Perhaps the greatest player in Michigan football history officially was granted Michigan Football Legend status on Saturday night, and to honor Tom Harmon, Michigan starting quarterback Devin Gardner wore his No. 98 against Notre Dame.
"It's difficult to say how honored I am to wear No. 98," Gardner said in a statement. "You see Tom Harmon photos and prints all over our building, knowing all the things he accomplished on the field for this program and then representing our country, and to have the opportunity to speak to his family today, it's kind of surreal. I'm extremely humbled and blessed."
Harmon was Michigan's first Heisman winner, with "Old 98" taking home the trophy in 1940. After serving as a fighter pilot in World War II, Harmon played pro football briefly before becoming a successful sports broadcaster.
Other members of the Legends program are the Wistert brothers (Francis, Albert and Alvin, all of whom wore No. 11), Desmond Howard (No. 21), Bennie Oosterbaan (No. 47), Gerald Ford (No. 48) and Ron Kramer (No. 87).
Harmon's son, Mark, the star of the TV show "NCIS," was in attendance Saturday. Mark quarterbacked UCLA for two seasons in the early 1970s before eventually becoming an actor.
Tom Harmon died in 1990.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
