Long after Bo Schembechler led the University of Michigan football team to prominence, he was working tirelessly to do the same for heart health. His work through the U-M Cardiovascular Center to educate the public and further research was done with the same passion and commitment that he gave to U-M athletics.
On Nov. 19, three years after his death, a bronze bust of Schembechler will be unveiled in the cardiovascular center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive.
The life-size bust was created by sculptor John Thomas, of Northville, who consulted with the university and Schembechler’s family on the rendering of the football legend. The sculpture was made possible by a gift from Dr. Robert and Mrs. Lynn Browne, of Ada, Mich.
“With the sculpture we wanted to capture Bo’s loyalty, dedication and drive for excellence,” says Kim Eagle, M.D., director of the U-M Cardiovascular Center and one of Schembechler’s personal physicians. “We hope it will serve as an inspiration to our patients, visitors and staff.”
The artist took 10 months to complete the bust which was designed to show the vitality and passion of the Wolverines coach. Schembechler is depicted in his usual Michigan cap and with his arms folded as if standing on the sidelines watching his beloved teams.
He coached the Wolverines from 1969-1989, and is easily considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. Schembechler led teams to 17 bowl games. For 37 years, though, he battled heart disease, and on Nov. 17, 2006 passed away at the age of 77. “His ability to serve other people, and particularly this great University, I think, was the reason he lived so long,'” Eagle says. "He had a purpose in life."
Schembechler’s commitment to battling cardiovascular disease lives on through the “Heart of a Champion Fund.”
Money donated to the fund supports the important work of young U-M investigators whose groundbreaking research creates new knowledge and methods to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease. The book, “The Heart of a Champion: My 37-year War Against Heart Disease,” chronicles Schembechler’s health issues and provides a game plan for everyone in fighting the nation’s leading cause of death. Book sales support the fund and its research.
It was co-written by Schembechler, Eagle and Fritz Seyferth, former development director at the cardiovascular center and retired executive associate athletic director at U-M.
“He was the most courageous patient I ever met,” Eagle says. “He defied all odds in his survival with remarkably bad heart disease. He made me a better doctor and a better person.”
The unveiling of the Schembechler bust takes place during a special time in U-M history: it also marks the 40th anniversary of Schembechler’s hiring as head football coach of the Wolverines.
“Bo’s challenges late in life took him back to his fundamental belief that you need a great quarterback to lead a great team,” says Seyferth.
“He selected Dr. Eagle to lead a team of U-M and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital physicians who worked as one professional team to serve Bo’s ever increasing challenges of cardiovascular disease.
“Bo was like a father and best friend to many of his players,” says Seyferth, a U-M football player, from 1969-1971, and an administrative assistant and recruiting coordinator on the Schembechler staff. “In writing the book on Bo’s fight, we saw the incredibly sensitive and caring person that was underneath the focused and committed servant leader.”
Directors of the CVC will welcome Schembechler’s wife Cathy Schembechler, members of the Schembechler family and the late coach’s close friends at the presentation ceremony. Following the ceremony, the sculpture will be permanently installed on the third level patient reception area of the U-M Cardiovascular Center. The expansive facility, located at the corner of Ann and Observatory Streets, houses operating rooms, patient rooms, clinics, classrooms and offices, and indoor and outdoor healing gardens.
It unites nationally recognized cardiovascular services and a team of top-quality specialists who each year treat more than 6,000 hospital inpatients, and see more than 35,000 outpatient visits. The U-M Cardiovascular Center is the top ranked heart program in Michigan.
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