The 1951–52 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate basketball during the 1951–52 season. In their fourth season under head coach Ernie McCoy, the Wolverines team compiled a 7–15 record and finished in a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten Conference. Senior Jim Skala was the team captain, leading scorer and Most Valuable Player. The team was notable as the first racially integrated Michigan basketball team with Don Eaddy and John Codwell becoming the first two African-American players.
Season overview
The 1951–52 team finished the season in a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten Conference with an overall record of 7–15 and 4–10 against conference opponents. Ernie McCoy was in his fourth and final year as the team's head coach.
The 1951–52 team was inexperienced with only one senior, Jim Skala, on the squad. The team narrowly averted a last place finish with a victory over Purdue in the final game of the season. The Wolverines' total of 787 points was the lowest in the Big Ten. The team also recorded the lowest field goal percentage (28.4%) and free throw percentage (59.2%) in the conference.
Jim Skala was both the team captain and the team's leading scorer. He totaled 258 points in 22 games (169 points in conference games) for an average of 11.7 points per game. At the end of the season, Skala was voted by his teammates as the team's Most Valuable Player. Skala later served as the head basketball coach at Eastern Michigan University (1954–1960) before returning to Michigan as an assistant basketball coach under Dave Strack from 1960 to 1966.
The team's second leading scorer was Milt Mead, a six-foot, seven-inch sophomore from Bay City, Michigan. Mead scored 238 points (10.8 points per game) over the course of the 1951–52 season. Mead also won the 1953 NCAA championship in the high jump.
The 1951–52 season was Michigan's second consecutive year at or near the bottom of the Big Ten basketball standings. In June 1952, McCoy resigned as Michigan's head basketball coach to accept a position as the athletic directors at Penn State. In July 1952, athletic director Fritz Crisler announced the hiring of 40-year-old William Perigo, previously the head coach at Western Michigan, as Michigan's new head basketball coach.
Racial integration
The 1951–52 team was notable as the first Michigan men's basketball team to be racially integrated. During the 1950–51 season, the Indiana Hoosiers became the first Big Ten basketball team to integrate with the addition of center Bill Garrett. On January 9, 1951, Garrett became the first African-American to play at Yost Field House where he was "warmly applauded" by the fans. In a letter to The Michigan Daily, members of the Inter-Racial Association protested the lack of integration at Michigan. The letter said in part:"Garrett is the first Negro to break the color line which exists in all Big Ten sports except football and track. ... Year after year Michigan has had top Negro football and track stars. ... Why has the University NEVER had a Negro on the basketball team? Why does this policy persist throughout the Big Ten? The answers are obvious. There is a deliberate and conscious policy of discrimination against Negro athletes. Or perhaps you will tell us where we err, Mr. Crisler?"
Michigan coach Ernie McCoy responded by denying the accusation of discrimination. McCoy noted that, in the prior 10 years, only one African-American, football star Len Ford, had tried out for the basketball team. McCoy opined that Ford could have been a good basketball player, but noted that his obligations to the football team kept him from reporting on time and added that Ford had developed bad habits playing unorganized ball which he did not have time to erase in practice.
On December 1, 1951, less than a year after the published criticism from Inter-Racial Association, Don Eaddy and John Codwell became the first African-American basketball players at Michigan. In the opening game of the 1951–52 season, Eaddy "hit four long shots" for eight points against Central Michigan University, the first points scored by an African-American basketball player at Michigan. Codwell also played in the opening game of the season and scored one point on a free throw.
Eaddy appeared in all 22 games for the Wolverines during the 1951–52 season and was the team's third leading scorer with 188 points. He went on to score over 1,000 points in four years for the Wolverines. He later played professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs.
Codwell was reportedly able to slam dunk the basketball with ease, and although he saw limited action in the 1951–52 season, he became one of the team's leading scorers with an average of 10.5 points per game during the 1952–53 season. Although he was able to break the race barrier on the basketball court, Codwell was barred from speaking at the Detroit alumni group's annual meeting at the University Club after the group found out he was African-American. One member sought to justify the decision: "It's not a question of being barred. It's just that the Club has never had any Negroes there before."
Season in detail
Schedule DateOpponent Score Result LocationDecember 1, 1951Central Michigan43–60LossCent. Mich. Field HouseMt. Pleasant, MI December 17, 1951Butler53–63LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MIDecember 20, 1951Pennsylvania63–68LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MIDecember 24, 1951Colorado58–55WinYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI December 27, 1951Penn State60–62 LossMemorial Field HousePittsburgh, PADecember 28, 1951Virginia66–52WinMemorial Field HousePittsburgh, PAJanuary 1, 1952Princeton Tigers62–44WinYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MIJanuary 5, 1952Indiana Hoosiers (#5)46–58LossOld IU Field HouseBloomington, INJanuary 7, 1952Iowa (#12)46–54LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI January 12, 1952Illinois (#2)51–67LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI January 14, 1952Minnesota60–70LossWilliams ArenaMinneapolis, MNJanuary 19, 1952Michigan State50–36WinYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MIJanuary 21, 1952Northwestern57–59LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI February 2, 1952Marquette57–67LossMilwaukee, WIFebruary 9, 1952Northwestern71–69WinPatten GymnasiumEvanston, ILFebruary 11, 1952Iowa (#9)59–82LossIowa Field HouseIowa City, IAFebruary 16, 1952Minnesota44–52LossYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI February 18, 1952Wisconsin56–55WinYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MIFebruary 23, 1952Ohio State67–80LossFair Grounds ColiseumColumbus, OHFebruary 25, 1952Wisconsin53–69LossWisconsin Field HouseMadison, WIMarch 1, 1952Michigan State59–80LossJenison FieldhouseEast Lansing, MIMarch 3, 1952Purdue68–60WinYost Field HouseAnn Arbor, MI
Game summaries
Game 1: at Central Michigan. Michigan opened the 1951–52 season on December 1, 1951, with a 60–43 loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas. The game was played before a crowd of 3,500 and marked the dedication of Central Michigan's newly completed field house at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Don Eaddy "sunk four long set shots" for eight points, marking the first points scored by an African-American basketball player at Michigan. Another African-American player, John Codwell, also appeared in the game and scored one point on a free throw. Team captain Jim Skala and starting center Dick "Stick" Williams both fouled out for Michigan, and head coach Ernie McCoy used a total of 14 players in the game. Milt Mead, playing as a forward, was the high scorer for Michigan with 16 points, and Eaddy's eight points was the second-highest total for the Wolverines. After the loss, The Michigan Daily wrote that the Wolverines had 16 days to recover from the "humiliating" defeat.
Game 2: Butler. On December 17, 1951, the Wolverines lost their first home game of the season, falling to the Butler Bulldogs by a 63–53 score at Yost Field House. Butler jumped out to a 15–4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wolverines suffered from poor shooting, converting 20 of 73 field goal attempts (27%) and 13 of 26 free throws. Head coach Ernie McCoy experimented with multiple combinations, using 11 players in the game. Butler's Orvis Burdsall scored 29 points, breaking Mack Supronowicz's Yost Field House scoring record of 28 points. Senior captain Jim Skala scored 14 points for Michigan. Freshman forward Ralph Kaufman and center Dick "Stick" Williams also scored 12 points each.
Game 3: Penn. On December 20, 1951, the Wolverines lost by a 68–63 score to the Penn Quakers at Yost Field House. The attendance at the game was estimated at 500. Michigan led 63–62 with two minutes left in the game, but the Quakers scored six straight points to take the lead and win the game. Michigan's high scorer in the game was center Dick "Stick" Williams with 19 points, followed by forward Jim Skala with 15 points and guard Don Eaddy with 12 points.
Game 4: Colorado. The Wolverines won their first game of the season by a 58–55 score in a Christmas Eve match against the University of Colorado at Yost Field House. Starting center Dick Williams twisted an ankle and did not score. Sophomore Milt Mead, playing at the forward position, led Michigan with 17 points. Jim Skala scored 14 and Don Eaddy added 11 points.
Game 5: Steel Bowl – Penn State. On December 27, 1951, Michigan lost to Penn State by a 62–60 score in the opening game of the first Steel Bowl basketball tournament. The tournament was hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at its new Memorial Field House. Michigan led 18–6 at the end of the first quarter and 32–28 at halftime. The third quarter ended with the game deadlocked at 48–48. Michigan was outscored in the fourth quarter 14–12 as the Wolverines missed eight free throws in the final quarter. Milt Mead was the high scorer for Michigan with 18 points on five field goals and eight of ten free throws. Dick Williams and Doug Lawrence each scored 10 points for Michigan. Don Eaddy hit one field goal and four of seven free throws for six points. John Codwell hit two field goals, but missed three free throws, for four points.
Game 6: Steel Bowl – Virginia. On December 28, 1951, Michigan defeated Virginia by a 66–52 score in the consolation game of the Steel Bowl basketball tournament. The game was played at the Memorial Field House in Pittsburgh. Penn State defeated Pitt in the main game to win the Steel Bowl championship.
Game 7: Princeton. On New Year's Day, January 1, 1952, the Wolverines defeated the Princeton Tigers by a 62–44 score at Yost Field House. The game had an estimated attendance of 400. The Princeton team was coached by Franklin Cappon, who had been a basketball player and coach at Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s. The game was the team's most convincing victory of the season, as Michigan led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter. Center Dick Williams led the Wolverines with 18 points. Jim Skala had 16 points, and Don Eaddy scored nine.
Game 8: at Indiana. On January 5, 1952, the Wolverines lost by a 58–46 score to an Indiana Hoosiers team that had won seven consecutive games and was ranked No. 5 in the country. The game was played at the Old IU Field House in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers took an early lead, but the Wolverines tied the score at 33–33 in the third quarter against Indiana's second string players. Jim Skala was Michigan's leading scorer with 20 points on nine field goals and two free throws. Dick Williams had 16 points on six field goals and four free throws. No other Michigan player scored more than four points in the game.