Early Life
Harmon was born in the Harmon's family home at 118 South Weston Street in Rensselaer, Indiana, the youngest child of Louis A. and Rose Marie (née Quinn) Harmon, who had relocated from Livingston County, Illinois around 1900. In 1924, the family moved to Gary, Indiana. He attended Horace Mann High School in Gary, Indiana, graduating in 1937. While at Horace Mann High School, Harmon was already an outstanding athlete. In addition to 14 varsity letters, he was twice named All-State quarterback, Captain of the basketball team, and as a senior, won the 100 yard dash and the 200 yard low hurdles at the State Finals in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Harmon played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940, where he majored in English and Speech, hoping for a future career in broadcasting, and won the Heisman Trophy his senior season. He made his name as a tailback in the single-wing formation, and also excelled as a kicker. Harmon rushed for 2,134 yards during his career at Michigan, completed 100 passes for 1,304 yards and 16 touchdowns, and scored 237 points. During his career he played all 60 minutes 8 times. He also was a member of the varsity basketball team for two years.
In his final football game (against Ohio State), Harmon led the Wolverines to a 40–0 victory, scoring three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, four extra points, intercepting three passes, and punting three times for an average of 50 yards. In an unprecedented display of sportsmanship and appreciation, the Ohio State fans in Columbus gave Harmon a standing ovation at game's end. No other Wolverine player has been so honored, before or since.
He led the nation in scoring in both 1939 and 1940 (a feat that remains unmatched) and was elected to the College Football All-America Team both years. His career points per game average of 9.9 stood as an NCAA record for ten seasons. In 1940, he won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award both given to the outstanding college football player of the year.
While on campus, he was an active member of the Michigan Alpha Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Years later, the national fraternity leadership established the Harmon-Rice Award in his honor (the Rice name in the award honored Grantland Rice) that is presented each year to the most outstanding Phi Delt collegiate athlete in the nation. In 2007, Harmon was ranked #16 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. Also, Harmon was ranked #5 on the Big Ten Networks' program "Big Ten Icons", honoring the greateast athletes in the Big Ten Conferences history.
Read more about this topic: Tom Harmon
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