Jim Detwiler
Detwiler (No. 48) and Carl Ward (No. 19) in 1964
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| Michigan Wolverines | |
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| Position | Halfback |
| Career history | |
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| Bowl games | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | May 29, 1945 |
| Place of birth | Bluffton, Ohio |
James R. "Jim" Detwiler (born May 29, 1945) is a former American football halfback who was the 20th pick in the first round of the 1967 NFL Draft. Before this he had been an All-Big Ten Conference player for the Michigan Wolverines from 1964 to 1966.
Detwiler was born in 1945 in Bluffton, Ohio. He was an all-city, all-state and All-American running back as a senior at Toledo's DeVilbiss High School in 1962.
One of the most sought after players in Ohio in 1962, Detwiler "refused an invitation to visit Ohio State, prompting Coach Woody Hayes to harangue him on the telephone one night for more than half an hour about being disloyal to the state of Ohio."
In 1964, Detwiler was part of Bump Elliott's Big Ten Conference and 1965 Rose Bowl championship team. The Wolverines narrowly missed a National Championship in 1964, in part due to a critical fumble by Detwiler into the end zone in the team's only defeat, a 21-20 loss to Purdue. As he ran toward what appeared to be a touchdown, a Purdue defender hit Detwiler from behind, sending the ball flying into the end zone where it was recovered by Purdue.
Detwiler redeemed himself by scoring the only touchdown in the 1964 Michigan-Ohio State game (Michigan – 10; Ohio State – 0). Both teams were in the Top 10, and Detwiler scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Bob Timberlake in the final minute of the first half. Ironically, all of Michigan's scoring in the 1964 game came from Detwiler and Timberlake, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Detwiler later recalled: "My freshman year at Michigan, 21 of the top 30 guys on our team were from Ohio. We had a huge contingent, I think, primarily because Woody was a little bit off the deep end in those years."
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