Henry Hill (American football)
| Born: | c. 1949 Detroit, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| College | Michigan |
| High school | M.L. King HS (Detroit) |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1968–1970 | Michigan |
| Awards | Most Valuable Player, 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team First-team All-American, 1970 |
Henry Hill (born c. 1949) is a former American football player. He played at the defensive guard position as a walk-on for the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1970. He was chosen as the co-captain and Most Valuable Player on the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team and a first-team All-American that same year.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Hill is the youngest child in a family of five boys and two girls. He attended Detroit's Martin Luther King High School where he played football at the tight end position.
Because of his size, Hill was not heavily recruited by major college teams. Interviewed in 1970, Hill recalled, "I was a tight end in high school and I didn't get many scholarship offers because my size was marginal. You don't see too many 5-10 tight ends around." Hill enrolled at the University of Michigan on a Michigan Opportunity Grant, a scholarship offered to under-privileged students with strong academic backgrounds. Interviewed by a reporter from the UPI in 1969, Hill said, "It's an academic scholarship. One of those kind they give to ghetto kids. My family was too poor to send me to school."
Hill tried out for the Michigan football team at the invitation of George Mans, Michigan's offensive ends coach. He recalled that, during his try-out, they threw a ball to him, and the ball bounced off his head, resulting in his being converted into a lineman. He played briefly for Michigan's freshman football team in 1967 but quit midway through the season to concentrate on his studies.
In the spring of 1968, Hill tried out for Michigan's varsity football team. He made the cut and was listed as a fourth-string defensive lineman at the conclusion of spring practice. Damer recalled, "I just stuck it out, figuring I'd get to play some."
By the time the 1968 football season began, Hill had been promoted to second-string status. The coaching staff was impressed by Hill's quickness, and he played in all 10 games for the 1968 team, including 7 games as the starting middle guard. His rise in 1968 from the fourth-string to starter was so rapid that his picture did not appear in the team's 1968 game program. The Toledo Blade in October 1968 ran a feature story on Hill and noted: "At 5-10, 200 pounds, Henry isn't big enough to play Big 10 football. Try telling that to Henry. ... Hill is a walk-on (non-scholarship) who made it big for the Wolverines. He's small, but he is tough, and he loves to play football." Hill finished the 1968 season as one of Michigan's statistical leaders on defense with 72 tackles, including 50 solo tackles and 16 tackles for loss.
...
Wikipedia