Stanley Nelson Muirhead (August 29, 1902 – September 14, 1942) 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. He played at the tackle position 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 1921 to 1923, leading the

Wolverines The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1922 and 1923 and a national championship in 1923. He was selected as a second-team All-American in both 1922 and 1923. Muirhead also played professional football in 1924 for the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

and

Cleveland Bulldogs The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner S ...

and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player.

Biography

Muirhead was a native of

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

but attended Northern 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 played tackle and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

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 1921 to 1923. After the 1921 season, Detroit News sports editor

H.G. Salsinger Harry George Salsinger (April 10, 1885 – November 27, 1958) was an American sportswriter who served as sports editor of ''The Detroit News'' for 49 years. Biography Salsinger was born in Springfield, Ohio. In 1907, he started writing for ' ...

wrote: "Muirhead, of Michigan, playing his first college season, was one of the outstanding tackles in a year when the position produced a number of spectacular stars. Muirhead improved with each game, and his rapid development means that next season it will require a great tackle to keep him from being a first choice." As a junior and senior, Muirhead helped lead Michigan to consecutive undefeated seasons and a national championship in 1923. In 1923, an NEA News Service profile on the stars of the Michigan football team noted: "Muirhead's tackling has been as good as the middle west section has seen in some time. Time and again he has beaten the ends down under punts and nailed the receiver in his tracks. On offense his work has likewise been of high class." Muirhead played his final game in a Michigan uniform against the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in November 1923, and a newspaper account described his performance in that game as follows:

In his last game against Minnesota, November 24, Muirhead was everywhere. He made three-fourths of the tackles under punts, and was always on the ball. A check was made during the game of Muirheads's tackles. No less than twenty-two times did this stalwart tackle bring down his man. He was a veritable demon on the field. He could not be stopped. If there is a greater tackle in the country than Stan Muirhead of Michigan he has not yet been seen.

Muirhead also developed a reputation for his durability. He played in every conference game for Michigan from 1921 to 1923, leading one sports columnist to write:

Stanley Muirhead, former University of Michigan tackle, saw three seasons' work on the Yost elevens, taking part in every conference game played during that stretch and was out of the lineup for only two minutes all told. Feats like these are rare. College football is too tough a game for a player to escape the injury bugaboo entirely.

In 1922, Muirhead was selected as a second-team All-American by sports writer Lawrence Perry. After the 1923 season, Muirhead was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player and a second-team All-American by ''Athletic World'' magazine, based on votes cast by 500 coaches, Lawrence Perry, and

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...

sports editor Norman E. Brown. After graduating from Michigan in 1924, Muirhead played professional football for the

and

in the fall of 1924. He was also selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1924 by ''Collyers Eye'' magazine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, Stanley 1902 births 1942 deaths American football tackles Cleveland Bulldogs players Dayton Triangles players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Calumet, Michigan Northern High School (Detroit, Michigan) alumni Players of American football from Detroit

Biography

See also

References

External links