Henry Fonde
Encyclopedia
Henry Fonde was an American football
player and coach. He played for the University of Michigan
from 1945 to 1947 under head coach Fritz Crisler
. In ten years as the head football coach at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (1949–1958), he compiled a record of 69–6–4. He subsequently served as an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan under head coach Bump Elliott
from 1959–1968.
. He enrolled at the University of Michigan
in 1944 as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program
. He played for Fritz Crisler
's Michigan Wolverines football
teams from 1945 to 1947. In his first year playing for the Wolverines, Fonde scored Michigan's only touchdown in a 7–3 victory over Ohio State in 1945. The Associated Press described Fonde's role in the game-winning drive as follows:
In 1947, Fonde played for Crisler's undefeated 1947 team
, considered by some the greatest Michigan football team of all time. After an undefeated, untied regular season, the 1947 Wolverines defeated the University of Southern California 49 to 0 in the 1948 Rose Bowl
. The 1948 Rose Bowl was Fonde's final game as a player for the Wolverines, and he capped his collegiate career by throwing the only forward pass he ever threw in a game—resulting in a 45-yard touchdown completions to Gene Derricotte
.
, took over as Michigan's head football coach, Fonde joined the staff as an assistant football coach. Fonde was an assistant coach at Michigan for ten years from 1959 to 1968. Fonde died in 2009 at age 85 of complications brought on by Alzheimer's disease
.
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 and coach. He played 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...
from 1945 to 1947 under head 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...
. In ten years as the head football coach at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (1949–1958), he compiled a record of 69–6–4. He subsequently served as an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan under head coach Bump Elliott
Bump Elliott
Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University and the University of Michigan...
from 1959–1968.
Player
Fonde was a native of Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. He enrolled at 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...
in 1944 as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
. He played 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 Michigan Wolverines football
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...
teams from 1945 to 1947. In his first year playing for the Wolverines, Fonde scored Michigan's only touchdown in a 7–3 victory over Ohio State in 1945. The Associated Press described Fonde's role in the game-winning drive as follows:
"Less than seven minutes of play remained when Michigan sent Halfback Henry Fonde diving through Ohio State's right tackle from the one-yard line for the winning touchdown. The 18-year-old navy trainee had made the opportunity himself by going 25 yards with a pass from Pete ElliottPete Elliott-External links:...
. Fonde side-stepped Buckeye Halfback Dick Fisher as he caught the pass on the Ohio State 35-yard line and pedalled 16 yards farther before being hauled down by Ollie ClineOllie ClineOliver M. "Ollie" Cline was a college and professional American football player in the 1940s and '50s. He was nicknamed the Blond Bomber.-College career:...
on the Ohio 19."
In 1947, Fonde played for Crisler's undefeated 1947 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...
, considered by some the greatest Michigan football team of all time. After an undefeated, untied regular season, the 1947 Wolverines defeated the University of Southern California 49 to 0 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...
. The 1948 Rose Bowl was Fonde's final game as a player for the Wolverines, and he capped his collegiate career by throwing the only forward pass he ever threw in a game—resulting in a 45-yard touchdown completions to Gene Derricotte
Gene Derricotte
Eugene "Gene" Derricotte is a former American football player who played with the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1944 to 1948. He was one of the University's first African American athletes in the era when NCAA Division I college football was beginning to integrate...
.
Coach
After graduating from Michigan, Fonde spent ten years as the head football coach at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School from 1949 to 1958. He compiled a record of 69–6–4 at Pioneer. In 1959, when Fonde's former teammate, Bump ElliottBump Elliott
Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University and the University of Michigan...
, took over as Michigan's head football coach, Fonde joined the staff as an assistant football coach. Fonde was an assistant coach at Michigan for ten years from 1959 to 1968. Fonde died in 2009 at age 85 of complications brought on by Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.