33 Facts About Jim Brieske

James F Brieske was an American football placekicker.

Jim Brieske played college football for the University of Michigan in 1942,1946 and 1947.

Jim Brieske set Michigan, Rose Bowl, Big Ten Conference, and national collegiate placekicking records and was the second leading scorer on Michigan's undefeated 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team.

Jim Brieske's kicking foot was amputated in 1967 due to cancer.

Jim Brieske died the following year at age 45 following surgery to remove growths from his lungs.

Jim Brieske was born in May 1923 in either Saginaw, or Port Huron, Michigan.

Jim Brieske's family moved to Harbor Beach in the Thumb of Michigan in the late 1920s.

Jim Brieske's father, Frank Brieske, was a Michigan native of German descent who, at the time of the 1930 United States Census, was working as an oil agent at Harbor Beach.

Jim Brieske's mother, Sadie Brieske, was a Michigan native of Polish descent.

Jim Brieske was a backfield star for the Harbor Beach High School football team and graduated from the school in 1941.

Jim Brieske played on the all-freshman football team that year.

Jim Brieske played three years of varsity football for the Michigan Wolverines football team under head coach Fritz Crisler.

Jim Brieske tried out for the center position, but that position was filled by All-American Merv Pregulman.

Jim Brieske converted 26 of 31 point after touchdown attempts in 1942.

One newspaper story noted that Jim Brieske had earned the nickname "Old Monotony" because his reliability in converting PATs had turned Michigan's kicking game from excitement to routine.

Teammate Bob Chappuis later recounted a story from the 1942 season when he and Jim Brieske were both sophomores.

The next week, Jim Brieske brought his hometown newspaper into the locker room.

An injury kept Jim Brieske from playing during the 1943 season, and he missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the United States Navy.

Jim Brieske returned to the University of Michigan in time for summer football training in August 1946.

Jim Brieske played for the 1946 Michigan Wolverines football team that finished the season ranked No 6 in the final Associated Press poll.

Jim Brieske completed 29 of 32 PATs in 1946 and kicked a field goal.

Jim Brieske led the Wolverines in scoring, entirely with his foot, last season and in three games, this fall, converted on 23 of 25 attempts.

Jim Brieske converted 52 of 57 PAT attempts and was the team's second leading scorer during the 1947 regular season.

Only two of the five PATs Jim Brieske failed to convert in 1947 were "misses" resulting from his own inaccuracy.

Jim Brieske had converted 31 of 34 PAT attempts in the first five games of the 1947 season and was the leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference at the end of October.

Jim Brieske converted 7 of 7 attempts against both Northwestern and Stanford and 9 of 10 against Pitt.

Jim Brieske has scored his 100 points in NO TIME AT ALL.

Jim Brieske was one of 10 players from the 1947 Michigan team invited to play in the game.

In January 1948, Jim Brieske was selected by the New York Giants as the 97th pick in the 1948 NFL draft.

Jim Brieske played in several pre-season games for the Giants, but opted to return to Ann Arbor in September 1948 to complete his master's degree.

In January 1967, Jim Brieske was sick with cancer and had his right leg amputated from approximately eight inches below the knee.

Jim Brieske suffered a stroke after the operation and remained in a coma until he died the following day.

Jim Brieske's funeral was held at St Aidan's Roman Catholic Church in Livonia, and he was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.