1. Robert Richard Chappuis was an American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942,1946, and 1947.
45 Facts About Bob Chappuis
1. 2.
Bob Chappuis's aircraft was shot down in February 1945 in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy.
3.
Bob Chappuis parachuted from the plane before it crashed, and Italian partisans rescued him by hiding Bob Chappuis and two other crew members for the final three months of the war.
4.
Bob Chappuis was a unanimous All-American selection in 1947 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1948 Rose Bowl.
5.
Bob Chappuis's picture appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1947 in connection with a feature article about Chappuis and the 1947 Wolverines.
6.
Bob Chappuis placed second in the 1947 Heisman Trophy balloting.
7.
Bob Chappuis was one of the early passing specialists in an era where football players were just beginning to either play on offense or defense instead of both.
8.
Bob Chappuis played professional football in the All-America Football Conference as a quarterback for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Hornets in 1948 and 1949.
9.
When both clubs and the AAFC folded, Bob Chappuis retired from football in 1950.
10.
Bob Chappuis was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
11.
Bob Chappuis was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Mary Ellen and Sylvan Francis Bob Chappuis.
12.
Bob Chappuis graduated from DeVilbiss High School where he was a star football player.
13.
Bob Chappuis's crew sunk a cruiser in an Italian harbor, which earned it a citation in September 1944.
14.
Bob Chappuis flew his first mission, which was targeting a railroad bridge in the heavily fortified Brenner Pass on Christmas Day 1944.
15.
On February 13,1945, Bob Chappuis flew his 21st mission when he was assigned to fill in for a sick crew member.
16.
Bob Chappuis was rescued by an Italian partisan, Aldo Comucci, a 21-year-old who was in charge of one of the many underground groups operating in the area.
17.
Bob Chappuis threatened to turn the Americans in, but was persuaded not to when told it would mean the death of his fiancee and her family for aiding the Americans.
18.
When Bob Chappuis returned to the United States, he stayed in touch with the Ugolinis and sent them weekly food packages.
19.
Bob Chappuis stayed in touch with Comucci, the resistance leader who rescued him.
20.
Bob Chappuis returned to Michigan after being discharged from the military and played football in the spring of 1946.
21.
Bob Chappuis returned in time to join the Michigan baseball team, where he played in the outfield, led the team in batting, and helped them win the Big Nine championship with a 26-game winning streak.
22.
When football season arrived in the fall, Bob Chappuis was one of many veterans who returned to college and the gridiron after serving in the war.
23.
Bob Chappuis set the new offensive mark in 1946 with a fractured bone in his wrist that he did not report until after the season had ended, at which time an operation was performed.
24.
Bob Chappuis later said he knew the x-ray would reveal a fracture, and he would be benched before he even began.
25.
Bob Chappuis was later drafted in December by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 1947 NFL draft.
26.
Bob Chappuis finished second to Johnny Lujack in the 1947 Heisman Trophy voting, with Lujack receiving 742 first and second place votes to 555 for Chappuis.
27.
Bob Chappuis was elected president of the Michigan Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity whose membership included a number of his teammates and prominent University of Michigan athletic alumni such as Tom Harmon, Bob Ufer, and Harry Kipke.
28.
Bob Chappuis appeared on the cover of the October 28,1947 issue of Look magazine which featured pictures of him on the football field and at the fraternity house.
29.
Bob Chappuis expressed an interest in first playing professional football for a few years before going into the porcelain business with his father.
30.
When Bob Chappuis fades back to pass, he is a slow-motion study in coolness and concentration.
31.
Bob Chappuis plays as though he had ice water in his veins.
32.
Time noted that Bob Chappuis had great field vision for his downfield receivers and for oncoming defenders.
33.
Time noted that Bob Chappuis was unlike his predecessor, the "hail-fellow" Tom Harmon.
34.
Bob Chappuis held the record for most touchdown passes in a season with 13, a record that was tied by Leach in 1976.
35.
Bob Chappuis held the school record for most career total offensive yards with 3,487, a record broken in 1970 by Don Moorhead.
36.
Bob Chappuis was selected to play for coach Frank Leahy on the College All-Star squad against the Chicago Cardinals, who were the 1947 NFL Champions.
37.
Bob Chappuis was mentioned in several issues of Time magazine, and his wedding was even announced in the magazine.
38.
Bob Chappuis was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and reports in February 1948 indicated that the Steelers had offered him a two-year contract for $20,000 per year.
39.
However, Bob Chappuis passed up the Steelers' offer, opting instead to play for the new All-America Football Conference.
40.
In June 1948, Bob Chappuis signed with Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers of the AAFC after coach Carl Voyles outbid the Steelers for his services at $17,000.
41.
Bob Chappuis had been drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and the Dodgers gave the Browns three draft picks in exchange for the right to sign Bob Chappuis.
42.
Bob Chappuis later formed his own management consulting business in Fort Wayne.
43.
Bob Chappuis is the uncle of former Michigan and Baltimore Colts strong safety Rick Volk.
44.
Bob Chappuis fell in June 2012 and was hospitalized at the University of Michigan Hospital.
45.
Bob Chappuis died a few days later on June 14,2012.