Vidmer's father played college football as a guard at Villanova University in the 1930s. The younger Vidmer was a native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and grew up in western Pennsylvania, which Vidmer described as "a peculiar place, where you have a lot of small towns within 10-15 miles of each other, and football is simply the sport throughout the area."[1] He attended Hempfield Area High School, where he was one of the finest prep quarterbacks ever produced in the State of Pennsylvania.[2] He was also president of the student council and had grades that won him admission to Harvard.[1] In a 1966 interview, he described his college selection process as follows:
"Yea. I was accepted at Harvard. My dad was really fired up for Ivy League -- you know, prestige and ivy covered walls . . . I visited Harvard and Princeton and got an idea about that, and then I visited Purdue and MSU too and I kinda got the idea that I wanted a school that played good football, but also offered a good academic program. Ivy League football leaves a lot to be desired . . . and MSU is a little short on academics. So I came here and haven't been sorry a minute."[1]
University of Michigan
Vidmer from 1968 Michiganensian
As a freshman in 1964, Vidmer suffered a broken leg and torn ankle ligaments during a football practice session.[2] Vidmer never recovered fully from the injury, recalling later, "I was never able to move around like I could before. It made a difference in my effectiveness. I was not as formidable a player as I once was."[2] He started only three games in the 1965 season, completing 32 of 68 passes with seven interceptions.[3][4]
In 1966, Vidmer was Michigan's starting quarterback in nine of its ten games.[5] In the opening game of the 1966 season, he threw for 258 passing yards,[6] a Michigan single-game record.[7] Five weeks later, he completed 15 of 19 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns in a 49–0 victory over Minnesota and was selected as the UPI Midwest Back of the Week.[4] His total of 117 pass completions in 1966 set a new Michigan single-season record.[7] Vidmer was also selected as an Academic All-American in 1966.[2]
Vidmer also started four games at quarterback for the 1967 Wolverines.[8] In his three years at Michigan, he completed 187 of 382 passes for 2,455 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.[9]
Vidmer received three degrees from Michigan, a bachelor's degree in economics, a master's degree in Soviet government and politics (1972), and a Ph.D. in Soviet management theory (1978).[10][7]
Career passing statistics
Season
Att
Comp
Int
Comp %
Yds
Yds/Comp
TD
1965
66
31
6
47.0
454
14.6
1
1966
225
117
7
52.0
1609
13.8
10
1967
76
33
4
43.4
337
10.2
0
Career total
367
181
17
49.3
2400
13.3
11
Later years
Vidmer later taught at the University of Virginia and served as an advisor to U.S. Congressman Donald A. Bailey, a former Michigan football teammate.[2] He also served as a county commissioner in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He was court-appointed to the county commissioner position in 1985 and elected to the position in November 1987. He became the chairman of the county commissioners.[10] Vidmer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1983 and was forced to retire in 1999.[2]
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