1959 Michigan Wolverines football team


The 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–5 record, finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 161 to 122.
The season ended with a 23–14 victory over Ohio State before a crowd of 90,093 at Michigan Stadium. In his final game for Michigan, quarterback Stan Noskin ran for a touchdown and passed for another.
Left guard George Genyk was the team captain, and fullback Tony Rio received the team's most valuable player award. The team's statistical leaders included Stan Noskin with 747 passing yards, right halfback Fred Julian with 289 rushing yards, and right end Robert Johnson with 264 receiving yards.

Schedule

Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1959 season include those listed below.

Rushing

Passing

Receiving

PlayerReceptionsYardsYds/RecpTDLong
Robert Johnson2026413.2020
Bennie McRae410225.5146
Tony Rio89011.3226

Kickoff returns

PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Bennie McRae714821.1030
Fred Julian59018.0021
Darrell Harper46215.5022

Punt returns

PlayerReturnsYardsYds/ReturnTDLong
Darrell Harper310133.7183
Reid Bushong46215.5021
Jim Raeder33812.7025

Personnel

Letter winners

The following 44 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1959 team. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.
Team honors and awards for the 1959 season went to the following individuals.