Herb Steger
Herb Steger cropped from 1922 Michigan football team photograph
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| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | July 12, 1902 |
| Died | July 20, 1968 (aged 66) Oak Park, Illinois |
| Playing career | |
| 1922–1924 | Michigan |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1925–1931 | Northwestern (assistant) |
Herbert F. Steger (July 12, 1902 – July 20, 1968) was an American football player, coach and official. He played for the University of Michigan from 1922 to 1924. Steger later served as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University from 1925 to 1931 and a Big Ten Conference football official from 1931 to 1953.
A native of Oak Park, Illinois, Steger was the halfback for the Oak Park High School football team coached by Glenn Thistlethwaite, who later became the head football coach at Northwestern. During the time that Steger played for Thistlethwaite, the Oak Park football team went through four consecutive seasons without a loss.
In 1921, Steger enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played halfback from 1922 to 1924, helping the Wolverines to back-to-back undefeated football seasons in 1922 and 1923. He was considered a "triple threat" player who had "about equal ability in kicking, forward passing and carrying the ball."
In Steger's sophomore year of 1922, the Wolverines were 6–0–1 and outscored opponents by a combined tally of 183 to 13. In Steger's first game for Michigan, he ran 60 yards for a touchdown on his first carry. Steger developed appendicitis late in the 1922 season and underwent surgery in Chicago in December 1922.
As a junior in 1923, Steger helped lead the Wolverines to an 8–0 record and outscored opponents 150 to 12.
Michigan's first conference game in 1923 was against Ohio State in Ann Arbor. Fifty-thousand spectators watched Michigan shut out the Buckeyes 23–0. Michigan's first touchdown was scored on a 16-yard pass from Irwin Uteritz to Steger in the third quarter.
Some suggested during the 1923 season that Steger "has even outshone, the great Kipke." An NEA news service profile in late October 1923 praised Steger's diverse talents:
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