George Ceithaml
Encyclopedia
George F. Ceithaml is a former American football
quarterback
and coach
. He was the starting
quarterback for Fritz Crisler
's University of Michigan
football teams in 1941 and 1942. Crisler later called Ceithaml "the smartest player he ever taught." Ceithaml was selected as the quarterback on the 1942 All-Big Ten Conference
team, the captain of the 1942 All-American Blocking Team, and was the 19th player selected in the 1943 NFL Draft
. He later served as an assistant football coach at Michigan and the University of Southern California
.
and raised on the city's South Side
. He was an All-City quarterback two straight years for Lindbloom High School.
and joined the football team at the beginning of the Fritz Crisler
era. He was 6-feet tall and weighed 184 pounds as a football player at Michigan.
As a sophomore in 1940, Ceithaml was the backup quarterback to Forest Evashevski
on a team the included All-American Tom Harmon
. Ceithaml first saw substantial playing time in November 1940 leading the press to report: "George Ceithaml has ended Michigan's two-year search for a capable substitute for Forest Evashevski. Ceithaml, a 190-pound sophomore, turned in a fine performance calling signals and blocking for the Wolverines against Pennsylvania." Ceithaml received the 1940 Meyer Morton Award, established by the University of Michigan's "M" Club to recognize the underclassman who shows the greatest development and most promise as a football player.
During his junior and senior years in 1941 and 1942, Ceithaml started all 18 of Michigan's games and played on defense as well as offense
. In 1941, he started all eight games for a Michigan team that went 6-1-1 and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press
poll. As a senior in 1942, he started all ten games and was selected as the captain during a season in which the Wolverines finished with a record of 7-3 and were ranked No. 9 in the country in the final Associated Press
poll.
The 1942 team captained by Ceithaml has been called "Crisler's '42 Iron Men":
The 1942 season opened with a game against a military team from the Great Lakes Naval Station
that featured 13 All-Americans and several professional players. Despite being rated as 35-point underdogs, the Wolverines held the Great Lakes team scoreless and won 9-0. The 1942 season also featured the first match between Michigan and Notre Dame
since 1909. Ceithaml led Michigan to a 33-20 win over the Fighting Irish and scored the Wolverines' first touchdown
on a quarterback sneak
. In a 1993 interview, Ceithaml recalled that the 1942 Notre Dame match was "more than just a game." He recalled: "We were so revved, we could have played two more quarters. The coaches never had to say a word to get us jacked up. We're Michigan. And the personal pride -- the pride of beating Notre Dame -- was intense."
Ceithaml had the responsibility to call the plays in Crisler's complex single-wing offense, and Crisler later called Ceithaml "the smartest player he ever taught." After the plays were called, the quarterback in Crisler's offense was mainly a blocker
. Before a 1942 game between Michigan and Harvard, the Harvard Crimson
wrote: "Directing the team is Captain and quarterback George Ceithaml, who is a canny play-caller and rugged blocker." Ceithaml developed a reputation as a fierce, "granite-shouldered" blocker, and some of his most important contributions came as a blocker for fullback Bob Wiese
and halfback Tom Kuzma
. Football Hall of Famers Red Grange
and Elmer Layden
called Ceithaml "one of the best blockers, signal callers, and defensive players in Michigan history."
Ceithaml's final game for Michigan was the 1942 season finale, a 28-14 win over Iowa
. After the game, Associated Press sports writer Paul Chandler credited Ceithaml for his play-calling and "clever" blending of reverses
, laterals
and forward pass
es.
At the end of the 1942 season, Ceithaml was named as the first-team quarterback on the Associated Press
All-Big Ten Conference
team and the captain of Wirt Gammon's 1942 All-American Blocking Team. In January 1943, Ceithaml was a starter for the East All-Stars in the 1943 East-West Shrine Game
. He intercepted
three passes in the game and helped the East to a 13-12 win.
, taken as the third round pick of the Brooklyn Dodgers
. However, he joined the United States Navy
after graduating in June 1943 rather than sign with the National Football League
. Ceithaml reached the rank of lieutenant
and participated in the January 1944 landing at Anzio Beach
and the June 1944 D-Day landing at Normandy.
After returning from military service, Ceithaml was employed by the Ford Motor Company
. In 1946, Ceithaml was chosen to play for the holdover College All-Star team in an annual match against the NFL champions. Ceithaml was reunited with former Michigan teammate Tom Harmon
on a College All-Star team that defeated the NFL champion Rams by a score of 16-0. Ceithaml intercepted a pass off Kenny Washington
in the fourth quarter of the game to stop a late drive by the Rams. In August 1946, the Detroit Lions
engaged in a trade with the Boston Yanks
to obtain the right to sign Ceithaml, but Ceithaml opted not to play professional football.
hired Ceithaml to return to the University of Michigan as an assistant coach. He was initially assigned as the coach of the junior varsity squad, but was promoted to the position of backfield
coach. Ceithaml was an assistant coach on Michigan's 1947
and 1948
championship football teams that compiled a two-year record of 19-0 and outscored opponents by a combined two-season total of 646-97. In 1949, the University of Michigan yearbook credited Ceithaml as being "the man behind the famous Michigan single-wing attack." Ceithaml continued to serve as an assistant football coach at Michigan through the 1952 season.
While staying in Southern California
for the 1948 Rose Bowl
between Michigan and USC, Ceithaml met Joan Kalmbach, a graduate of Pasadena City College
and former Rose Bowl queen semifinalist. Kalmbach, an ardent USC fan, was working for Los Angeles
radio station KXLA, and the two became acquainted on a pre-Rose Bowl trip to Catalina Island
. Ceithaml proposed to Kalmbach on New Year's Eve
-- the night before Michigan beat USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. The couple were married in Ann Arbor
in April 1948, four months after they met.
after accepting a position as the backfield coach for the USC Trojans. Having lost badly to Michigan's single-wing offense in 1948, USC head coach
Jess Hill
told reporters, "We had to have a man who knew the single wing." Hill checked with Crisler, and Crisler recommended Ceithaml. Based on the recommendation, Hill hired Ceithaml "sight unseen." The Los Angeles Times expressed their hope that Ceithaml would teach USC's backs Michigan's "fullback spinner" and other "hocus pocus" plays. Ceithaml served as USC's backfield coach from 1953-1956.
In January 1956, San Diego State University
sought to lure Ceithaml away from USC by offering him a head coaching position and faculty status. Ceithaml opted to remain at USC for the 1956 season.
In February 1957, Don Clark was hired as USC's new head coach; and one week later, Ceithaml announced his retirement from the coaching profession. He told the press at the time, "I intend to retire from coaching and seek an opportunity in another field."
Hall of Fame football coach George Allen credited Ceithaml as one of his influences in his book, "How To Scout Football."
area for Investors Diversified Services, Inc., then the world's largest investment management firm. By 1971, he was the company's regional vice president and shortly thereafter moved to the company's headquarters in Minnesota to become the company's senior vice president for marketing.
Ceithaml retired in 1983 and moved back to California with his wife Joan. He resides in Dana Point, California
.
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...
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...
and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. He was the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback for 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 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...
football teams in 1941 and 1942. Crisler later called Ceithaml "the smartest player he ever taught." Ceithaml was selected as the quarterback on the 1942 All-Big Ten 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...
team, the captain of the 1942 All-American Blocking Team, and was the 19th player selected in the 1943 NFL Draft
1943 NFL Draft
The 1943 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1943.This draft is the first and oldest NFL Draft not to produce a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:...
. He later served as an assistant football coach at Michigan and the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Early years
Ceithaml was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and raised on the city's South Side
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
. He was an All-City quarterback two straight years for Lindbloom High School.
University of Michigan
In 1939, Ceithaml enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity 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...
and joined the football team at the beginning of the 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...
era. He was 6-feet tall and weighed 184 pounds as a football player at Michigan.
As a sophomore in 1940, Ceithaml was the backup quarterback to Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
on a team the included All-American 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...
. Ceithaml first saw substantial playing time in November 1940 leading the press to report: "George Ceithaml has ended Michigan's two-year search for a capable substitute for Forest Evashevski. Ceithaml, a 190-pound sophomore, turned in a fine performance calling signals and blocking for the Wolverines against Pennsylvania." Ceithaml received the 1940 Meyer Morton Award, established by the University of Michigan's "M" Club to recognize the underclassman who shows the greatest development and most promise as a football player.
During his junior and senior years in 1941 and 1942, Ceithaml started all 18 of Michigan's games and played on defense as well as offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
. In 1941, he started all eight games for a Michigan team that went 6-1-1 and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll. As a senior in 1942, he started all ten games and was selected as the captain during a season in which the Wolverines finished with a record of 7-3 and were ranked No. 9 in the country in the final Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll.
The 1942 team captained by Ceithaml has been called "Crisler's '42 Iron Men":
"What made the 1942 Michigan football season interesting was the great spirit shown by a club that lacked bench strength. The Wolverines had to play up to eight men both ways every Saturday, yet they finished with a 7-3 record. Three years later Coach Fritz Crisler invented two platoon football in a futile attempt to wear down the superior BlanchardDoc BlanchardFelix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard is best known as the college football player who became the first ever junior to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and was the first ever football player to win the James E. Sullivan Award, all in 1945. He played football for the United States Military Academy at...
-Davis Army teamArmy Black Knights footballThe Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
at Yankee StadiumYankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, and
from that time on ironman football became a memory that not too many of today’s fans still remember. ... In the backfield George Ceithaml at quarterback and Bob Wiese at fullback rarely took a breather."
The 1942 season opened with a game against a military team from the Great Lakes Naval 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...
that featured 13 All-Americans and several professional players. Despite being rated as 35-point underdogs, the Wolverines held the Great Lakes team scoreless and won 9-0. The 1942 season also featured the first match between Michigan and Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
since 1909. Ceithaml led Michigan to a 33-20 win over the Fighting Irish and scored the Wolverines' first touchdown
Touchdown
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:...
on a quarterback sneak
Quarterback sneak
A quarterback sneak is a play in Canadian and American football in which the quarterback, upon taking the center snap, dives ahead while the offensive line surges forward...
. In a 1993 interview, Ceithaml recalled that the 1942 Notre Dame match was "more than just a game." He recalled: "We were so revved, we could have played two more quarters. The coaches never had to say a word to get us jacked up. We're Michigan. And the personal pride -- the pride of beating Notre Dame -- was intense."
Ceithaml had the responsibility to call the plays in Crisler's complex single-wing offense, and Crisler later called Ceithaml "the smartest player he ever taught." After the plays were called, the quarterback in Crisler's offense was mainly a blocker
Blocking (American football)
In American football, blocking is a legal move occurring when one player obstructs another player's path with his body. The purpose of blocking is to prevent defensive players tackling the ball carrier, or to protect the quarterback while attempting to pass or hand-off the ball...
. Before a 1942 game between Michigan and Harvard, the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
wrote: "Directing the team is Captain and quarterback George Ceithaml, who is a canny play-caller and rugged blocker." Ceithaml developed a reputation as a fierce, "granite-shouldered" blocker, and some of his most important contributions came as a blocker for fullback Bob Wiese
Bob Wiese
Robert Lee Wiese was an American football player. He played college football for Fritz Crisler's University of Michigan Wolverines football teams in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946—missing the 1945 season due to military service...
and halfback Tom Kuzma
Tom Kuzma
Tom George Kuzma was an American football player for the University of Michigan. He was the starting left halfback for Fritz Crisler's Michigan teams in 1941 and 1942....
. Football Hall of Famers Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
and Elmer Layden
Elmer Layden
Elmer Francis Layden was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he starred at fullback as a member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...
called Ceithaml "one of the best blockers, signal callers, and defensive players in Michigan history."
Ceithaml's final game for Michigan was the 1942 season finale, a 28-14 win over Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. After the game, Associated Press sports writer Paul Chandler credited Ceithaml for his play-calling and "clever" blending of reverses
Reverse (American football)
A reverse is a relatively common trick play in American football that involves one or more abrupt changes in the lateral flow of a rushing play.-Variations:...
, laterals
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...
and 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.
At the end of the 1942 season, Ceithaml was named as the first-team quarterback on the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
All-Big Ten 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...
team and the captain of Wirt Gammon's 1942 All-American Blocking Team. In January 1943, Ceithaml was a starter for the East All-Stars in the 1943 East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
. He intercepted
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
three passes in the game and helped the East to a 13-12 win.
Military service and post-war football
Ceithaml was the 19th player selected in the 1943 NFL Draft1943 NFL Draft
The 1943 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1943.This draft is the first and oldest NFL Draft not to produce a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:...
, taken as the third round pick of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)
The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...
. However, he joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
after graduating in June 1943 rather than sign with the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Ceithaml reached 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...
and participated in the January 1944 landing at Anzio Beach
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
and the June 1944 D-Day landing at Normandy.
After returning from military service, Ceithaml was employed by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. In 1946, Ceithaml was chosen to play for the holdover College All-Star team in an annual match against the NFL champions. Ceithaml was reunited with former Michigan teammate 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...
on a College All-Star team that defeated the NFL champion Rams by a score of 16-0. Ceithaml intercepted a pass off Kenny Washington
Kenny Washington (American football)
Kenneth S. "Kingfish" Washington was a professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern era.-UCLA Bruins:...
in the fourth quarter of the game to stop a late drive by the Rams. In August 1946, the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
engaged in a trade with the Boston Yanks
Boston Yanks
The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox schedule were held at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts...
to obtain the right to sign Ceithaml, but Ceithaml opted not to play professional football.
Coach at Michigan
In March 1947, Fritz CrislerFritz 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...
hired Ceithaml to return to the University of Michigan as an assistant coach. He was initially assigned as the coach of the junior varsity squad, but was promoted to the position of backfield
Backfield
The backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The backfield or offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the quarterback, running back, and/or fullback.-Play...
coach. Ceithaml was an assistant coach on Michigan's 1947
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...
and 1948
1948 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan during the 1948 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium.-Schedule:...
championship football teams that compiled a two-year record of 19-0 and outscored opponents by a combined two-season total of 646-97. In 1949, the University of Michigan yearbook credited Ceithaml as being "the man behind the famous Michigan single-wing attack." Ceithaml continued to serve as an assistant football coach at Michigan through the 1952 season.
While staying in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
for 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...
between Michigan and USC, Ceithaml met Joan Kalmbach, a graduate of Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
and former Rose Bowl queen semifinalist. Kalmbach, an ardent USC fan, was working for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
radio station KXLA, and the two became acquainted on a pre-Rose Bowl trip to Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
. Ceithaml proposed to Kalmbach on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
-- the night before Michigan beat USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. The couple were married in 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...
in April 1948, four months after they met.
Coach at USC
In 1953, Ceithaml moved with his wife and son, George W. Ceithaml, to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after accepting a position as the backfield coach for the USC Trojans. Having lost badly to Michigan's single-wing offense in 1948, USC head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Jess Hill
Jess Hill
Jesse Terrill Hill was an American athlete, coach and college administrator who was best known for his tenure as a coach and athletic director at the University of Southern California. His career spanned six decades...
told reporters, "We had to have a man who knew the single wing." Hill checked with Crisler, and Crisler recommended Ceithaml. Based on the recommendation, Hill hired Ceithaml "sight unseen." The Los Angeles Times expressed their hope that Ceithaml would teach USC's backs Michigan's "fullback spinner" and other "hocus pocus" plays. Ceithaml served as USC's backfield coach from 1953-1956.
In January 1956, San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
sought to lure Ceithaml away from USC by offering him a head coaching position and faculty status. Ceithaml opted to remain at USC for the 1956 season.
In February 1957, Don Clark was hired as USC's new head coach; and one week later, Ceithaml announced his retirement from the coaching profession. He told the press at the time, "I intend to retire from coaching and seek an opportunity in another field."
Hall of Fame football coach George Allen credited Ceithaml as one of his influences in his book, "How To Scout Football."
Later years
In April 1957, Ceithaml was hired as the divisional manager in the PasadenaPasadena, 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...
area for Investors Diversified Services, Inc., then the world's largest investment management firm. By 1971, he was the company's regional vice president and shortly thereafter moved to the company's headquarters in Minnesota to become the company's senior vice president for marketing.
Ceithaml retired in 1983 and moved back to California with his wife Joan. He resides in Dana Point, California
Dana Point, California
-Climate:Dana Point enjoys a mild climate where temperatures tend to average around the 60's. The warmest month of the year is August with an average temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest month is December with an average minimum temperature of 44 degrees Fahrenheit.-2010:The 2010...
.