In addition to its long history of academic excellence, the University of Michigan enjoys a remarkable track record of athletic success. During Black History Month in February, the school is running on its MGoBlue Web site a series of articles that chronicle some of its brightest stars in football, basketball, gymnastics, and other sports.
Many of those featured are household names like Desmond Howard, whose stunning talent as a wide receiver and kick returner earned him the coveted Heisman Trophy for a 1991 season in which he caught 19 touchdown passes. His memorable Heisman pose after scoring on a punt return against Ohio State that year is one of the many vivid images captured in the accompanying photo gallery.
Perhaps lesser known than Howard, but a major force in her chosen sport, Marissa Young took to the mound as a hard-throwing pitcher for the Wolverines from 2000-03. By the end of her collegiate softball career, Young had secured All-America honors three times, and once held the U-M strikeout record at 927. She now gives the women's softball team at Concordia University in Ann Arbor the benefit of that skill and experience in her role as head coach. See Young in action for Michigan.
The retrospective also goes back decades to examine the careers of such early U-M stars as William DeHart Hubbard, the first African-American athlete to collect an Olympic gold medal. Hubbard earned that distinction by placing first in the long jump at the 1924 Summer Games in Paris. The site holds four photographs of Hubbard -- a member of the university's Hall of Honor -- jumping and sprinting.
View the complete list of featured athletes, and learn more about Michigan's storied athletic tradition.
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