Ferdinand Almon "Tod" Rockwell (1900 – March 22, 1952) 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 and coach. He attended 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 ...

, where he played

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 Wolverines football team in 1923 and 1924, helping the 1923 team win a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Rockwell served as the head football coach at Salem College—now known as

Salem University Salem University is a private for-profit university in Salem, West Virginia. It has about 250 students on campus and about 600 online students that are enrolled in undergraduate as well as graduate programs. The university was founded by the Sev ...

—in 1925, the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

from 1926 to 1927, and Louisiana Polytechnic Institute—now known as

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

from 1928 to 1929.

Early years

Rockwell was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, the son of a Methodist minister. He attended high school in

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 ...

.(enter "rockwell" in the box for "last name" to retrieve Rockwell's roster details)

University of Michigan

Rockwell enrolled at the

and played on the freshman football team in 1920. He did not play football in 1921 or 1922. In 1923, Rockwell began the season as a backup quarterback, but he became the starter after

Irwin Uteritz Irwin Charles "Utz" Uteritz (July 4, 1899 – December 14, 1963) was an American athlete and coach. He played American football and baseball for the University of Michigan from 1921 to 1923. At 140 pounds, he was one of the lightest quarterbacks ...

broke his ankle in a game against the

Quantico Marines Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...

. When Rockwell came into the game against the Marines, Michigan lined up for a field goal with Rockwell holding the ball. As the Marines came through to block the kick, Rockwell jumped to his feet and ran the ball 26 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown run was Rockwell's first play for Michigan's varsity team. The following week, Rockwell again gained attention for a punt return against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The ball bounced off Rockwell's chest at the 25-yard line, but he picked up the loose ball. Rockwell was hit and appeared to be knocked down, but the whistle was not blown. Rockwell started a slow walk with the ball through a relaxed Badger team, which believed Rockwell had been ruled down. After reaching midfield, Rockwell began running at full speed and ran for Michigan's only touchdown in a 6 to 3 victory. Years later,

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 ...

wrote about the play and described Rockwell's "perfect acrobatic somersault" as he appeared to be down but maintained his balance and ran for the winning touchdown. The following week, Michigan faced

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 ...

for the Western Conference championship, and Rockwell caught a pass from Michigan's fullback on his fingertips, juggled the ball, and ran 31 yards for a touchdown that led Michigan to a tie with Illinois for the conference championship. Rockwell's performance in the closing games of the 1923 season led sports writer

Billy Evans William George Evans (February 10, 1884 – January 23, 1956), nicknamed "The Boy Umpire", was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in majo ...

to write: "Rockwell is one of the best open field runners in the Western Conference. He, more than any other man, saved the Big Ten title for Michigan." After the 1923 season, another sport writer said of Rockwell: "Through the years Michigan has turned out a bunch of brilliant quarterbacks, 'Boss' Weeks, 'Shorty' McMillan, Tommy Hughitt and Uteritz but Rockwell gives promise of equaling the remarkable performance of all these former celebrities." The 1923 team finished the season with a perfect 8–0 record and has been recognized by Billingsley as the national champion of 1923. In 1924, Rockwell started seven games at quarterback and one at halfback in leading the Wolverines to a 6–2 record, including wins over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

(7–0),

(21–0),

(13–0), Northwestern (27–0) and

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 ...

(16–6). However, the Wolverines could not stop the

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 ...

team led by

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

, giving up 39 points to Michigan's 14. Rockwell was the second 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 ...

in 1924 with 77 points on 10 touchdowns, 14 extra points and one field goal. Rockwell's scoring total was one point behind conference scoring leader

. Rockwell received his degree from the University of Michigan as part of the first class to graduate from Michigan's new school of physical education and coaching.

Coaching career

After graduating from Michigan, Rockwell coached for four years. His first position was in 1925 as athletic director and football coach at

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...

Salem, West Virginia Salem is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,485 at the 2020 census. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia Route 23; the North Bend Rail Trail passes through the city.DeLorme ( ...

. In April 1926, he was hired as the new head football coach for the

. He held that position at North Dakota during the 1926 and 1927 season, compiling a record of 8–8. His third position was as head football coach at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, where he had a record of 5–11–3 from 1928 to 1929.

Later years

In 1930, Rockwell became a sports writer 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 ...

''. He spent 10 years at the ''Free Press'', writing about Michigan football, high school sports, yachting and Golden Gloves boxing. Rockwell left the ''Free Press'' in 1940 to join the

United States 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 ...

construction forces, known as the

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

s. Rockwell remained in the Navy throughout

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 ...

. After the war, he managed "Sports Final", a sports publication in Detroit. He later accepted a civilian public relations position for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. He also worked for a short time for the Michigan Department of Health. Rockwell died on March 22, 1952.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwell, Tod 1900 births 1952 deaths American football quarterbacks American sportswriters Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players North Dakota Fighting Hawks football coaches Salem Tigers football coaches Seabees United States Navy personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Chicago Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan Coaches of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Chicago