1. Anthonios "Tony" Branoff was an American football player.
31 Facts About Tony Branoff
1. 2.
Tony Branoff played at the halfback position for the University of Michigan from 1952 to 1955.
3.
Tony Branoff was chosen as the Most Valuable Player on the 1953 Michigan Wolverines football team.
4.
Tony Branoff was the first sophomore to win the award.
5.
Tony Branoff led the Wolverines in rushing in both 1953 and 1955.
6.
Tony Branoff scored two touchdowns, including a 75-yard punt return against Kalamazoo Central High School as a senior.
7.
Tony Branoff was selected by the Associated Press to its All-Michigan football team in 1951.
8.
Tony Branoff tore cartilage in his left knee against Saginaw Arthur Hill during his senior year in high school, an injury that would affect Branoff throughout his football career.
9.
Tony Branoff was always outstanding in the Flint Northern Thanksgiving games.
10.
Tony Branoff enrolled early at the University of Michigan in January 1952.
11.
Tony Branoff broke into the starting lineup after Frank Howell was injured.
12.
Tony Branoff scored a rushing touchdown in a come-from-behind win over Purdue in mid-November 1951.
13.
Tony Branoff outgained all five Ohio State backs in the game, and scored a touchdown on an interception return against Ohio State.
14.
Tony Branoff was the Wolverines' leading rusher in 1953 with 527 yards and their leading scorer with 39 points.
15.
Tony Branoff added 151 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown, 113 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown, 130 yards on kickoff returns, and 90 yards on punt returns.
16.
Tony Branoff's selection marked the first time that a sophomore was selected for Michigan's Most Valuable Player award.
17.
Tony Branoff played in the first two games of the season, but gained only 28 yards in 10 carries.
18.
Tony Branoff did not play in the Iowa and Northwestern games.
19.
Tony Branoff scored the first touchdown on successive smashes on 9 and 4 yards in the first quarter.
20.
Tony Branoff carried the ball only twice the following week against Indiana.
21.
In early November 1954, Tony Branoff hospitalized due to his injured knee, and Michigan coach Oosterbaan announced that Tony Branoff was lost for the season.
22.
Tony Branoff believes he was the first football player to receive an injection of cortisone.
23.
Tony Branoff scored Michigan's only points with a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and compiled 105 rushing yards on 17 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry.
24.
Tony Branoff was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 23rd round of the 1956 NFL draft and signed with the Cardinals in May 1956.
25.
Tony Branoff was offered $16,000 to play in the Canadian Football League, but he chose not to play professional football, because of worry over the condition of his knees.
26.
Tony Branoff eventually had both knees replaced at age 65.
27.
Tony Branoff remained with the company for 37 years, retiring in 2003.
28.
In June 1956, Branoff was married to Marilyn Jane Frankensteen, daughter of former United Auto Workers leader Richard T Frankensteen.
29.
Tony Branoff was divorced from his wife in 1972 and did not remarry.
30.
Tony Branoff died at his home in Saline, Michigan on December 20,2012, at the age of 78.
31.
Tony Branoff was buried at the Sunset Hills Cemetery in Flint.