John Maulbetsch’s Diamond (1914)

From reader and memorabilia collector Mark Bomia:

Over the last couple years I acquired the entire John Maulbetsch estate. Maully was an All-American halfback for Michigan in 1914 and member of the College HOF. Some of these items, like most of his scrapbooks, I’ve donated to Bentley Library.

One of the coolest pieces I still possess is Maully’s 1914 All-American ring, given to him by the “Ann Arbor Boys” in December 1914 when he was selected by Walter Camp. It is a gold ring with a .7 carat diamond with a block M on one side and “AA” on the other. The band has a congratulating inscription.

Let me know if this is something your readers may enjoy. I can send pics, if interested.

Naturally, I wanted to see the pics – pretty sweet:

Bomia later shared, “The ring is 14k gold with a .7 carat VSI, D color diamond. The inscription on the inner band states ‘To Maully Maulbetsch from the Ann Arbor Boys Dec 1914.’  I’ve also included a signed letter from Yost congratulating Maully on his AA selection..”

Maulbetsch was one of the first national celebrities for Michigan football, and he was featured in a 2017 season episode of ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’:

He grew up in Ann Arbor and actually started career at Adrian college. In 1911 Fielding Yost got a look at him when his Adrian team smoked the Wolverine freshman squad. The Grand Old Man saw shades him of the great Willie Heston – Yost’s star back from the Point-A-Minute days – and he convinced Maulbetsch to enroll at Michigan.

He was only 5 7″ and just over 150 pounds – small even for those days – but he ran even smaller – bending his torso down to form a missile of sorts. He would project himself into the line, usually coming out the other side for a big chunk of yards.

Legend had it he could run full speed underneath a household table.

When the Wolverines traveled to face Harvard in 1914, the east coast sports writers got a look at him and a legend was born. Reports of the game varied but like with any fish story — the more it spread the more yards he gained – anywhere from 130 to 350 yards on the day. Despite Michigan’s 7-0 loss, “Mauly” became a national star – earning a string a nicknames – including “The Featherweight Fullback”, the “Michigan Cannon Ball”, the “German Bullet” and ‘The Human Shrapnel”.

Soon people all over the country wanted to know more about the “western” star. Legend had it that each night he ate dinner his mom’s house in Ann Arbor – and his meal of choice included two home-baked pies washed down with coffee.

During the summer of 1915 he worked on a ship that crossed Lake Michigan. According to legend, one day aboard the ship he was challenged to wrestle a coal worker who claimed to be the strongest man in the world. Seconds into the match, Maulbetsch simply ducked when the coal man came toward him, picked up and slammed him to the deck, rendering him as feeble as a baby.

After U-M Mauly went onto to coach college football and baseball, most notably leading Phillips Universary to an undefeated season on the gridiron in 1919.

Later he ran drug store in West Virginia, built B-24 Liberator’s at the Willow Run plant, and owned car dealership in Adrian up until his passing in 1950.

Maulbetsch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and is permanently enshrined in Meeechigan football’s VAL HALLA.

Also from Bomia’s collection here’s the letter from Yost, congratulating him on the All-American selection and urging him to expand his skill set “I am anxious to have you punt and drop kick and practice catching punts when you can” for the upcoming season.  It was sent from the law offices of his brother-in-law Dan McGugin:

Cheers to Bomia for sending this along!  This is an awesome slice of U-M lore.

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