Years after the retirement of Bennie Oosterbaan's No. 47, it was
announced that No. 11 would disappear forever from the Michigan
rosters, giving special recognition to three of the Wolverines
greatest tackles, Francis, Albert and Alvin Wistert. (See the
picture of the Wistert Brothers and Bennie Oosterbaan below.) All
three were voted first team-All-America, an accomplishment that has
never been duplicated by three brothers on any level of
intercollegiate competition. The Wisterts all have been enshrined
in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and inducted into
the Michigan Hall of Honor.
Francis, a three-year letterwinner (1931, '32, '33) was the
first of the three brothers to earn All-America honors at Michigan.
"Whitey"was a part of three consecutive Big Ten football
Championships, including back-to-back National Championships while
at U-M. In addition to football, he also earned three letters in
baseball and was selected as the Big Ten most valuable player in
baseball in 1934. He played professional baseball for Cincinnati
and assisted on the Wolverine grid staff in 1936 before entering
the practice of law.
Albert earned three letters from 1940-42, while earning the
nickname "Ox." He was selected the Most Valuable Player for
Michigan in 1942 and played in the 1943 East-West game. He was
drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 1943
NFL Draft and played nine years with the Eagles. He served as the
team captain for the Eagles from 1946-50. He earned All-Pro honors
in six of his nine seasons and his No. 70 was retired by the Eagles
in 1952.
Alvin, the third of the Wistert brothers to play at Michigan,
was one of the oldest men to play college football at age 32 after
serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. His career was even
more remarkable since he did not play high school athletics but
worked as a salesman until World War II. He was determined;
however, to follow his brothers' footsteps. After a year at Boston
University, he entered Michigan to win a defensive berth in 1947,
and then became an All-America tackle on the Wolverines' national
championship teams in 1948 and 1949.
This cache is hidden at Grever's Nature Center near Marshall,
MI. The name of the cache, and the reason behind it can be found
very near GZ. I did not start this cache with any swag, but there
is a TB that is taking up most of the room in the container. When
it is gone, the cache will hold small items.
There is another traditional cache located in this nature center
as well. I remember well finding it. It rained a heavy rain most of
the way to and all the way back from it. I was soaked head to
toe.