Hall of Fame
"Tad" Wieman looked more like a professor of anthropology
than a student of line play. But Wieman knew football games
were won or lost in the trenches, and he worked tirelessly with
his tackles and guards in a dedication to produce winners.
Once a hard-boiled driver, time mellowed Wieman over the
years as head coach at Michigan (1927-1928) and Princeton
(1938-1942). He was methodical, painstaking, thorough and
dogged in his approach to coaching - a steadying influence
who scoffed at the jinxes, hexes and pre-game "jitters" which
have haunted many a college coach. As successor to the great
Fielding Yost at Michigan in 1927, Wieman's Wolverines, with
Benny Oosterbaan anchoring one end, outscored the
competition, 137-38, in eight games. Wieman finished with a
9-6-1 record for his 2 campaigns at Michigan, then moved on
to Princeton where, in five years, his combined mark was 20-
18-3. His brightest accomplishments were four victories in five
meetings with archrival Yale. Although this gentle man with the
milk-toast features seemed more suited for the classroom than
the locker room, those who played under Wieman
acknowledged there was only one place for their coach - on
the sidelines.
