Al Wistert obit

UM football legend Albert Wistert dies at 95

 

He was not on the list.

Albert Wistert, one of the greatest players in University of Michigan football history, has died at age 95, the university announced Saturday night.

Wistert, a tackle for the Wolverines in the 1940s, was one of the famed football-playing Wistert brothers at Michigan. The others were Alvin and Francis. All three were tackles and wore No. 11, they were all named All-Americans, and all are in the College Football Hall of Fame.

The Wistert brothers were honored by the Michigan football program in 2012 and the No. 11 was designated a “Michigan Football Legends” jersey. The No. 11 was officially retired in 2015 and it will no longer be worn on the field.

Albert Wistert sent Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh a video about the Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry ahead of the game this past season. Harbaugh showed it to his players for inspiration.

"Got an incredible video this week from one of the Wistert brothers, 95 years old, how about that?” Harbaugh said in October. “People say you're going to think about this, you're going to remember it for a long time, and he took the time to send the team a video that I can't wait to show the fellas. That speaks volumes right there to me. Maybe that's what it's all about -- you're going to remember it for a long time. It's the players' time and I'm excited to watch them compete for both sides, all players in the game that step out there. It's their time to have at it."

Albert Wistert, who was born in Chicago in 1920, went on to an NFL career that lasted from 1943-51. He was an eight-time All-Pro for the Eagles, won two NFL championships (1948-49) and was inducted into the Eagles’ Hall of Fame in 2009. His first year in the NFL he played for the Phil-Pitt Steagles. The Steagles were the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The teams were forced to merge because both had lost many players to military service during World War II. The league's official record book refers to the team as "Phil-Pitt Combine", but the unofficial "Steagles", despite never being registered by the NFL, has become the enduring moniker

Michigan’s record during Albert Wistert’s three years (1940-42) on the team was 20-5-1. He was inducted into the UM Athletic Hall of Honor in 1981.

Francis Wistert died in 1985 and Alvin Wistert passed away in 2005.

Some of his former football associates include: Alexis Thompson, Art Rooney, Bert Bell, Greasy Neale, Walt Kiesling, Bucko Kilroy, Allie Sherman, Vic Sears, Ernie Steele, Ray Graves, Joe Muha, Steve Van Buren, Jack Banta, Bruno Banducci, Pete Pihos, Alex Wojciechowicz, Gil Steinke, Tommy Thompson, Neill Armstrong, Cliff Patton, Happy Hundred, Chuck Bednarik, Frank Tripucka, Frank Ziegler, Frank Reagan, Vic Sears, Cliff Patton, Pat Mchugh, John Green, Bud Grant, Walt Barnes, Bo McMillin, Wayne Millner, Russ Craft, Mike Jarmoluk, Victor Junior Lindskog, Bobby Walston, Jim Timble, Johnny Bright, Lum Snyder and Wayne Robinson.