Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: Minnesota (1930-31), Princeton (1932-37), Michigan (1938-47)
Place of Birth: Earlville, IL
Date of Birth: Jan 12, 1899
Place of Death: Ann Arbor, MI
Date of Death: Aug 19, 1982
Fritz Crisler, the father of two-platoon football, was an unruffled, self-possessed individual who directed his teams with a quietly forceful drama that rivaled a military commander. His buck lateral and spinner offense was the most dazzling in football and required Swiss-watch precision, hair breadth timing and flawless faking. A native of Earlville, IL, Crisler starred at end for the University of Chicago from 1919 until 1921, and learned the ins-and-outs of the coaching profession from his own coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg. The single wing became Crisler's bread and butter in a career which saw him compile a record of 116-32-9 at Minnesota (1930-1931), Princeton (1932-1937) and Michigan (1938-1947). The zenith of Crisler's coaching career came in his final season. In that year, 1947, his Michigan Wolverines romped through a perfect nine game regular season, defeated Southern Cal, 49- 0, in the Rose Bowl, and Crisler was named Coach of the Year. Crisler was Michigan director of athletics 1941-68. He was a member of the football rules committee 41 years and its chairman nine years. His real name was Herbert Orin Crisler, and his nickname was "Fritz."
