM HARMON is regarded as one of the greatest athletes in school history. In three seasons, he rushed for 2,134 yards, scored 33 touchdowns and threw 16 touchdown passes. Harmon added 33 PATs and booted two field goals to his 33 TDs for 237 career points. After a four-year stint as a pilot during World War II, earning a Silver Star and the Purple Heart, he became one of the nation's top sports broadcasters and directors, reporting live on major sporting events from the Olympics to the Rose Bowl.
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