34 Facts About Merv Pregulman

Mervin Pregulman was an American football player, businessman, and philanthropist.

Merv Pregulman played college football as a tackle and center for the Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1943.

Merv Pregulman was inducted into the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, narrowly surviving a kamikaze attack on his ship in 1945.

Merv Pregulman played four years professionally with the Packers, Detroit Lions, and New York Bulldogs.

Merv Pregulman was active in philanthropy and community service, including service as president of the Siskin Foundation and a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation's board of trustees.

Merv Pregulman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

Merv Pregulman was born on October 22,1922, and raised in Lansing, Michigan.

Merv Pregulman went to Lansing Central High School, which was close to the campus of Michigan State University.

In 1941, Merv Pregulman was a 19-year-old sophomore starting at right guard.

That year, Merv Pregulman was named a Grantland Rice All-American honorable mention and was given the team's Meyer Morton Award as the most improved player during spring drills.

In 1969, Merv Pregulman was selected for the Michigan Wolverines' all-time football team.

Merv Pregulman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1988.

Merv Pregulman was part of the second group inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

In 2005, Merv Pregulman was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 61st on the all-time team.

In 1944, Merv Pregulman entered the United States Navy where he served as a gunnery officer on the USS Taluga in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

Merv Pregulman recalled: "If he had been five minutes later, I would have been in the wheelhouse and I certainly wouldn't be here".

Merv Pregulman recalled that the plane sheared off the top of the wheelhouse, and blew a hole in the deck, but no American soldiers were killed.

Merv Pregulman was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1944 NFL Draft, but was called into military service in the Navy.

In June 1947, Merv Pregulman was traded by the Packers to the Detroit Lions in exchange for his former teammate at Michigan, Paul White.

Merv Pregulman played in all 24 games for the Lions during the 1947 and 1948 seasons.

Merv Pregulman had three interceptions and recovered three fumbles for the Lions.

Merv Pregulman handled the Lions' kicking duties in 1948, kicking two field goals in six attempts, and completing 26 extra points in 27 attempts.

Merv Pregulman had a punt return for nine yards in 1947.

In June 1950, Merv Pregulman announced that he was retiring from football.

Merv Pregulman said he had received a contract to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, but had decided to remain in Lansing, Michigan, where he was in the furniture business.

In 1957, Merv Pregulman moved with his wife Helen to her hometown, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Merv Pregulman was started in 1900 by Siskin, a Lithuanian immigrant, as a small scrap metal business.

In 1978, when Mose Siskin died, Merv Pregulman was named president and chief executive officer.

When Merv Pregulman retired, his son John Merv Pregulman took over as the company's president.

Under an agreement with Reliance Steel, the company remained under local management with Merv Pregulman continuing to serve as vice-chairman, and his son John Pregulman continuing as president.

Merv Pregulman was president of the Jewish Community Federation of Chattanooga, a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation's board of trustees, and a leader at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and The McCallie School, a boy's preparatory school near his home in the Missionary Ridge section of Chattanooga.

The Mervin and Helen S Pregulman Endowed Scholarship Fund is awarded based on students' leadership ability, financial need, and commitment to work in the Jewish community after graduation.

In 2004, Pregulman was the 13th person to receive the Gerald R Ford Award.

Merv Pregulman was a vocal opponent of efforts in 2005 to impose historic district zoning restrictions on the Missionary Ridge area of Chattanooga, where Merv Pregulman lives.