Former Michigan kicker, Oxford High School alum, to watch Big Ten title with 'heavy heart'
When former University of Michigan placekicker Mike Lantry missed late field goal attempts against Ohio State in 1973 and 1974— in games that could have sent the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl — the word “heartbreaking” was often used.
But on Nov. 30, Lantry, a native of Oxford, said he felt real-life heartbreak of the worst kind when he heard that the deadliest school shooting since 2018 had occurred at his former high school.
“You always think it’s somewhere else when you hear about events like this, but this happened in my hometown, at my high school,” said Lantry, who was not only a multi-position football standout, but also the state shot put champion at Oxford High School (Class of 1966). “It’s hard to wrap your mind around it and comprehend how this can happen in the great community of Oxford. My heart goes out to all of the families.”
While describing the sorrow he feels for families across Oxford, Lantry pointed out a special bond he feels with the high school’s head football coach, Zach Line, who, like Lantry, was a star on the Oxford High football team (roughly four decades after Lantry) before playing collegiately at Southern Methodist University followed by a seven-year NFL career.
“I’ve been following the coach for a while, and for him to come back to his hometown and be a part of that program, I really admire him for that,” Lantry said. “For one of the students killed to be a football player (Tate Myre), a young person he was helping to develop into a man, it’s just devastating for the whole team.”
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The 73-year-old Lantry, who now lives in Sarasota, Florida, says he has been reflecting on the years he spent in Oxford throughout this week since the shooting.
“My family must go back about 65 to 70 years in the town, and, in my thinking, it’s still sort of a small community,” said Lantry, who fondly remembers when Oxford was called the ‘gravel capital of the world.’ “I attended the community schools, went to the high school and just had a great experience in the community. So many people touched my life, and because of the leadership of the community, it was a great place to grow up. I still think back to my Little League baseball experience and the competition and how well organized the teams were. I wouldn’t trade my experience in Oxford for anything in the world.”
Growing up in Oxford and three years in the Army, including service in Vietnam, more than prepared Lantry for one of the biggest stages in college football at the time. Despite the missed field goal attempts and the missed trips to the Rose Bowl, the Wolverines compiled a record of 30 wins, two losses and one tie from 1972-74. Lantry, who was Michigan’s first-string placekicker in 1972-74, makes it known that he was a member of four Big Ten championship teams — three co-championships with Ohio State and an outright title in 1971 — while playing for the Wolverines. Lantry, a proud Wolverine for life who actually made far more field-goal attempts than he missed as his old “Super Toe” nickname attests, says he will be watching his school Saturday night in the Big Ten championship game against Iowa, but the viewing experience will be different.
“I’m really proud of what the team has done, but what has happened does take a little of the joy out of it, and I will be watching with a heavy heart,” said Lantry, whose voice perks up when he mentions that Jim Harbaugh’s father, Jack, was part of head coach Bo Schembechler’s staff during two of the seasons that he played for the Wolverines.
“I knew the kids (Jim and John) and they probably can recall seeing some of my games from the sidelines too,” said Lantry, who reported on the eve of the championship game that he is still involved with Lantry and Associates, a company he established in 2000, which services Detroit’s automotive industry. “I’m really happy for Jim and it was great to get past the Ohio State scenario; we sent them back packing to Columbus and that’s a good thing.
"So I will definitely be watching Saturday and I saw the patch that the team will wear (to honor the victims). Hopefully that will send a message that not only the team, but the entire state of Michigan has a heavy heart for Oxford.”
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and lifelong lover of Detroit culture in all of its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at: stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Michigan kicker, Oxford High School alum Mike Lantry heartbroken
