Wally Teninga

Walter Henry "Wally" Teninga (February 14, 1928 - September 24, 2018) was an American football halfback and businessman. He played for the University of Michigan's undefeated national championship teams in 1947 and 1948 and later became the vice chairman and chief financial officer of the Kmart Corporation.

Early life A native of Chicago, Teninga was the son of Cornelius and Emma Teninga. and was the Wolverines' leading ground gainer.

Teninga missed the 1946 season while serving in the U.S. Army. He returned to Ann Arbor in 1947 and was a member of the university's undefeated national championship teams of 1947 and 1948. In 1947, Teninga was the team's punter, defensive right halfback, and second string offensive halfback behind Bob Chappuis and Bump Elliott. Sports writer John Mayhew called Teninga "one of Michigan's finest all-around football players," and referred to him as "a great 'insurance' member of the squad, often filling in the backfield at critical times without taking anything from the squad effort." After Teninga graduated in 1950, Mayhew posed the question of who would become the "Teninga" of the 1950 squad. Teninga intercepted a pass thrown by the Western All-Stars' quarterback to help lead the East team to a 28–6 victory.

Teninga was elected as Michigan's senior class president in 1949 with a campaign that included passing out little white candy balls and the slogan emphasizing his halfback duties for the football team: "Carry the ball for Teninga — and let Teninga carry the ball for you."

Business career Teninga graduated in 1950 with a degree in economics and returned to Chicago to work in his father's real estate business, Teninga Real Estate Co. Teninga lived for many years in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with his wife, the former Nancy Anne Neumann of Birmingham, Michigan. Teninga retired from Kmart in 1979, and went to work for Sol Price's company, Price Club, an innovator in the retail warehouse store concept. He later returned to Chicago where he started and ran Wholesale Club, Inc., doing business as "The Warehouse Club," a competitor of the Price Club in the 1980s. Teninga also served on the board of directors of SITE Centers, a real estate investment trust, from the time of its initial public offering in 1993 until his retirement in 1998.

In 1975, Teninga was inducted into the Roseland-Pullman area Sports Hall of Fame.