Bob Chappuis
Encyclopedia
Robert Richard "Bob" Chappuis (born February 24, 1923) is a former American football
player who played halfback
and quarterback
for the University of Michigan
Wolverines
in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II
. Chappuis flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner
on B-25 bombers
in the European Theater
. His aircraft was shot down in February 1945 in the Lombardy
region of Northern Italy
. Chappuis parachute
d from the plane before it crashed, and Italian partisans
rescued him by hiding Chappuis and two other crew members for the final three months of the war.
After the war, Chappuis returned to Michigan where he broke the Big Nine Conference
record for total offense
in 1946 and then broke his own record in 1947. He led the 1947 Michigan team
known as the “Mad Magicians” to an undefeated season and a 49–0 win over the USC Trojans in the 1948 Rose Bowl
game. Chappuis was a unanimous All-American selection in 1947 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1948 Rose Bowl. His picture appeared on the cover of Time
magazine in 1947 in connection with a feature article about Chappuis and the 1947 Wolverines. He placed second in the 1947 Heisman Trophy
balloting.
During his career he established many football records that lasted for over a generation and became an All-American
. He continues to hold the Big Ten Conference single-season passer rating
record and the Michigan Wolverines
single-season yards/completion records. He was one of the early passing
specialists in an era where football players were just beginning to either play on offense or defense instead of both.
Chappuis played professional football in the All-America Football Conference
(AAFC) as a quarterback for the Brooklyn Dodgers
and Chicago Hornets in 1948 and 1949. He led the Dodgers in total offense in 1948 with 1,402 yards passing and 310 yards rushing. When both clubs and the AAFC folded, Chappuis retired from football in 1950. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1988.
, where his father—who had played quarterback for Denison University
, which is located near Columbus, Ohio
—was an executive with a porcelain
products company . Chappuis graduated from DeVilbiss High School
where he was a star football player. When it came time to choose a college, his father said his only preference for his son was that he not attend Ohio State
. Chappuis could not provide much of an explanation for his father's preference: “Dad just didn't like Ohio State.”
Chappuis played in nine games for Michigan as a sophomore
in 1942, contributing 220 yards rushing, 358 yards passing, and 30 yards receiving. In his first game as a college halfback, Chappuis completed seven of eighteen passes for a gain of 80 yards, and also rushed for 49 yards in a 9–0 win over the Great Lakes Naval Training Station
. Chappuis' predecessor as Michigan's halfback, Heisman Trophy
winner Tom Harmon
, completed seven passes in a single game only three times in three years, a feat accomplished by Chappuis in his first game.
, Chappuis earned the rank of Lieutenant
in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner
in B-25 bombers
. His crew sunk a cruiser
in an Italian harbor, which earned it a citation in September 1944. He flew his first mission, which was targeting a railroad bridge in the heavily-fortified Brenner Pass
on Christmas Day 1944. At the time he flew this first mission, he was a sergeant. On February 13, 1945, Chappuis flew his 21st mission when he was assigned to fill in for a sick crew member. Chappuis’ B-25 bomber was assigned to bomb a railroad tunnel in the Italian mountains north of the Po River
. “Over the target, a burst of flak knocked out one engine, then the other engine went out. When the order came to bail out, the tailgunner
went out first, and got stuck in the escape hatch, pinned against the rear of it by the wind pressure. Chappuis kicked him in the only accessible place—his head—and knocked him loose. Then he jumped.”
Chappuis was rescued by an Italian partisan
, Aldo Comucci, a 21-year old who was in charge of one of the many underground groups operating in the area. Comucci and his band of resistance fighters
got to Chappuis before the Germans and hid him and two other American flyers from the same plane for nearly three months until the end of the war. The partisans passed Chappuis and the two other Americans from house to house, and village to village, toward the Swiss
frontier. Dressed in shawls — but still wearing G.I. shoes — they once walked undetected past a German sentry
.
Chappuis and his crewmates finally reached a home in the small town of Asola, Italy, in the Province of Mantua
, Lombardy
, about 40 miles (64.4 km) from Milan
. The German headquarters was two houses away, and the drill grounds were across the street. Accordingly, Chappuis and the other Americans could not walk near a window or talk above a whisper. They passed the time playing cards with each other and with the Ugolini family with whom they stayed, and reading a well-worn copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin
. The Americans were nearly captured one evening when the Fascist
fiancé of one of the Ugolini daughters entered the house unannounced and found the Americans playing cards. He threatened to turn the Americans in, but was persuaded not to when told it would mean the death of his fiancée and her family for aiding the Americans.
When V-E Day arrived in early May 1945, Chappuis and his crewmates stayed in Asola for a week-long celebration. On the night the war ended, residents of Asola removed the seats from the town’s theater for a victory ball. While two orchestras played onstage, the liberated townspeople toasted the Americans, and Chappuis danced with the Ugolinis' daughters. When Chappuis returned to the United States, he stayed in touch with the Ugolinis and sent them weekly food packages. Chappuis also stayed in touch with Comucci, the resistance leader who rescued him. In 1974, Chappuis returned to Italy to meet with Comucci for the first time in 20 years. And in August 1975, Comucci and his wife traveled to Michigan to visit Chappuis.
team, where he played in the outfield
, led the team in batting
, and helped them win the Big Nine championship with a 26-game winning streak.
When football season arrived in the fall, Chappuis was one of many veterans who returned to college and the gridiron
after serving in the war. Many of the returning veterans were not in prime football condition at the start of the 1946 season, and Coach Fritz Crisler
“predicted it might be November before ex-servicemen were adjusted physically and mentally to play their top game.” Chappuis later recalled that he was 23 years old when he returned to school, and some of the returning veterans “didn't know if they could get back into the rah-rah of college football, but Fritz took care of that. He really whipped us into shape.” Despite any difficulties in re-adjusting to civilian life and football, Chappuis broke Otto Graham
's Big Nine Conference
record for total offensive yards during the 1946 football season. Though reports differ as to Chappuis' total yards gained, University of Michigan
records show that Chappuis gained 1,284 yards in 1946—734 yards passing, 501 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving. Chappuis set the new offensive mark in 1946 with a fractured bone in his wrist
that he did not report until after the season had ended, at which time an operation was performed. Chappuis later said he knew the x-ray
would reveal a fracture, and he would be benched before he even began. He delayed the examination until the season was over because “the time to break into the lineup is prior to the first game. If I hadn't, there were so many capable candidates around who could have made good behind our front wall that I'd never have become a first-stringer by returning in the middle of the season.” Accordingly, Chappuis played the 1946 season with a fractured wrist and without even bothering to tape the wrist.
passes. He also scored 5 touchdowns and gained 544 yards rushing. In the season opener against Michigan State
, Chappuis scored three touchdowns in a 55–0 victory, as Michigan outgained the Spartans 504 yards rushing to 56. Michigan finished the 1947 season with a 21–0 victory over Ohio State
. In his last game at Michigan Stadium
, Chappuis set a Michigan single-game record for total offense that would last 20 years. Altogether, Chappuis accounted for 307 yards, rushing
for 90 yards and completing 12 of 27 passes for 217 yards. This stood as a school single-game total offense record for over 20 years. At the end of the 1947 season, Chappuis was named a unanimous first-team All-American
. He also finished second to Johnny Lujack
in the 1947 Heisman Trophy
voting, with Lujack receiving 742 first and second place votes to 555 for Chappuis. Despite the glowing adjectives heaped on him, reporters noted that “Chappuis can still wear his regular size seven headgear.” Chappuis gave credit to his line saying, “Anyone passing behind the protection that line gave me could have done as well.” In another sign of his modesty on a team with only two two-way players Chappuis said "You have to smell where to go on pass defense—and my sniffer's not too good." when asked why he does not play both ways.
In addition to having the most accomplished season of his collegiate career, Chappuis was a leader on campus. He was elected president of the Michigan Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta
fraternity whose membership included a number of his teammates and prominent University of Michigan athletic alumni such as Tom Harmon
, Bob Ufer
, and Harry G. Kipke
. Chappuis appeared on the cover of the October 28, 1947 issue of Look
magazine which featured pictures of him on the football field and at the fraternity house. In the magazine, Chappuis and his future wife were also featured about the Michigan campus. He expressed an interest in first playing professional football for a few years before going into the porcelain
business with his father.
Look magazine devoted over a dozen pictures to showing Chappuis play in the offense. In the 1940s, the offense was perceived as gimmick
y and magical and the magazine described how the offense used various fakes and delays to gain the advantage in timing by concealing the point of attack and the attacker. The contemporary football lingo described the basic attack as a "fullback
spinner cycle with the backs deployed loosely." It described an alternate formation as a single-wing
formation with direct snap
from center
to left halfback
(Chappuis' position). The article also describes T maneuvers, lateral pass
es and end-around
plays as part of the offense.
, one of the game's first passing “specialists.” In November 1947, Time
magazine ran a feature article about Chappuis and the 1947 Wolverines (with Chappuis' photograph on the cover) called “The Specialist.” The Time article focused on the new era of specialization marked by coach Fritz Crisler
's decision to field separate offensive and defensive units in 1947. The article focused on Chappuis as Michigan's “prize specialist,” who was described as “Crisler's triggerman.” “His job is to throw forward pass
es and there is no one in 1947 collegiate football who does it better. ... In Michigan's first five games, Specialist Chappuis was on the field less than one-third of the time, but of the 27 passes he threw, 19 were complete – five of them for touchdowns... When Chappuis fades back to pass, he is a slow-motion study in coolness and concentration.”
Crisler said Chappuis was “the finest passer I have ever handled and probably one of the best I've ever seen. He plays as though he had ice water in his veins.” Crisler felt that “great passers are born,” and the difference between a great and a merely good passer is in the eyes. Time noted that Chappuis had great field vision for his downfield receivers
and for oncoming defenders. “Like a good baseball catcher
, he throws the ball off his right ear, with a snap motion. He throws what the coaches call a ‘heavy ball.’” Another writer noted that Chappuis was “endowed with a passer's sixth sense, ‘split vision,’” and an ability to “pick out his receiver after one glance over the field.”
Time also noted that Chappuis was unlike his predecessor, the “hail-fellow” Tom Harmon
. “His snaggleteeth and sharp features earned him the nickname ‘Bird Face’ when he was a kid.” Time also reported that Chappuis “learns easily, just as he does in the classroom, where he makes a C-plus average seemingly without ever opening a book.”
When Chappuis graduated, he held numerous school records, including most touchdown passes in a career with 23, a record that was not broken until 30 years later by four-year starter, Rick Leach
. He also held the record for most touchdown passes in a season with 13, a record that was tied by Leach in 1976. He also held the school record for most career total offensive yards with 3,487, a record broken in 1970 by Don Moorhead
.
. Chappuis ran for 91 yards, completed 14 of 24 passes for 188 yards, was named the Most Valuable Player, and set Rose Bowl records for total offense and pass completions. The Long Beach Independent reported: “Bob Chappuis was every inch the All-American he has been tabbed. Running, faking and pivoting beautifully, he averaged 7 yards a crack for 13 carries and completed 14 out of 24 pitches for 188 yards ... which gave him a new total offense
record of 279 yards for the classic.”
A sidelight of the Rose Bowl was the Rose Bowl Queen nomination of Ann Gestie, the future Ms. Bob Chappuis, which was against the tradition of having a queen from Pasadena, California
. Buck Dawson, the manager of the Michigan Yearbook who would go on to marry the daughter of Matthew Mann
, was the proponent of the nomination. Although tradition was upheld, Gestie's photograph appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles Times
along with the caption "Overlooked Michigan Beauty."
Chappuis was also selected to play for coach Frank Leahy
on the College All-Star squad against the Chicago Cardinals
, who were the 1947 NFL Champions
. In the 15th College All-Star vs. NFL Champion match, the Cardinals scored the biggest victory to date with a 28–0 victory. Among the collegians were Lujack and Chuck Conerly. The professional athletes included Paul Christman
and Charlie Trippi. Supposedly, the 1947 class had a void at fullback
, which may have been the problem with their offense in the All-Star game shutout
.
.
, and reports in February 1948 indicated that the Steelers had offered him a two-year contract for $20,000 per year. However, Chappuis passed up the Steelers' offer, opting instead to play for the new All-America Football Conference
(AAFC). In June 1948, Chappuis signed with Branch Rickey
's Brooklyn Dodgers
of the AAFC after coach Carl Voyles outbid the Steelers for his services at $17,000. Chappuis had been drafted by the Cleveland Browns
, and the Dodgers gave the Browns three draft picks in exchange for the right to sign Chappuis. Rickey had felt that modern football was based on speed and that he could win with a good center
, passing quarterback and two tall sprinting ends. Thus, he placed a premium on signing Chappuis, the passing quarterback. The college All-star game caused Chappuis to miss three weeks of practice and he played little in the early season games because he had not learned his plays.
In his first professional game against the San Francisco 49ers
, Chappuis ran the ball 37 yards to the 49ers six-yard line in the fourth quarter, giving fans “an indication of what sent all the major professional clubs after his services.” Chappuis played in 13 games for the Dodgers in 1948 and shared the quarterbacking responsibilities with Bob Hoernschemeyer who played in all 14 games. Chappuis led the team in total offense (1712 to 1428 for Hoernschemeyer). Chappuis completed 100 of 213 passes for 1,402 yards with 15 interceptions and 8 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 310 yards, for an average of 6.0 yards per carry, and one rushing touchdown. Although Chappuis led the team in total offense, Hoernschemeyer also made eleven receptions
and served as both a kick returner
and punt returner
at various times during the season. The Dodgers finished the season with a 2–12 record and folded after the 1948 season.
In 1949, Chappuis played for the Chicago Hornets, also of the AAFC, but saw only limited playing time as a back-up to Hoernschemeyer and Johnny Clement
on a team that went 4–10. When the AAFC went out of existence after the 1949 season, Chappuis retired from football. In announcing his retirement in June 1950, Chappuis said he was through with professional football and that his ambition then was to enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle and to be able to visit Ann Arbor
for those fall football games.
. He spent thirteen years with Central Soya Co. in Fort Wayne, Indiana
, retiring in 1983 as the Vice President in charge of Labor Relations. He later formed his own management consulting business in Fort Wayne.
Chappuis and his wife, Ann Chappuis, had four children. Chappuis is the uncle of former Michigan
and Baltimore Colts
strong safety Rick Volk
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
and quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Chappuis flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner
Air gunner
An air gunner a.k.a. aerial gunner is a member of an air force aircrew who operates flexible-mount or turret-mounted machine guns or autocannons in an aircraft...
on B-25 bombers
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
in the European Theater
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
. His aircraft was shot down in February 1945 in the Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
region of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
. Chappuis parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
d from the plane before it crashed, and Italian partisans
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
rescued him by hiding Chappuis and two other crew members for the final three months of the war.
After the war, Chappuis returned to Michigan where he broke the Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
record for total offense
Total offense
Total offense is an American football and Canadian football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player...
in 1946 and then broke his own record in 1947. He led the 1947 Michigan team
1947 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team, nicknamed the "Mad Magicians", represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 college football season. Coached by Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines finished undefeated and untied with a 10–0 record...
known as the “Mad Magicians” to an undefeated season and a 49–0 win over the USC Trojans in the 1948 Rose Bowl
1948 Rose Bowl
The 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
game. Chappuis was a unanimous All-American selection in 1947 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1948 Rose Bowl. His picture appeared on the cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine in 1947 in connection with a feature article about Chappuis and the 1947 Wolverines. He placed second in the 1947 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
balloting.
During his career he established many football records that lasted for over a generation and became an All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
. He continues to hold the Big Ten Conference single-season passer rating
Passer rating
Passer rating is a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers in American football and Canadian football. There are at least two formulae currently in use: one officially used by the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and one used in college football...
record and the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
single-season yards/completion records. He was one of the early passing
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
specialists in an era where football players were just beginning to either play on offense or defense instead of both.
Chappuis played professional football in the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC) as a quarterback for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)
The Brooklyn Dodgers was an American Football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948. The team is unrelated to the Brooklyn Dodgers that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943...
and Chicago Hornets in 1948 and 1949. He led the Dodgers in total offense in 1948 with 1,402 yards passing and 310 yards rushing. When both clubs and the AAFC folded, Chappuis retired from football in 1950. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1988.
Early years
Chappuis was born and raised in Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, where his father—who had played quarterback for Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
, which is located near Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
—was an executive with a porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
products company . Chappuis graduated from DeVilbiss High School
DeVilbiss High School (Toledo, Ohio)
Thomas A. DeVilbiss High School was a public high school in Toledo, Ohio, United States from 1931 to June 1991. It was part of the Toledo Public School District and served students from the following elementary schools: DeVeaux, Elmhurst, Grove Patterson, Longfellow, Mayfair, McKinley, Nathan...
where he was a star football player. When it came time to choose a college, his father said his only preference for his son was that he not attend Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
. Chappuis could not provide much of an explanation for his father's preference: “Dad just didn't like Ohio State.”
Chappuis played in nine games for Michigan as a sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
in 1942, contributing 220 yards rushing, 358 yards passing, and 30 yards receiving. In his first game as a college halfback, Chappuis completed seven of eighteen passes for a gain of 80 yards, and also rushed for 49 yards in a 9–0 win over the Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Naval Station Great Lakes
Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near the city of North Chicago, Illinois, in Lake County. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago...
. Chappuis' predecessor as Michigan's halfback, Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
, completed seven passes in a single game only three times in three years, a feat accomplished by Chappuis in his first game.
Service in World War II
Chappuis' college program was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Chappuis earned the rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner
Air gunner
An air gunner a.k.a. aerial gunner is a member of an air force aircrew who operates flexible-mount or turret-mounted machine guns or autocannons in an aircraft...
in B-25 bombers
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
. His crew sunk a cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
in an Italian harbor, which earned it a citation in September 1944. He flew his first mission, which was targeting a railroad bridge in the heavily-fortified Brenner Pass
Brenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
on Christmas Day 1944. At the time he flew this first mission, he was a sergeant. On February 13, 1945, Chappuis flew his 21st mission when he was assigned to fill in for a sick crew member. Chappuis’ B-25 bomber was assigned to bomb a railroad tunnel in the Italian mountains north of the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
. “Over the target, a burst of flak knocked out one engine, then the other engine went out. When the order came to bail out, the tailgunner
Tail gunner
A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun emplacement on either the top or tail end of the aircraft with a generally...
went out first, and got stuck in the escape hatch, pinned against the rear of it by the wind pressure. Chappuis kicked him in the only accessible place—his head—and knocked him loose. Then he jumped.”
Chappuis was rescued by an Italian partisan
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, Aldo Comucci, a 21-year old who was in charge of one of the many underground groups operating in the area. Comucci and his band of resistance fighters
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
got to Chappuis before the Germans and hid him and two other American flyers from the same plane for nearly three months until the end of the war. The partisans passed Chappuis and the two other Americans from house to house, and village to village, toward the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
frontier. Dressed in shawls — but still wearing G.I. shoes — they once walked undetected past a German sentry
General Orders for Sentries
Orders to Sentry is the official title of a set of rules governing sentry duty in the United States armed forces. While any guard posting has rules that may go without saying , these orders are carefully detailed and particularly stressed in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and...
.
Province of Mantua
The Province of Mantua is a province in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua.-Communes:It includes 70 comuni , ranging in area from Viadana, with 102.19 km², to Mariana Mantovana, with 8.81 km²....
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, about 40 miles (64.4 km) from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. The German headquarters was two houses away, and the drill grounds were across the street. Accordingly, Chappuis and the other Americans could not walk near a window or talk above a whisper. They passed the time playing cards with each other and with the Ugolini family with whom they stayed, and reading a well-worn copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
. The Americans were nearly captured one evening when the Fascist
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
fiancé of one of the Ugolini daughters entered the house unannounced and found the Americans playing cards. He threatened to turn the Americans in, but was persuaded not to when told it would mean the death of his fiancée and her family for aiding the Americans.
When V-E Day arrived in early May 1945, Chappuis and his crewmates stayed in Asola for a week-long celebration. On the night the war ended, residents of Asola removed the seats from the town’s theater for a victory ball. While two orchestras played onstage, the liberated townspeople toasted the Americans, and Chappuis danced with the Ugolinis' daughters. When Chappuis returned to the United States, he stayed in touch with the Ugolinis and sent them weekly food packages. Chappuis also stayed in touch with Comucci, the resistance leader who rescued him. In 1974, Chappuis returned to Italy to meet with Comucci for the first time in 20 years. And in August 1975, Comucci and his wife traveled to Michigan to visit Chappuis.
1946 season
Chappuis returned to Michigan after being discharged from the military and played football in the spring of 1946. He returned in time to join the Michigan baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, where he played in the outfield
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
, led the team in batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, and helped them win the Big Nine championship with a 26-game winning streak.
When football season arrived in the fall, Chappuis was one of many veterans who returned to college and the gridiron
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
after serving in the war. Many of the returning veterans were not in prime football condition at the start of the 1946 season, and Coach Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American 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 defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
“predicted it might be November before ex-servicemen were adjusted physically and mentally to play their top game.” Chappuis later recalled that he was 23 years old when he returned to school, and some of the returning veterans “didn't know if they could get back into the rah-rah of college football, but Fritz took care of that. He really whipped us into shape.” Despite any difficulties in re-adjusting to civilian life and football, Chappuis broke Otto Graham
Otto Graham
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
's Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
record for total offensive yards during the 1946 football season. Though reports differ as to Chappuis' total yards gained, University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
records show that Chappuis gained 1,284 yards in 1946—734 yards passing, 501 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving. Chappuis set the new offensive mark in 1946 with a fractured bone in his wrist
Wrist
In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as 1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand;...
that he did not report until after the season had ended, at which time an operation was performed. Chappuis later said he knew the x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
would reveal a fracture, and he would be benched before he even began. He delayed the examination until the season was over because “the time to break into the lineup is prior to the first game. If I hadn't, there were so many capable candidates around who could have made good behind our front wall that I'd never have become a first-stringer by returning in the middle of the season.” Accordingly, Chappuis played the 1946 season with a fractured wrist and without even bothering to tape the wrist.
1947 season
Given the off-season wrist surgery, Chappuis was questionable for the 1947 season. As the season got underway, Chappuis said the wrist was “not as loose” as it was in 1946, but he felt it was "loose enough." In the end, Chappuis broke his own Big Nine total offense record by gaining 1,405 yards as compared with 1,284 yards in 1946. He completed 48 out of 84 passes for 976 yards, including 11 touchdownTouchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
passes. He also scored 5 touchdowns and gained 544 yards rushing. In the season opener against Michigan State
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
, Chappuis scored three touchdowns in a 55–0 victory, as Michigan outgained the Spartans 504 yards rushing to 56. Michigan finished the 1947 season with a 21–0 victory over Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
. In his last game at Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Before playing football at the stadium, the Wolverines played on Ferry Field...
, Chappuis set a Michigan single-game record for total offense that would last 20 years. Altogether, Chappuis accounted for 307 yards, rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
for 90 yards and completing 12 of 27 passes for 217 yards. This stood as a school single-game total offense record for over 20 years. At the end of the 1947 season, Chappuis was named a unanimous first-team All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
. He also finished second to Johnny Lujack
Johnny Lujack
John Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...
in the 1947 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting, with Lujack receiving 742 first and second place votes to 555 for Chappuis. Despite the glowing adjectives heaped on him, reporters noted that “Chappuis can still wear his regular size seven headgear.” Chappuis gave credit to his line saying, “Anyone passing behind the protection that line gave me could have done as well.” In another sign of his modesty on a team with only two two-way players Chappuis said "You have to smell where to go on pass defense—and my sniffer's not too good." when asked why he does not play both ways.
In addition to having the most accomplished season of his collegiate career, Chappuis was a leader on campus. He was elected president of the Michigan Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
fraternity whose membership included a number of his teammates and prominent University of Michigan athletic alumni such as Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
, Bob Ufer
Bob Ufer
Bob Ufer was the lead broadcaster for the Michigan Wolverines football team for 37 years, starting in 1944. He has been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.-Early years:...
, and Harry G. Kipke
Harry G. Kipke
Harry George Kipke 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 1929–1937, compiling a career record of 49–30–5...
. Chappuis appeared on the cover of the October 28, 1947 issue of Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
magazine which featured pictures of him on the football field and at the fraternity house. In the magazine, Chappuis and his future wife were also featured about the Michigan campus. He expressed an interest in first playing professional football for a few years before going into the porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
business with his father.
Look magazine devoted over a dozen pictures to showing Chappuis play in the offense. In the 1940s, the offense was perceived as gimmick
Gimmick
In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature...
y and magical and the magazine described how the offense used various fakes and delays to gain the advantage in timing by concealing the point of attack and the attacker. The contemporary football lingo described the basic attack as a "fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
spinner cycle with the backs deployed loosely." It described an alternate formation as a single-wing
Single-wing
In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation is any offensive formation having exactly one wingback and one tight end aligned together. The single-wing formation, created by Glenn "Pop" Warner, was a precursor to the modern spread or shotgun formation...
formation with direct snap
Snap (football)
A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...
from center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
to left halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
(Chappuis' position). The article also describes T maneuvers, lateral pass
Lateral pass
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
es and end-around
End-around
The end-around is a play in American football in which a wide receiver crosses the backfield towards the opposite end of the line and receives a handoff directly from the quarterback. The receiver then may proceed to do one of two things: he either runs the ball towards the line of scrimmage in...
plays as part of the offense.
Passing “specialist”
Chappuis drew considerable attention in the national press for his abilities as a passerForward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
, one of the game's first passing “specialists.” In November 1947, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine ran a feature article about Chappuis and the 1947 Wolverines (with Chappuis' photograph on the cover) called “The Specialist.” The Time article focused on the new era of specialization marked by coach Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American 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 defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
's decision to field separate offensive and defensive units in 1947. The article focused on Chappuis as Michigan's “prize specialist,” who was described as “Crisler's triggerman.” “His job is to throw forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
es and there is no one in 1947 collegiate football who does it better. ... In Michigan's first five games, Specialist Chappuis was on the field less than one-third of the time, but of the 27 passes he threw, 19 were complete – five of them for touchdowns... When Chappuis fades back to pass, he is a slow-motion study in coolness and concentration.”
Crisler said Chappuis was “the finest passer I have ever handled and probably one of the best I've ever seen. He plays as though he had ice water in his veins.” Crisler felt that “great passers are born,” and the difference between a great and a merely good passer is in the eyes. Time noted that Chappuis had great field vision for his downfield receivers
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and for oncoming defenders. “Like a good baseball catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, he throws the ball off his right ear, with a snap motion. He throws what the coaches call a ‘heavy ball.’” Another writer noted that Chappuis was “endowed with a passer's sixth sense, ‘split vision,’” and an ability to “pick out his receiver after one glance over the field.”
Time also noted that Chappuis was unlike his predecessor, the “hail-fellow” Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
. “His snaggleteeth and sharp features earned him the nickname ‘Bird Face’ when he was a kid.” Time also reported that Chappuis “learns easily, just as he does in the classroom, where he makes a C-plus average seemingly without ever opening a book.”
When Chappuis graduated, he held numerous school records, including most touchdown passes in a career with 23, a record that was not broken until 30 years later by four-year starter, Rick Leach
Rick Leach
----Rick Leach is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 5 Grand Slam men's doubles titles , and 4 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles . Leach reached the World No...
. He also held the record for most touchdown passes in a season with 13, a record that was tied by Leach in 1976. He also held the school record for most career total offensive yards with 3,487, a record broken in 1970 by Don Moorhead
Don Moorhead
Don Moorhead is a retired American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1969 and 1970 and for the BC Lions from 1971 to 1975...
.
1948 Rose Bowl and All-Star Game
Chappuis played his last game for Michigan in a 49–0 win over the USC Trojans in the 1948 Rose Bowl1948 Rose Bowl
The 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
. Chappuis ran for 91 yards, completed 14 of 24 passes for 188 yards, was named the Most Valuable Player, and set Rose Bowl records for total offense and pass completions. The Long Beach Independent reported: “Bob Chappuis was every inch the All-American he has been tabbed. Running, faking and pivoting beautifully, he averaged 7 yards a crack for 13 carries and completed 14 out of 24 pitches for 188 yards ... which gave him a new total offense
Total offense
Total offense is an American football and Canadian football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player...
record of 279 yards for the classic.”
A sidelight of the Rose Bowl was the Rose Bowl Queen nomination of Ann Gestie, the future Ms. Bob Chappuis, which was against the tradition of having a queen from Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Buck Dawson, the manager of the Michigan Yearbook who would go on to marry the daughter of Matthew Mann
Matthew Mann
Matthew "Matt" Mann II was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the 1952 Summer Olympics that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal....
, was the proponent of the nomination. Although tradition was upheld, Gestie's photograph appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
along with the caption "Overlooked Michigan Beauty."
Chappuis was also selected to play for coach Frank Leahy
Frank Leahy
Francis William Leahy was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive...
on the College All-Star squad against the Chicago Cardinals
1947 Chicago Cardinals season
The 1947 Chicago Cardinals season resulted in the Cardinals winning their second NFL Championship.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-Roster:-NFL Championship Game:...
, who were the 1947 NFL Champions
NFL Championship Game, 1947
The 1947 National Football League Championship game was the 15th annual championship game and was held December 28, 1947 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The attendance was 30,759. The game featured the Western Division champion Chicago Cardinals and the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia Eagles...
. In the 15th College All-Star vs. NFL Champion match, the Cardinals scored the biggest victory to date with a 28–0 victory. Among the collegians were Lujack and Chuck Conerly. The professional athletes included Paul Christman
Paul Christman
Paul Joseph Christman was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.-Collegiate career:A St...
and Charlie Trippi. Supposedly, the 1947 class had a void at fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
, which may have been the problem with their offense in the All-Star game shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
.
Celebrity
He became a celebrity of sorts at Michigan. He was mentioned in several issues of Time Magazine, and his wedding was even announced in the magazine. In addition, his time at Michigan defined an era in a way that became a permanent reference because his contemporaries would say that they were at Michigan in the Chappuis years. In 1988 he was elected into the College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
Professional football
Chappuis was drafted by the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, and reports in February 1948 indicated that the Steelers had offered him a two-year contract for $20,000 per year. However, Chappuis passed up the Steelers' offer, opting instead to play for the new All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC). In June 1948, Chappuis signed with Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
's Brooklyn Dodgers
Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)
The Brooklyn Dodgers was an American Football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948. The team is unrelated to the Brooklyn Dodgers that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943...
of the AAFC after coach Carl Voyles outbid the Steelers for his services at $17,000. Chappuis had been drafted by the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and the Dodgers gave the Browns three draft picks in exchange for the right to sign Chappuis. Rickey had felt that modern football was based on speed and that he could win with a good center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
, passing quarterback and two tall sprinting ends. Thus, he placed a premium on signing Chappuis, the passing quarterback. The college All-star game caused Chappuis to miss three weeks of practice and he played little in the early season games because he had not learned his plays.
In his first professional game against the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, Chappuis ran the ball 37 yards to the 49ers six-yard line in the fourth quarter, giving fans “an indication of what sent all the major professional clubs after his services.” Chappuis played in 13 games for the Dodgers in 1948 and shared the quarterbacking responsibilities with Bob Hoernschemeyer who played in all 14 games. Chappuis led the team in total offense (1712 to 1428 for Hoernschemeyer). Chappuis completed 100 of 213 passes for 1,402 yards with 15 interceptions and 8 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 310 yards, for an average of 6.0 yards per carry, and one rushing touchdown. Although Chappuis led the team in total offense, Hoernschemeyer also made eleven receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
and served as both a kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
and punt returner
Punt returner
Punt returner is a position on special teams in American football.-Description:The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position by returning it. Before catching the punted ball, the returner must assess the situation on the field while...
at various times during the season. The Dodgers finished the season with a 2–12 record and folded after the 1948 season.
In 1949, Chappuis played for the Chicago Hornets, also of the AAFC, but saw only limited playing time as a back-up to Hoernschemeyer and Johnny Clement
Johnny Clement
John Louis "Johnny" Clement was an American football player. As of 2008, he is the only Pittsburgh Steelers player to wear 00. He was also an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.-External links:...
on a team that went 4–10. When the AAFC went out of existence after the 1949 season, Chappuis retired from football. In announcing his retirement in June 1950, Chappuis said he was through with professional football and that his ambition then was to enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle and to be able to visit Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
for those fall football games.
After football
After retiring from football, Chappuis worked in various business ventures. In the 1950s, he was in the electrical appliance business in South Bend, IndianaSouth Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
. He spent thirteen years with Central Soya Co. in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, retiring in 1983 as the Vice President in charge of Labor Relations. He later formed his own management consulting business in Fort Wayne.
Chappuis and his wife, Ann Chappuis, had four children. Chappuis is the uncle of former Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
and Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
strong safety Rick Volk
Rick Volk
Richard Robert Volk is a former American football player.Volk played college football for the University of Michigan from 1964 to 1966 and was a member of the 1964 team that won the Big Ten Conference championship and defeated Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl...
.
Honors and accolades
Chappuis has received numerous honors, including the following:- Named Most Valuable Player on the 1946 Michigan Wolverines footballMichigan Wolverines footballThe Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team; - Named to the All-Big Nine ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
team, 1946;
- Consensus All-AmericanCollege Football All-America TeamThe College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
, 1947; - Named to the All-Big Nine ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
team, 1947; - Finished second to Johnny LujackJohnny LujackJohn Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...
in the Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting in 1947; - Named Most Valuable Player of the 1948 Rose Bowl1948 Rose BowlThe 1948 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1948. It was the 34th Rose Bowl Game, and the second since the Big Nine Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference reached an exclusive agreement to match their champions in the game each year. In the game, the Michigan...
game; - Inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1984; and
- Inducted into the College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1988. - Inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.
- In 2005, Chappuis was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 28th on the all-time team.
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans
- University of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorThe University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...