Harry Dean Allis (April 22, 1928 – September 6, 2006) 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 ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 1948 to 1950. He was the leading scorer in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

during the 1948 season and helped lead the

1948 Michigan Wolverines football team Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form Britis ...

to an undefeated 10-0 record and a national championship. He also helped lead the

1950 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1950 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1950 Big Ten Conference football season. Coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines won the Big Ten Conference champion ...

to a Big Ten championship, including victories in the Snow Bowl and the

1951 Rose Bowl The 1951 Rose Bowl was the 37th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Monday, January 1. The ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, defeated the California Go ...

Early years

Allis was born in 1928. He was raised in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

University of Michigan

Allis enrolled at the

in 1947. He played on the all-freshman football team coached by

Wally Weber Walter J. Weber (February 27, 1903 – April 14, 1984) was an American football player and coach at the University of Michigan. He played Halfback (American football), halfback and Fullback (American football), fullback for the Michigan Wolverines ...

in 1947.

1948 season

As a sophomore, Allis played for Michigan's 1948 national championship team that finished undefeated and untied with a 10–0 record. As a 20-year-old sophomore, Allis played at the end position for the 1948 and also handled placekicking and punting responsibilities. Serving in multiple roles, Allis scored 47 points for the Wolverines (three touchdowns and 29 extra point kicks) to become the leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference during the 1948 season. He also completed a streak of 14 straight extra point conversions without a miss. His scoring tally was as follows: *10/2/1948: 2 points on 2 extra point kicks against

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. *10/9/1948: 4 points on 4 extra point kicks against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. *10/16/1948: 4 points on 4 extra point kicks against Northwestern. *10/23/1948: 3 points on 3 extra point kicks against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. *10/30/1948: 10 points on a 45-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter and 4 extra point kicks against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Allis also did most of the punting. The

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

noted: "End Harry Allis, a 20-year-old sophomore, and sheer luck were the biggest factor in Michigan's win triumph ..." *11/6/1948: 5 points on 5 extra point kicks against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. *11/13/1948: 12 points on a touchdown reception and 6 extra point kicks against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. With 12 points against Indiana, Allis became the leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference with 33 points. *11/20/1948: 7 points on a 44-yard game-winning touchdown reception and an extra point kick in a 13–7 win over

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

1949 team

As a junior, Allis started all nine games at the left end position for the

1949 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1949 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1949 Big Nine Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines compiled a 6–2–1 record (4–1–1 ...

. The 1949 team finished the season with a 6–2–1 ranked #7 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. He had a career-long 51-yard touchdown reception in a 13–0 win over Illinois in October 1949.

1950 team

As a senior, Allis helped lead the

to the Big Ten Conference championship and a victory over California in the

. In the second game of the season, Allis had a 48-yard touchdown reception against Dartmouth. Allis also returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown against Indiana and a punt 23 yards for a touchdown against Northwestern. After the 1950 season, Allis was invited to play in the 1951

College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

in Chicago.

Professional football

Allis was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the

1951 NFL Draft The 1951 National Football League Draft was held January 18–19, 1951, at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season, and the NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft. This was the fifth year that th ...

. He turned down an offer to play for the Lions to remain at the University of Michigan for graduate school studies in pharmacy. He signed with the Lions a year later in June 1952, but he was traded to the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

in August 1952.

Medical career and death

Allis ultimately chose medical school over professional football. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1959. He performed his internship and residency at Blodgett Memorial Hospital in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, from 1959 to 1964. He took postgraduate training in lower extremity prosthetics and juvenile amputee management at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. He practiced for many years as an orthopedic surgeon in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. A malpractice case against Allis arising out of his treatment of a broken arm in 1981 resulted in a published decision affirming the jury's verdict in favor of Allis. He died in September 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allis, Harry 1928 births 2006 deaths American football placekickers Michigan Wolverines football players American orthopedic surgeons Players of American football from Flint, Michigan University of Michigan Medical School alumni 20th-century surgeons