Elmer F. Madar (November 28, 1920 – February 9, 1972) was an All American football player at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1942 and 1946.

Life and career

Born in

Sykesville, Pennsylvania Sykesville is a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,157 at the time of the 2010 census. Named for Jacob B. Sykes, an early resident, Sykesville was the birthplace of Olga Madar (1915–1996), the firs ...

, Madar played football at Northeastern High School in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He was a backup

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

in 1941 and moved to

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

in 1942 where he played in 10 games, scored two touchdowns and made 12 receptions for 160 yards. He was part of the 1942 Michigan line with

Merv Pregulman Mervin Pregulman (October 10, 1922 – November 30, 2012) was an All-American football player, businessman, and philanthropist. He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was sele ...

Julius Franks Julius Franks, Jr. (September 5, 1922 – November 26, 2008) was a civil rights leader and an All-American guard who played football at the University of Michigan from 1941 to 1942. Franks wore #62 as a varsity letterman in 1941 and #63 in 1942 ...

Al Wistert Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert (December 28, 1920 – March 5, 2016) was an American football offensive tackle, guard and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL care ...

, Bob Kolesar, Bill Pritula and Phil Sharpe that was known as the "Seven Oak Posts," due to their reputation for not using substitutes. He served in the Air Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but returned to the University of Michigan after the war. In 1946, he played in more minutes than any other player on

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler (; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college 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 d ...

's football team. In December 1946, he was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-American team, and he was the first pick in the 1947

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

draft by the

Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...

. Madar played one year with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

in 1947. In March 1948, he was hired as the end coach at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, working with fellow Michigan alum and head coach

Arthur Valpey Arthur Ludgate Valpey Jr. (August 5, 1915 – March 12, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Harvard University from 1948 to 1949 and at the University of Connecticut from 1950 to 1951, compilin ...

. He was assistant coach for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They primarily compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

in 1952 and 1953 but resigned in 1954 to seek a coaching job closer to his Michigan home. He subsequently became a teacher in the Detroit public schools. His sister was

Olga Madar Olga M. Madar (May 17, 1915 – May 16, 1996) was the first woman to serve on the United Auto Workers (UAW) International Executive Board. Early life Born in Sykesville, Pennsylvania, Madar moved to Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression. A ...

. Madar died of gunshot wounds in 1970 at his brother's house in Detroit. Police reported that the wounds were believed to be self inflicted.

References

External links

Bentley Library biography and photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madar, Elmer 1920 births 1972 deaths Harvard Crimson football coaches Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers Northeastern High School (Michigan) alumni People from Jefferson County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Detroit Players of American football from Pennsylvania

Life and career

See also

References

External links