Tom Harmon

While on campus, he was an active member of the Michigan Alpha Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Years later, the national fraternity leadership established the Harmon-Rice Award in his honor (the Rice name in the award honored Grantland Rice) that is presented each year to the most outstanding Phi Delt collegiate athlete in the nation. In 2007, Harmon was ranked #16 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. Also, Harmon was ranked #5 on the Big Ten Networks' program "Big Ten Icons", honoring the greateast athletes in the Big Ten Conferences history.

Harmon was taken by the Chicago Bears with the first selection in the NFL Draft. Instead he opted to play with the New York Americans of the rival American Football League. After graduating from college he had a brief career as an actor, starring as himself in the biopic Harmon of Michigan. He appeared occasionally in films throughout the forties and fifties. Read Less

Harmon married actress/model Elyse Knox, and much of their family entered show business. He is the father of actresses Kristin Nelson and Kelly Harmon. His son is actor and former UCLA quarterback Mark Harmon, who is married to actress Pam Dawber. Harmon's grandchildren include actress Tracy Nelson and twins Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson, who perform as the rock and country music act Nelson.

Harmon narrated the film A Glimpse of Greatness–The Story of Ken Hubbs, which chronicles the life of the late Chicago Cubs second baseman. For several years in the 1970s, starting with its introduction, he was the TV spokesman for Kellogg's Product 19 cereal. His 10-minute broadcasts were a staple of the ABC and (later) American Information radio networks on KTLA, Channel 5, Los Angeles. In the early 1980s he handled play-by-play duties for the Oakland Raiders pre-season telecasts. Read Less