Fred C. Janke (pronounced yonkee) (April 28, 1917 – January 24, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player, business executive and politician. He played football for 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 ...

from 1936 to 1938 and was the captain of the

1938 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1938 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1938 Big Ten Conference football season. After the firing of Harry Kipke in December 1937, Fritz Crisler took over as Michigan's head coach in February 1938 ...

under first-year head coach

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 ...

. He later became the president and chairman of the board of Hancock Industries. He also served as the mayor his hometown,

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

, in the 1970s.

Early years

Janke as born in

in 1917. He played football at Jackson High School, and was selected as an all-state tackle in 1933 and 1934.

University of Michigan

In 1935, Janke enrolled at the

, where he studied

geological engineering Geological engineering is a discipline of engineering concerned with the application of geological science and engineering principles to fields, such as civil engineering, mining, environmental engineering, and forestry, among others.M. Diederichs, ...

. He played at the tackle position for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team from 1936 to 1938. At the start of the 1937 season, Michigan head coach

Harry Kipke Harry George Kipke (; March 26, 1899 – September 14, 1972) 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 to 1937 ...

moved Janke from the tackle position to fullback, but Janke returned to the tackle position by early October 1937. Despite injuries that resulted in his missing parts of the 1936, 1937, and 1938 seasons, Janke was chosen as the captain of the

, the first Michigan football team coached by

. As Janke played through his injuries, Crisler called him "the ideal team leader." Writing for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'', former Michigan quarterback

Tod Rockwell Ferdinand Almon "Tod" Rockwell (1900 – March 22, 1952) was an American football player and coach. He attended the University of Michigan, where he played quarterback for the Wolverines football team in 1923 and 1924, helping the 1923 team win ...

credited Janke and

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), known as Tom Harmon, as well as by the nickname "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon grew up in Gary, Indiana, and playe ...

with creating a winning team under new line coach "Biggie" Munn. Rockwell wrote, "Janke belleves that no job on the team is as important as his. He is determined to be the best football player on the squad. He is fully cognizant of the responsibilities of a captain. Janke is entitled to full credit for his part in adding to the momentum of that football pendulum directed by Munn."

Later years

After graduating from Michigan in 1939, Janke taught at Jackson High School and served as an assistant coach there. He also coached football at St. John High School in Jackson. Janke enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

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 ...

and was stationed in the Philippines. After the war, Janke returned to coaching at St. John's High School in Jackson. He later took a job at Macklin Grinding Wheels. He would up his careers at Hancock Industries (later ITT Hancock Industries), where he became president and chairman of the board. He served as the mayor of

from 1976 to 1979. He died in January 2009 at age 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janke, Fred 1917 births 2009 deaths Mayors of places in Michigan Michigan Wolverines football players Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Jackson, Michigan