No. 5 Michigan Wolverines | |
Date of birth | c. 1958 |
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Career information | |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
College | Michigan |
High school | Shrine Catholic High School, Royal Oak, Michigan |
Career history | |
As player | |
1977–1980 | Michigan |
Career highlights and awards | |
First-team Academic All-Big Ten Quarterback, 1980
Second-team Academic All-American Quarterback, 1980 |
John "Johnny" Wangler (born c. 1958) is a former American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1980. During the 1979 and 1980 seasons, Wangler and Anthony Carter formed one of the most successful passing combinations in Michigan Wolverines football history. Wangler's game-ending touchdown pass to Carter in the 1979 Indiana game led Michigan's famed radio announcer, Bob Ufer, to exclaim, "Johnny Wangler to Anthony Carter will be heard until another 100 years of Michigan football is played!" After suffering what appeared to be a career-ending knee injury in the 1979 Gator Bowl, Wangler came back and led the 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team to a Big Ten Conference championship and its first victory in the Rose Bowl Game since the 1964 season. Upon completing his career at Michigan, Wangler ranked second all-time among Michigan quarterbacks in most career passing statistics, including passing yardage, touchdown passes, yards per completion and completion percentage.
Wangler attended Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he starred in both football and basketball. Wangler later recalled, "There is a great tradition and pride in putting on the Shrine basketball jersey. You represent the generations of players, teams and coaches every time you step on that court." In 2009, Wangler was one of the initial inductees into the Shrine High School Hall of Fame.
Wangler enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1976. As a true freshman, he was considered a contender to be the backup to Michigan's starting quarterback, Rick Leach. However, he appeared only briefly in three games in 1976, completing one of two passes for eight yards.