American football player (1952?2006)
Slade (No. 17) with
Jim Brandstatter
(No. 76) and Fritz Seyferth (No. 32), 1971
Thomas A. Slade
(April 6, 1952 ? November 12, 2006) was an
American football
quarterback who played for the
University of Michigan
Wolverines football
team from 1971 to 1973.
Saginaw High School
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Slade was born in
Manotick, Michigan
, but was raised in
Saginaw, Michigan
after being adopted.
[1]
He played football, basketball and tennis for
Saginaw High School
and earned All-State honors in football as the quarterback at Saginaw High.
[1]
Slade was married to former University of Michigan cheerleader, Pam St. John. He had two children, Andrew and Spencer from a previous marriage.
[2]
Quarterback at University of Michigan
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Slade in 1971
After graduating from Saginaw High in 1970, Slade attended the
University of Michigan
where he played quarterback under coach
Bo Schembechler
. As a sophomore in 1971, Slade helped lead the
1971 team
to an undefeated 11?0 record in the regular season. The Wolverines narrowly missed a national championship that year, losing the
1972 Rose Bowl
game, 13?12, on a late field goal by Stanford. More than for his passing, Slade was known for being a tough run-blocker who cleared the way for Billy Taylor and the other Wolverine running backs after he handed the ball off.
Dennis Franklin
took over as quarterback in 1972, and Slade spent his junior and senior years as a backup for Franklin.
Professional career
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After graduating from U-M, Slade returned to attend the U-M School of Dentistry and received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1978. He taught at the U-M School of Dentistry for three years before starting his own practice in 1981 in nearby
Ypsilanti Township, Michigan
.
[3]
Bo Schembechler was one of his dental clients. Slade was also the dentist for the
Eastern Michigan University
athletic teams.
[3]
Slade also worked as a color analyst for Michigan football broadcasts on
WUOM-FM
.
In his spare time, Slade was a
Michigan High School Athletic Association
basketball official and officiated numerous state finals. He also served as a
Big Ten
and
Mid-American Conference
women's basketball official. He was active in the
Ypsilanti
Area Chamber of Commerce and served a three-year term as the president of the EMU Baseball "Dugout Club."
[3]
In 2004, he was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.
[1]
Battle with leukemia
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In 2005, Slade was diagnosed with
leukemia
. In June 2006, former U-M teammates, including
Calvin O'Neal
, organized the Tom Slade Marrow Donor Registration Drive to help find marrow donors for Slade and others with leukemia.
[4]
At the time, Slade noted that he was unable to do the things he loved, like playing golf, running, and enjoying the outdoors. He offered this advice: "You do everything, live every day the fullest. Today could be the last day of your life." Terry Camp, "Mid-Michigan football legend needs help," WJRT-TV.
[4]
Slade remained close to his former coach,
Bo Schembechler
. The coach sent weekly notes and frequently called and visited after Slade was diagnosed with leukemia. "During a particularly difficult day in the hospital, Slade woke up to see his former coach sitting in a chair against the wall. They looked at each other but said nothing, and Slade fell back to sleep. When he awoke again five hours later, Bo was sitting in the same chair, looking right at him."
[5]
Slade died on November 12, 2006, in Ann Arbor at age 54.
Though Schembechler was ailing himself, he attended Slade's funeral. That night, Bo delivered his traditional Thursday night pep talk before the Ohio State game. According to the
Detroit News
: "Bo's speech was not about Ohio State, the Big Ten title or a national championship. The whole speech was about Tom Slade and how, if the players worked hard, listened to their coaches and stuck together as teammates, one day they might be as good a Michigan man as Slade. That was the goal at Michigan, not national championships." The next morning, Schembechler collapsed and died of heart failure before taping his weekly television show.
[5]
References
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External links
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