Merv Pregulman
Mervin Pregulman was an American football player, businessman, and philanthropist. He played college football as a tackle and center for the Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1943. He was inducted into the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, narrowly surviving a kamikaze attack on his ship in 1945.
Pregulman was a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL draft. He played four years professionally with the Packers, Detroit Lions, and New York Bulldogs.
He later became the president of Siskin Steel & Supply Co in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was also active in philanthropy and community service, including service as president of the Siskin Foundation and a member of the University of Chattanooga Foundation's board of trustees. In 2004, he became the 13th recipient of the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford Award. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
Childhood
Merv Pregulman was born on October 22, 1922, and raised in Lansing, Michigan. He was born with Jewish ancestry. His father, George Pregulman, had little formal education, but became a millionaire through his business ventures. Pregulman went to Lansing Central High School, which was close to the campus of Michigan State University. In his senior year of high school, Pregulman was "captain of the all-state football team".College football
Despite growing up and attending high school close to Michigan State, Pregulman chose to attend the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he played for Coach Fritz Crisler from 1941 to 1943. He was a versatile lineman who "moved from guard to tackle to center as needed, and who played each position with skill, confidence and winning effectiveness."1941 season
In 1941, Pregulman was a 19-year-old sophomore starting at right guard. On October 18, 1941, he intercepted a pass thrown by College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham and ran it back for the game-winning touchdown in a 14–7 victory over Northwestern. That year, Pregulman was named a Grantland Rice All-American honorable mention and was given the team's Meyer Morton Award as the most improved player during spring drills. The 1941 Michigan team finished the year with a record of 6–1–1, outscored its opponents 147–41, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.1942 season
In 1942, the Michigan team was 7–3 and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the AP poll. Michigan played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the first time in 25 years and won, 32–20. Pregulman was named to the All Big Ten team. The 1942 Wolverines' offensive line that included Pregulman, Julius Franks, Al Wistert, Robert Kolesar, Bill Pritula and Elmer Madar, was known as the "Seven Oak Posts."1943 season
In 1943, the Michigan football team was 8–1, outscored its opponents, 302–73, and was co-champion of the Big Ten Conference, finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll. The only loss was to Notre Dame, 35–12. The Wolverines did not allow any other opponent to score more than seven points that season and defeated Minnesota, 49–6, and Ohio State 45–7. For the 1943 season, Pregulman was named Grantland Rice first-team All-American at guard, UP All-American second-team at tackle, and AP All-American third-team at tackle.Awards and accolades
His biography at the University of Michigan Athletic History site says: "Originally a center he was shifted to guard, then back to center where his accurate passes were a vital factor in Michigan's famed single-winged attack. Smart and aggressive, he never turned in a performance below the high standard he set for himself."Sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote that Pregulman was "fast and alert … was voted the best combination center, guard, and tackle the Middlewest had known in years."
In addition to his father, Pregulman said he had three heroes in his life: Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler, Michigan's line coach Biggie Munn, and Axle Martin, a university professor.
In 1969, Pregulman was selected for the Michigan Wolverines' all-time football team. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1988. He was also part of the second group inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
In 2005, Pregulman was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 61st on the all-time team.
Service in World War II
In 1944, Pregulman entered the United States Navy where he served as a gunnery officer on the USS Taluga in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The Taluga left Norfolk, Virginia, in October 1944. On December 10, 1944, the ship reached Ulithi, an atoll in the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, which served as the ship's base of operations until the end of World War II. For the next 11 months, Pregulman and the Taluga crew were in and out of Ulithi picking up oil and other supplies and delivering them to units of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During that time, they supported carrier strikes and landings on Luzon in the Philippine Islands, landings on Okinawa, strikes on Formosa, and the final sweep of the Japanese home islands in the summer of 1945. Between April and July 1945, Pregulman and the Taluga crew spent much of their time in and around the anchorage at Kerama Retto, just west of the southern end of Okinawa. At dawn on April 16, 1945, ten kamikazes attacked their formation. One of the kamikazes dove at Taluga, strafed the deck, and then made for the superstructure. The attacker careened off the ship's bridge and hit the wheelhouse. However, only 12 men were injured, and the oiler was soon back in action. Pregulman normally would have been in the wheelhouse, but he went on deck just before the attack. He recalled: "If he had been five minutes later, I would have been in the wheelhouse and I certainly wouldn't be here". He recalled that the plane sheared off the top of the wheelhouse, and blew a hole in the deck, but no American soldiers were killed.Just 11 days after the cessation of hostilities, Taluga entered Tokyo Bay on August 26, 1945, and took up duty as station oiler until early October. On November 18, 1945, the ship left Japan to support ships engaged in the occupation of China and Korea. The ship visited Qingdao and Jinsen before returning to Yokosuka, Japan, on December 6, 1945. On January 31, 1946, the Taluga began its return to the United States, arriving in San Pedro, California, on February 16.
Professional football
Green Bay Packers
Pregulman was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1944 NFL Draft, but was called into military service in the Navy. After completing his military service, Pregulman finally signed with the Packers in June 1946. A Wisconsin sports writer touted the signing: "Curly Lambeau came up with a dandy for the Green Bay Packers when he landed Merv Pregulman. … At Michigan he was a star at three different positions -- tackle, guard and center. I've a hunch that he would do just as well at end." Pregulman appeared in nine games for a Packers' team that had a 6–5 record in 1946.Detroit Lions
During the spring of 1947, Pregulman joined the coaching staff of the Michigan State Spartans football team when Biggie Munn took over as head coach. Munn had been Pregulman's position coach at Michigan.In June 1947, Pregulman was traded by the Packers to the Detroit Lions in exchange for his former teammate at Michigan, Paul White. Pregulman played in all 24 games for the Lions during the 1947 and 1948 seasons. The Lions went 3–9 in 1947 and 2–10 in 1948. Pregulman had three interceptions and recovered three fumbles for the Lions. He also handled the Lions' kicking duties in 1948, kicking two field goals in six attempts, and completing 26 extra points in 27 attempts. He also had a punt return for nine yards in 1947.
New York Bulldogs
In August 1949, Pregulman was traded by the Lions to the New York Bulldogs in exchange for John Treadaway and John Prochlik. He played in all 12 games for the Bulldogs team that went 1–10–1.In June 1950, Pregulman announced that he was retiring from football. He said he had received a contract to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, but had decided to remain in Lansing, Michigan, where he was in the furniture business.
Business career
After his football career ended, Pregulman initially went into the furniture business.In 1957, Pregulman moved with his wife Helen to her hometown, Chattanooga, Tennessee. His wife was the granddaughter of Robert Hyman Siskin, the founder of Siskin Steel & Supply Co. The company was started in 1900 by Siskin, a Lithuanian immigrant, as a small scrap metal business. His two sons, Mose and Garrison Siskin expanded the company into one of Chattanooga's leading businesses.
In 1978, when Mose Siskin died, Pregulman was named president and chief executive officer. In 1980, Siskin was generating about $50 million in annual revenues. Under Pregulman's management over the next 15 years the company's annual revenues tripled to $151 million, as the company expanded its operations throughout the Southeast. In 1985, Siskin bought Birmingham, Alabama-based Steel Supply Company, which subsequently took on the Siskin name. Next, Siskin built a steel service center in Nashville in 1989 to cut transportation costs and accommodate Nissan Motors and Saturn Corporation automobile plants in the area. When Pregulman retired, his son John Pregulman took over as the company's president.
In 1996, Siskin Steel was sold to Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. for $71 million in cash. Under an agreement with Reliance Steel, the company remained under local management with Merv Pregulman continuing to serve as vice-chairman, and his son John Pregulman continuing as president. In 2002, John Pregulman left Siskin.