Benny Friedman

Benny Friedman (March 18, 1905 – November 24, 1982) was an American football player and coach, and athletics administrator.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Friedman played college football as a halfback and quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines from 1924 to 1926. Friedman played in the backfield on both offense and defense, handled kicking and return duties, and was known for his passing game. He was a consensus first-team All-American in both 1925 and 1926, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference in 1926.

Friedman also played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Bulldogs (1927), Detroit Wolverines (1928), New York Giants (1929–1931), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1932–1934). He was the leading passer of his era in the NFL and is credited with revolutionizing the game with his passing prowess. On October 15, 1933, he posted the first perfect passer rating in an NFL game. He led the league in passing for four consecutive years from 1927 to 1930, and was selected as the first-team All-NFL quarterback in each of those years. He also served as the head coach of the Giants for the last two games of the 1930 season, both were victories. He was the head coach of the Dodgers during the 1932 season.

Friedman later served as the head football coach at City College of New York from 1934 to 1941, and at Brandeis University from 1950 to 1959. He was also the first athletic director at Brandeis, holding the position from 1949 to 1963. During World War II, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy, serving as the deck officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La in the Pacific theater. He was part of the inaugural class of inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Benny Friedman was born March 18, 1905, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, Louis Friedman, was a Jewish tailor and furrier who immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire in 1890. His mother, Mayme (or Mamy) Atlevonik Friedman, was also a Russian Jew, who came to the United States in approximately 1894. His parents had five children: Rebecca (born c. 1898 in New Jersey); Harry (born c. 1900 in New York); Florence (born c. 1904 in New York); Benjamin; and Sydney (born c. 1908 in Ohio).

Friedman began his high school education at East Technical High School in Cleveland. Sam Willaman, the school's football coach, told Friedman, who was then five feet, six inches, and less than 150 pounds, that, due to his small size, he would never make it as a football player. After being rejected by Willaman, Friedman transferred to Glenville High School on the east side of Cleveland. He played football, baseball and basketball and led Glenville's football team to the city championship in 1922.

Friedman enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1923. He played on the all-freshman football team in the fall of 1923.

As a sophomore for the 1924 Michigan Wolverines football team, Friedman began the season as a backup. However, after an embarrassing 39–14 loss to Red Grange's Illinois Fighting Illini, head coach George Little made several changes to Michigan's lineup, including inserting Friedman as a starter at right halfback. Friedman remained at the right halfback position for the final five games of the season, and the Wolverines compiled a 4–1 record in those games. According to one account, "Friedman immediately changed Michigan from an ordinary football team into a great one."