|
Ralph Isaac “Hike” Heikkinen (May 14, 1917 – January 12, 1990) was an All-American guard for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1936-1938. He was a consensus All-American in 1938, the first player from the Gogebic Range area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to win the honor. His exploits were widely reported in the Upper Peninsula press, where he became a local hero. He played professional football for the NFL Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939. From 1940-1944, he was the line coach for the Virginia Cavaliers football team while attending the University of Virginia School of Law at the same time. After practicing law in New York for a time, he spent a year as a line coach and law professor at Marquette University in 1947. After leaving Marquette, Heikkinen worked as executive secretary and attorney for Studebaker-Packard Corporation. He later joined the legal staff at General Motors (GM), retiring in 1978 after 20 years of service in GM’s legal department. Heikkinen also helped initiate and implement a corporation-wide alcohol treatment and education program at General Motors. ==Youth in the Upper Peninsula== Born in Hancock, Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Heikkinen was the son of Finnish immigrants, and grew up in Ramsay, Michigan, a heavily Finnish American community in the Gogebic Range area. He attended A.D. Johnston High School, in Bessemer, Michigan from 1933-1935.〔 As a junior in 1933, Heikkinen was elected president of the student council. Heikkinen was a superior student who graduated with high honors student, and finished third in his high school class academically. When a new library opened in Bessemer in 1934, Heikkinen was the first person to check out a book, A.B. Demille’s “Three English Comedies.” He was also an officer in the school's ROTC program,〔 and received honors for his participation in the high school’s military, athletics and student affairs programs. Despite weighing only , Heikkinen won a spot on his high school football team; his high school coach Robert Reihsen said he won a spot due to his aggressive play.〔 Local papers reported that Heikkinen’s line play during high school was marked by hard tackling and blocking.〔 During his junior season in 1934, Coach Reihsen recalled Heikkinen played every minute of every game.〔 Coach Reihnsen's team was known as the “Speed Boys,” and gave up only two points in the first four games, outscoring opponents, 65–2.〔 In November 1934, Coach Reihsen took Heikkinen to Minneapolis to attend his first Big Ten football game, the Little Brown Jug match between Michigan and Minnesota. Reihsen recalled that, after the game, Heikkinen said: “Some day I’m going to play in this stadium.”〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ralph Heikkinen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|