Former Michigan Kicker Oxford High School Alum To Watch Big Ten Title With heavy Heart

When former University of Michigan kicker Mike Lantry missed late field goal attempts against Ohio State in 1973 and 1974вЂ" in games that could have sent the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl вЂ" 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.”

[ Oxford HS shooting: Star athlete Tate Myre was willing to sacrifice for others ]

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 вЂ" three co-championships with Ohio State and an outright title in 1971 вЂ" while playing for the Wolverines.

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