Stanley Nelson Muirhead (August 29, 1902 – September 14, 1942) 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. He played at the tackle position 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 1921 to 1923, leading the

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to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1922 and 1923 and a national championship in 1923. He was selected as a second-team All-American in both 1922 and 1923. Muirhead also played professional football in 1924 for the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Trian ...

and

Cleveland Bulldogs The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner ...

and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player.

Biography

Muirhead was a native of Calumet in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

but attended Northern High School in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He played tackle and

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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 1921 to 1923. After the 1921 season, Detroit News sports editor H.G. Salsinger wrote: "Muirhead, of Michigan, playing his first college season, was one of the outstanding tackles in a year when the position produced a number of spectacular stars. Muirhead improved with each game, and his rapid development means that next season it will require a great tackle to keep him from being a first choice." As a junior and senior, Muirhead helped lead Michigan to consecutive undefeated seasons and a national championship in 1923. In 1923, an NEA News Service profile on the stars of the Michigan football team noted: "Muirhead's tackling has been as good as the middle west section has seen in some time. Time and again he has beaten the ends down under punts and nailed the receiver in his tracks. On offense his work has likewise been of high class." Muirhead played his final game in a Michigan uniform against the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in November 1923, and a newspaper account described his performance in that game as follows:

In his last game against Minnesota, November 24, Muirhead was everywhere, he made three-fourths of the tackles under punts, and was always on the ball. A check was made during the game of Muirheads's tackles. No less than twenty-two times did this stalwart tackle bring down his man. He was a veritable demon on the field, who could not be stopped. If there is a greater tackle in the country than Stan Muirhead of Michigan he has not yet been seen.

Muirhead also developed a reputation for his durability. He played in every conference game for Michigan from 1921 to 1923, leading one sports columnist to write:

Stanley Muirhead, former University of Michigan tackle, saw three seasons' work on the Yost elevens, taking part in every conference game played during that stretch and was out of the lineup for only two minutes all told. Feats like these are rare. College football is too tough a game for a player to escape the injury bugaboo entirely.

In 1922, Muirhead was selected as a second-team All-American by sports writer Lawrence Perry. After the 1923 season, Muirhead was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player and a second-team All-American by ''Athletic World'' magazine, based on votes cast by 500 coaches, Lawrence Perry, and

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American print syndication, newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. ...

sports editor Norman E. Brown. After graduating from Michigan in 1924, Muirhead played professional football for the

and

in the fall of 1924. He was also selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1924 by ''Collyers Eye'' magazine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, Stanley 1902 births 1942 deaths American football tackles Cleveland Bulldogs players Dayton Triangles players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Calumet, Michigan Players of American football from Houghton County, Michigan Northern High School (Detroit, Michigan) alumni Players of American football from Detroit

Biography

See also

References

External links