Member Biography

Pete Elliott had a record of leadership and athletic achievement. At Michigan he won 12 letters - four each in football, basketball and golf. The football team in his four years had a 32-5-1 record. He was an all-Big 10 guard in basketball, and Michigan won the conference title in 1948. He was runner-up in the Big 10 golf championship in 1948. And in 1949, he received the school's Big 10 medal, awarded to the person considered No. 1 in athletics and academics. As a freshman in 1945 Elliott played left halfback, carried the ball 89 times with a 3.5-yard average, completed 19 passes for 393 yards, and averaged 26 yards in 3 punt returns. The next three years he played quarterback, a blocking position in the Michigan single-wing attack. He also played defensive halfback and was named to the International News Service All-America team in 1948 at this position. He started as assistant coach and in 1956, at age 30, became a head coach. He served in this capacity at Nebraska, California, Illinois, and Miami (Florida). Then he became executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio. Pete's father, Dr. J. Norman Elliott, played at Illinois Wesleyan. His brother, Bump, played at Purdue and Michigan and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Pete's sons, Bruce and Dave, played at Michigan. Pete, his father, his brother, and his son Dave all became college football coaches.