Joseph Ponsetto (March 29, 1926 – November 24, 2004) 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 who was the starting
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
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 ...
Wolverines football teams of 1944 and 1945.
Playing under 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 ...
, Ponsetto led the
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
team to an 8–2 record and a #8 ranking in the final
AP Poll.
Ponsetto was selected as an All-
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
quarterback in 1944 and was elected captain of the
1945 team.
[ He also handled place-kicking responsibilities for the Wolverines, converting four extra points against ]Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, four more against Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...
, and five against Penn
Penn may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Penn'' (film), 1954 Tamil film starring Vyjayanthimala
* ''Penn'' (TV series), a 1991 Tamil mini-series
* ''Penn'' (TV series), a 2006 Tamil-language soap opera
* '' The Penn'', or ''The Stylus'', ...
in 1944.
Ponsetto led the 1945 team to a 7–3 record and a #6 ranking in the final AP Poll.
After the 1945 season, Ponsetto underwent surgery on his knee. In September 1946, doctors advised that Ponsetto's knee may not withstand the stress of playing football.
After graduating from Michigan, Ponsetto became a dentist in the Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
area.
References
1926 births
2004 deaths
American football quarterbacks
Michigan Wolverines football players
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