Sportswriter Stanley Woodward, in his 1952 “Football Magazine,” described John Michels as being “Inordinately quick, combative and hard-running,. . . an effective blocker on the line and one of the Tennessee players most likely to be found blocking ahead of the runner twenty-five yards down the field. He is a remarkably clean blocker, with body control which makes it possible for him to fake a defender into position to be obliterated.” Michels, a Philadelphia native, was a 5’10”, 195-pound offensive guard on the 1950-1952 Tennessee Volunteer teams. He provided the blocking up front that allowed Vol tailback Hank Lauricella, a fellow All-American and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee, to rush for 881 yards in 1951, a school record that stood for twenty-one years. During Michels’ years at Tennessee, the Vols amassed a 29-4 record under Coach Robert Neyland. They played in the Cotton Bowl twice, the Sugar Bowl once, and captured the 1951 national championship. Michels provided blocking that allowed the 1951 Vols to average 306.8 rushing yards per game and to score forty touchdowns, both school records. Michels concluded his collegiate years as an All-American in 1952; All SEC in 1951 and 1952; Jacobs Trophy recipient, given to the best blocker in the SEC, in 1952; and College all-star participant in 1953. He then played in 1953 and 1956 for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles and in 1957 for the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Then after coaching one year at Texas A&M, Michels returned to Winnipeg as an assistant coach in 1959 and helped the Blue Bombers capture three CFL Grey Cups. He coached twenty-seven years with the NFL Minnesota Vikings, participating in four Super Bowls (1970, 1974, 1975, and 1977) and eight divisional playoffs. John Michels’ contributions to collegiate and professional football are well known and a source of pride for the state of Tennessee.
