Doc Losh
"I have seen stars both in astronomy and athletics rise and fall, but the stars in the heavens bind together all periods."1
Hazel Marie Losh, or as most Michigan Wolverines knew her, “Doc Losh,” was an astronomy professor and Michigan athletics superfan. Crowned the first and forever Homecoming Queen in 1966, Doc Losh was well known for her "double life."2 She was beloved as a facet of Michigan tradition at football games and as a living source for Michigan’s history.
Doc Losh was also known for her rumored grading scheme: “A for athletes, B for boys, and C for coeds.”3 When asked about it she reportedly replied, “and D for the dummies who believed it.”3 As a professor, she taught more than 50,000 students over 40 years, including Heisman trophy winner Tom Harmon. Beloved by many at U-M, Doc Losh received pins from twelve different fraternities and even had a varsity letter sweater as an honorary member of the “M” club. She was a member of the Women's Research Club, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi.
At a time when women were not allowed onto Michigan Stadium's field, Doc Losh would cross the field before every game for good luck and even attended multiple bowl games as a guest of the football team.4 Before her death at age 80, Doc Losh had witnessed the study of astronomy evolve with the development of the US Space Program and the rise of U-M athletics since she had attended the Michigan's first game at the “Big House” in 1927.
1. "'Doc' Losh," Michigan Alumnus, (December 1975), p. 9, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
2. Transcript of Interview of Hazel Marie Losh by Thomas Slavens, 1976, Box 1, Hazel Marie Losh Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
3. "Astronomer Losh dies at age 80," Durand, MI Express, October 12, 1978, Box 1, Hazel Marie Losh Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
4. "'Doc' Losh," Michigan Alumnus, (December 1975), p. 9, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.