Fred C. Janke (pronounced yonkee) (April 28, 1917 – January 24, 2009) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, business executive and politician. He played football for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1936 to 1938 and was the captain of the

1938 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1938 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1938 Big Ten Conference football season. After the firing of Harry Kipke in December 1937, Fritz Crisler took over as Michigan's head coach in February 1938 ...

under first-year head coach

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler ( ; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football", an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and ...

. He later became the president and chairman of the board of Hancock Industries. He also served as the mayor his hometown,

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

, in the 1970s.

Early years

Janke as born in

in 1917. He played football at Jackson High School, and was selected as an all-state tackle in 1933 and 1934.

University of Michigan

In 1935, Janke enrolled at the

, where he studied geological engineering. He played at the tackle position for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

team from 1936 to 1938. At the start of the 1937 season, Michigan head coach

Harry Kipke Harry George Kipke (; March 26, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929 to 193 ...

moved Janke from the tackle position to fullback, but Janke returned to the tackle position by early October 1937. Despite injuries that resulted in his missing parts of the 1936, 1937, and 1938 seasons, Janke was chosen as the captain of the

, the first Michigan football team coached by

. As Janke played through his injuries, Crisler called him "the ideal team leader." Writing for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'', former Michigan quarterback

Tod Rockwell Ferdinand Almon "Tod" Rockwell (1900 – March 22, 1952) was an American college football player and coach. He attended the University of Michigan, where he played quarterback for the Wolverines football team in 1923 and 1924, helping the 1923 ...

credited Janke and

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), nicknamed "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon played college football as a halfback for the Michigan Wolverines from ...

with creating a winning team under new line coach

Biggie Munn Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and m ...

. Rockwell wrote, "Janke belleves that no job on the team is as important as his. He is determined to be the best football player on the squad. He is fully cognizant of the responsibilities of a captain. Janke is entitled to full credit for his part in adding to the momentum of that football pendulum directed by Munn."

Later years

After graduating from Michigan in 1939, Janke taught at Jackson High School and served as an assistant coach there. He also coached football at St. John High School in Jackson. Janke enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was stationed in the Philippines. After the war, Janke returned to coaching at St. John's High School in Jackson. He later took a job at Macklin Grinding Wheels. He would up his careers at Hancock Industries (later ITT Hancock Industries), where he became president and chairman of the board. He served as the mayor of

from 1976 to 1979. He died in January 2009 at age 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janke, Fred 1917 births 2009 deaths Mayors of places in Michigan Michigan Wolverines football players Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan Politicians from Jackson, Michigan 20th-century Michigan politicians