1951, winning four games and losing two in the Conference as well as losing to Michigan State, not yet in the Big Ten, by a score of 25-0, the first time the Spartans had defeated the Wolverines since 1937. Losses also came at the hands of Stanford and Cornell outside the Conference, the latter, 20-7, at Ithaca.
In 1952 the Wolverines again finished fourth in the Conference, with a 4-2 record, losing to Illinois and Ohio State and dropping both of its nonleague contests — to Michigan State and to Stanford. Because of a fifth-place tie with Iowa and a 3-3 record, including losses to Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan State, 1953 proved to be one of Michigan's poorest years. The 1954 season, surprisingly, saw the Wolverines back in second place and tied with Wisconsin in the Big Ten; the record was six won, three lost. After defeating the University of Washington, 14-0, the Maize and Blue was set down, 26-7, by Army. A week later, however, Michigan scored a 14-13 victory over a highly regarded Iowa team, coached by former Wolverine star Forest Evashevski, and then defeated Northwestern and Minnesota only to run into a 13-9 upset from Indiana. A 14-7 win over Illinois and a 33-7 upset of Michigan State came before the Wolverines were defeated by Ohio State, 21-7.
The year 1955 began with a great fanfare, built upon the come-back the Wolverines had made with a sophomore-dominated team in 1954, particularly upon the individual prowess of one player, Ron Kramer, left end, whom the critics had belatedly discovered in the latter stages of the 1954 season. In a 42-7 victory over Missouri, Kramer scored 23 points. A 14-7 win over Michigan State followed, and, for the first time, Michigan defeated Army, 26-2. Victories were won over Northwestern, Minnesota, and Iowa, although a series of injuries in which Kramer and Tom Maentz figured handicapped the squad, and the Wolverines were upset by Illinois at Champaign, 25-0. After defeating Indiana, 30-0, the stage was set for the Conference championship game with Ohio State. With the Big Ten title in the balance and the largest crowd ever to witness a game in the Stadium — 97,369, the Maize and Blue went down to a 17-0 defeat at the hands of the Buckeyes. The game ended in disorder. Michigan finished in third place that year, with Ohio winning the title. Michigan State, in second place, was selected as the Conference contestant since the Buckeyes were not eligible, having competed in the Rose Bowl game the year before.
By 1957, in nine seasons under Oosterbaan, Michigan had won fifty-six games, lost twenty-four, and tied twice. In the Western Conference the Wolverines had won forty times, lost fifteen, and tied twice. Percentage-wise in over-all competition, Oosterbaan-coached teams had a .700 mark; in the Conference it was .719. Since 1948 Michigan teams had won or shared the Western Conference title three times, won a national and a Rose Bowl championship, finished second twice, third once, fourth twice, and tied for fifth place another year. Under Oosterbaan's direction, All-Americans have been Dick Rifenburg, end, 1948; Alvin Wistert, tackle, 1948 and 1949; Allen Wahl, tackle, 1949 and 1950; Arthur Walker, tackle, 1954; and Ron Kramer, end, 1955 and 1956.
Track. — The organization of the University Athletic Club in 1874 marked the first formal recognition of track as a University sport. Early track and field competition was limited to athletic tournaments and field days held on the Fair Grounds. Field Day by 1884, however, had become an elaborate program of twenty events. The tournament program differed greatly from a modern track and field program. Listed among the
