Bob Ufer, Track Star (1944)

Iconic Michigan football radio voice Bob Ufer left a legacy with his radio calls, but before he took the mic he was a tracker star for the Maize and Blue.  He enrolled as a freshman in 1939 and graduated in 1943.  Along the way, he set eight Michigan records and the world indoor record in the 440 which stood for a half-decade. 

Up on eBay now is a shot of “the bespectacled strider” breaking the tape at the March 1944 Big Ten Championships in Chicago, actually a year after he was graduated.  (Eligibility rules were relaxed a bit due to World War II):

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Hardly a week goes by without Ufer’s voice showing up on the airwaves of WTKA, and his legacy is felt elsewhere through the Ufer Foundation and the Bob Ufer Quarterback club.  Coincidentally Monday is the club’s annual award ceremony and the great ‘64 team captain Jim Conley will be receiving the Bennie Oosterbaan Award for service, dedication, and leadership.

One Comment

  • DDMich

    Thanks for the heads up on the Great Bob Ufer pic…Bob was the greatest, most biased college football annoucer of all time, who’s voice can be heard on gamedays in every parking lot surrounding Michgan Stadium….I bought this nice wire pic earlier today, will nicely frame it with one of my Ufer autographs to display….Bob was a great guy who left us all way too soon. His voice will live on Forever….especially his call of the Anthony Carter TD catch vs. Lee Corso’s Indiana Hoosiers.