Paul Kruger
5th President of the South African Republic
In office 9 May 1883 – 10 September 1900
Preceded by	Triumvirate (Thomas François Burgers, 1877)
Succeeded by	Schalk Willem Burger (acting)
Member of the Triumvirate
In office 8 August 1881 – 9 May 1883 Serving with M.W. Pretorius and Piet Joubert
Preceded by	The Viscount Wolseley As Governor of the Transvaal
Succeeded by	Himself As President of the South African Republic
Personal details
Born	Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger 10 October 1825 (1825-10-10) Bulhoek, Cape Colony
Died	14 July 1904(1904-07-14) (aged 78) Clarens, Vaud, Switzerland
Resting place	Heroes' Acre, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Spouse(s)	Maria du Plessis (died 1845) Gezina du Plessis (married 1847)
Children	17
Religion	Reformed Churches in South Africa

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul (Afrikaans: "Oom Paul") was State President of the South African Republic (Transvaal). He gained international renown as the face of Boer resistance against the British during the South African or Second Boer War (1899–1902).

Youth[link]

Paul Kruger was a descendant of German, French, Dutch and Danish immigrants to South Africa. One of his ancestors, Jacobus Krüger, immigrated from Berlin, Germany, to South Africa in 1713 to work as a mercenary for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He married and had children with Johanna Kemp, a coloured woman, the daughter of Kruger's Indonesian ancestor, "Nicolaas Kemp van Batavia", a slave.^[1] One of his French ancestors was Francois Villion, who married and had children with Cornelia Campenaar, a Dutch woman^[2] His Khoi ancestor Krotoa (also known as "Eva"), married and had a child with his Danish ancestor, Pieter van Meerhoff (Peder Jacobsen).^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

According to tradition, Kruger was born at Bulhoek, on his grandfather's farm, which was approximately 15 km west of the town of Steynsburg and 100 km to the north of Cradock in the Eastern Cape Province, and he grew up on the farm Vaalbank. He received only three months of formal education, his master being Tielman Roos ^[8], but he became knowledgeable from life on the veld. Paul Kruger became proficient in hunting and horse riding. He contributed to the development of guerrilla warfare during the First Boer War.^[9] Kruger's father, Casper Kruger, joined the trek party of Hendrik Potgieter when the Great Trek started in 1835.

The trekkers crossed the Vaal River in 1838, and at first stayed in the area that is known today as Potchefstroom. Kruger's father later decided to settle in the district now known as Rustenburg. At the age of 16, Kruger was entitled to choose a farm for himself at the foot of the Magaliesberg, where he settled in 1841.

The following year he married Maria du Plessis, and they went together with Paul Kruger's father to live in the Eastern Transvaal. After the family had returned to Rustenburg, Kruger's wife and infant died in 1845 during childbirth. He then married his second wife Gezina du Plessis in 1847, with whom he remained until her death in 1901. The couple had seven daughters and nine sons, some dying in infancy.^[10]

Kruger was a deeply religious man; he claimed to have only read one book, the Bible. He also claimed to know most of it by heart. He was a founding member of the Reformed Church in South Africa .^[11]

Leadership[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

Paul Kruger, photograph from 1879

Image of Paul Kruger later in life in characteristic top hat around 1892

1899 Vanity Fair cartoon of Paul Kruger

Kruger began his military service as a field cornet in the commandos and eventually became Commandant-General of the South African Republic. He was appointed member of a commission of the Volksraad, the republican parliament that was to draw up a constitution. People began to take notice of the young man and he played a prominent part in ending the quarrel between the Transvaal leader, Stephanus Schoeman, and M.W. Pretorius. He was present at the Sand River Convention in 1852.^[12]

In 1873, Kruger resigned as Commandant-General, and for a time he held no office and retired to his farm, Boekenhoutfontein. However, in 1874, he was elected as a member of the Executive Council and shortly after became the Vice-President of the Transvaal.

Following the annexation of the Transvaal by Britain in 1877, Kruger became the leader of the resistance movement. During the same year, he visited Britain for the first time as the leader of a deputation. In 1878, he formed part of a second deputation. A highlight of his visit to Europe was when he ascended in a hot air balloon and saw Paris from the air.

The First Boer War started in 1880, and the Boer forces were victorious at Majuba in 1881. Once again, Kruger played a critical role in the negotiations with the British, which led to the restoration of the Transvaal's independence under British suzerainty.

On 30 December 1880, at the age of 55, Kruger was elected President of the Transvaal. One of his first goals was the revision of the Pretoria Convention of 1881; the agreement between the Boers and the British that ended the First Boer War. In April 1883 he defeated Piet Joubert in the presidential elections. That year he again left for Britain, empowered to negotiate with Lord Derby. Kruger and his companions also visited the Continent, and this became a triumph in countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Spain. In Germany he attended an imperial banquet at which he was presented to the Emperor, Wilhelm I, and spoke at length with Bismarck.

Kruger went on to win presidential elections in the 1888, 1893 and 1898, each time defeating Joubert.

In the Transvaal, things changed rapidly after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand. This discovery had far-reaching political repercussions and gave rise to the uitlander (Afrikaans: foreigner) problem, which eventually caused the fall of the Republic. Kruger acknowledged in his memoirs that General Joubert predicted the events that followed afterwards, declaring that instead of rejoicing at the discovery of gold, they should be weeping because it will "cause our land to be soaked in blood".

At the end of 1895, the failed Jameson raid took place; Jameson was forced to surrender and was taken to Pretoria to be handed over to his British countrymen for punishment.

Joshua Slocum's sailing memoir relates that, calling at Durban in 1897 on his solo round-the-world trip, he was introduced to Kruger, who as an adherent of the Flat Earth theory exclaimed "You don't mean round the world, it is impossible! You mean in the world. Impossible!".^[13]

In 1898, Kruger was elected President for the fourth and final time.

Exile[link]

On 11 October 1899, the Second Boer War broke out. On 7 May the following year, Kruger attended the last session of the Volksraad, and he fled Pretoria on 29 May as Lord Roberts was advancing on the town. For weeks he either stayed in a house at Waterval Onder or in his railway carriage at Machadodorp in the then Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga. In October, he left South Africa and fled to Mozambique. There he boarded the Dutch warship Gelderland, sent by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, which had simply ignored the British naval blockade of South Africa. He left his wife, who was ill at the time, and she remained in South Africa where she died on 20 July 1901.

Kruger went to Marseille and from there to Paris. On 1 December 1900 he travelled to Germany, but Kaiser Wilhelm refused to see him. From Germany he went to The Netherlands, where he stayed in rented homes in Hilversum and Utrecht. He also stayed twice in Menton, France (October 1902 to May 1903 and October 1903 to May 1904) ^[14] before moving to Clarens, Switzerland, where he died on 14 July 1904. His body was embalmed by Prof. Aug Roud and first buried on 26 July 1904 in The Hague, Netherlands. After the British government gave permission he was reburied ^[15] on 16 December 1904 in the Heroes' Acre of the Church Street cemetery, Pretoria.

Physical appearance[link]

Kruger was a large squarely built man, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. As he aged, his hair went snowy white. He wore a moustache and full beard when he started to play a role in public life, but in later years a chinstrap beard and no moustache.^[16] Martin Meredith cited W. Morcom's statement that he had very oily hair and sunken eyes.^[17] He was most often dressed in a black frock coat with a top hat. Never far from his pipe, he was a chain smoker. The image of Kruger in his top hat and frock coat, smoking his pipe was used to great effect in the Anglo-Boer war by British cartoonists.

According to legend, he was named Mamelodi'a Tshwane (Tswana: "whistler of the Apies River") by the inhabitants of the surrounding area for his ability to whistle and imitate bird calls.

Legacy[link]

A gold Krugerrand coin

Statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square, Pretoria

His former Pretoria residence is now the Kruger House Museum.

A statue of Paul Kruger in his characteristic formal dress stands in Church Square, Pretoria.

The Kruger National Park is named after him, as is the Krugerrand coin, which features his face on the obverse.

Pipe manufacturers still produce a style named "Oom Paul", the characteristic large-bowled full-bent shape often seen in photographs of Paul Kruger and believed to have been designed especially for him.

In 2004 he was voted 27th in the SABC3's Great South Africans poll conducted by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

The Nazis used his biography (Kruger had German ancestors) for one of their anti-British propaganda films: Ohm Krüger (Uncle Krüger), shot by director Hans Steinhoff in 1940–41. The role of Kruger in this movie was played by Emil Jannings.

There are streets and squares named after Kruger in Dutch towns and cities. In Amsterdam's Transvaalbuurt where most of the names of the streets and squares are taken from the Boer wars there is a Krugerstraat and a Krugerplein. There are other "Transvaalbuurts" in other Dutch towns and cities. These names were given some years after the Second Boer War.

In Ireland, in the early years of the Gaelic Athletic Association a number of clubs were named after opponents of the British. In Tuam, one local club was named after Kruger around 1900,^[18] although the name disappeared when the club merged with another Tuam club later that decade.

A street in St. Gallen, Switzerland – Krügerstrasse – was named after Kruger, most likely because he enjoyed a reputation as a freedom fighter in late 19th-century Switzerland.^[19] The street was, however renamed in 2009 by the local authority due to Kruger's racist statements (typical of his period) about indigenous Africans. The street is now renamed after Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt in 2009. A South African diplomat attended the ceremony for the name change.^[20]

In Den Haag, the Netherlands, a renowned market street is still called, de Paul Krugerlaan.

See also[link]

• List of South Africans

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Kruger

• Brief biography on the Kruger National Park web page
• Longer biography at the Kruger House Museum web site
• The memoirs of Paul Kruger, four times President of the South African Republic (1902) at archive.org

Steve Hofmeyr
Steve Hofmeyr in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Steve Hofmeyr
Born	(1964-08-29) August 29, 1964 (age 47) Pretoria, South Africa
Genres	Afrikaans pop/folk
Occupations	Musician Songwriter Actor TV Presenter
Instruments	Singing
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Big Heart Productions
Website	http://stevehofmeyr.co.za

Steve Hofmeyr (born 29 August 1964) is a South African singer, songwriter and actor.

OASE[link]

In 2011 he made public that he supports the Expedition for Afrikaner Self-determination (in Afrikaans Onafhanklike Afrikaner Selfbeskikkingsekspedisie, or OASE). He is an avid pro-Afrikaner but mentioned that he retains a moderate political stance in an OASE public relations video^[1].

Controversies[link]

In January 2007 there were reports that one branch of the News Cafe restaurant chain would not play Hofmeyr's song Pampoen (Pumpkin). The managing director of the company that owns the franchise denies that this is company policy and points out that many Afrikaans acts, such as Karen Zoid and Arno Carstens have performed at News Cafe.^[2]

On 12 May 2011, Steve Hofmeyr released the lyrics to his new song called "Ons sal dit oorleef", which means "We will survive this". The song is controversial, because Hofmeyr has threatened to include the word "kaffir" (the common Arabic word meaning "infidel" used by the British and the Boers in the 19th and early 20th century to refer to blacks in the context of his song, but today a very derogatory name for the black population of South Africa)^[3] in the lyrics of the song should a judge rule in favour of Julius Malema.^[4] When the presiding judge, Leon Halgryn ruled that "... the publication and chanting of the words 'dubula ibhunu', prima facie satisfies the crime of incitement to murder," Hofmeyr removed the offensive word in his song also,^[5] citing that the word would offend his black friends and colleagues.^[6] Malema is currently on trial for the singing the song "Shoot The Boer", a song argued to be inciting violence upon ethnic Boers, white South Africans, particularly farmers. Some people see the murder of Eugène Terre'Blanche as an example of violence provoked by this song.

Steve Hofmeyr has been publicly criticised by Frans Cronje, who is the deputy CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations. Cronje has rejected Steve Hofmeyr's actions by saying that "if you think that we can fight racism with racism then you are as much of a fool as you are racist."^[7]

Personal life[link]

Hofmeyr married actress Natasha Sutherland, whom he had met on the set of Egoli: Place of Gold in 1998, they had two sons, Sebastian, born 13 December 2001 and Benjamin, born later (Hofmeyr also has a few children by other women.^[8][9]). The couple was divorced after reports of numerous affairs dominated Hofmeyr's time in the spotlight in 2008.^[10]

In December 2008, Hofmeyr allegedly assaulted Ms Esmaré Weideman, editor of "Huisgenoot" (a popular Afrikaans magazine), by pouring a cup of cold tea over her at the Miss South Africa finals.^[11] He was said to have blamed her and two other journalists for his divorce from Sutherland.

Publications[link]

In November 2007 Hofmeyr released a book titled Jêmbekseep, published by Griffel Books, containing quotes from newspaper articles, magazines etc. as well as discussions from Hofmeyr's personal blog page. His autobiography, Mense van my asem, was published by Zebra Press in October 2008. He has also published a book of verse called Valkuns.

List of works[link]

Stage Productions[link]

• Summer Holiday
• Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat
• Die Soen
• Sound of Music
• Dis Hoe Dit Was - Die Steve Hofmeyr Storie
• Lied van my Hart .

Movies[link]

• Kampus (lead actor)
• Agter Elke Man (lead actor)
• No Hero (lead actor)
• A Case of Murder as Jack Norkem
• Platteland (2011)

TV Soapies[link]

• Guillam Woudberg
• Agter Elke Man
• Egoli
• 7de Laan

TV[link]

• Dis-hoe-dit-is met Steve (Kyknet TV-show)
• Proesstraat as a karaoke machine repairman (Kyknet TV-show)

Poetry[link]

• Valkuns

Books[link]

• Jêmbekseep (November 2007)
• Mense van my asem - Zebra Press (October 2008) (autobiography)
• Vier briewe vir Jan Ellis - Zebra Press

Albums[link]

• Beautiful Noise

1. Sweet Caroline
2. I Am... I Said
3. Shilo
4. I'm A Believer
5. Kentucky Woman
6. Cracklin' Rosie
7. Song Sung Blue
8. Longfellow Serenade
9. You Don't Bring Me Flowers - (Duet With Dana Winner)
10. Beautiful Noise
11. Forever In Blue Jeans
12. Hello Again
13. Love On The Rocks
14. Holly Holy
15. Red Red Wine
16. Headed For The Future
17. Desiree
18. America
19. The Story Of My Life

• Decade of Steve Hofmeyer

1. Casablanca
2. Daar Waar Jy Moet Wees
3. Love's The Light
4. Gatvol
5. Cross My Heart
6. As Jy My Wil Hê
7. Emotionally Candid
8. Hand Aan Hand
9. Changes
10. Did She
11. Slot

• Desertbound

1. Yours
2. Know Me
3. Ghetto Song
4. Laaste Lag
5. Hand Upon My Shoulder
6. Desertbound
7. Alles Vir Niks
8. 7 Steelway
9. Born To Be
10. Mine

• Die Bok Kom Weer

1. Die Bok Kom Weer
2. Ek Bly 'n Bok
3. O Liewe Bobbie
4. Bliksem
5. Skeeloog Schutte
6. Bring It Home
7. Bokke Bokke
8. Loftus
9. Tjollie
10. Bokveld Toe
11. Medlie
12. Dolla
13. Anthems

• Die Treffers - The Hits

1. Want net ons weet
2. Prove me wrong
3. Ek weet jy weet
4. Know me
5. Agter elke man
6. The last time you came along
7. Kyk hoe lyk ons nou
8. Lose when you lie
9. Deur jou vingers
10. She's a woman
11. Ek ken jou soms
12. No hero
13. Die sprokie
14. Rosie
15. Altyd by jou
16. Laaste lag
17. Hand upon my shoulder

• Engele Om Ons

1. Toe Jy Hier Was
2. One Shot At This Heaven
3. Assegaai
4. Engele Om Ons
5. Wordsworth's Dream
6. Liewe Ma
7. Sunday Morning Coming Down
8. Wie Sal?
9. How 'Bout I Let You Go?
10. Jolliefontein Toe
11. Bengal Lights
12. Gee Jy Wat Jy Neem
13. Papa
14. Summer Of '69

• Grootste Treffers Vol.2

1. You Got Me
2. Liefling
3. Die Bloubul
4. Verstaan Mekaar
5. Love's The Light
6. Kiss Me
7. Daar Waar Jy Moet Wees
8. Die Kind
9. Forgiveness
10. Dis Hoe Dit Is
11. You Don't Bring Me Flowers
12. Ver Hiervandaan
13. Heart
14. Casablanca
15. Close To You
16. Gatvol
17. By My (Tjollie)
18. Die Bok (Kom Weer)
19. O Liewe Bobby

• Laurika Rauch and Steve Hofmeyr

Duets by Laurika Rauch and Steve Hofmeyer

• No Hero

1. No Hero
2. Nothing At All
3. As Is
4. She's A Woman
5. Alles Is Myne
6. Kim's Theme
7. Dabbel Trabbel
8. Gone Too Long
9. Ek Weet Jy Weet
10. Love Theme

• Only Me

1. Only Me
2. Agter Elke Man
3. Never Say Goodbye
4. Lose When You Lie
5. Ek En Jy
6. You & Me & The Night
7. Ek Ken Jou Soms
8. Hard To Find
9. Wag (allegro In F)
10. Love For Love (duet With Irene Van Wyk)

• Southern Cross

1. Dis Hoe Dit Is
2. Kiss Me
3. Ver Hiervandaan
4. Heart
5. I'll Be The One (Duet With Irene Van Wyk)
6. Dolla (Feat. Anton Goosen)
7. Not One Thing
8. Don't Be Cruel
9. Maybe
10. Koos Doep
11. Reasons (Natasha's Song) (Duet With Manuel Escorcio)
12. Southern Cross
13. By My
14. Wie?

• Steve

1. You Know
2. Ek Weet Jy Weet
3. Rosie
4. The Last Time You Came Along
5. Staan Hier By My
6. Never Say 'no'
7. Die Sprokie
8. Hoe Voel Jy Nou?
9. All For Real
10. My Deure Bly Oop

• Toeka

1. Jou Hart Is Weer Myne
2. I Need Someone
3. I Wanna Live
4. Master Jack (Four Jacks & A Jill)
5. Pampoen
6. You Asked Me To
7. Liefling
8. Hasie
9. Sunday Girl
10. Liefde Is 'n Stille Rivierstroom (Nick Taylor)
11. Gypsy Girl
12. Ou Kraalliedjie (Groep Twee)
13. 4 x 4
14. So You Win Again
15. Appel Van My Oog
16. Cry To Me
17. Heart (Gene Rockwell)
18. She's A Woman
19. Amper
20. Amazing Grace

• Toeka 2

1. Reik Na Die Sterre
2. I Won't Give Up
3. Sproetjies
4. Delta Dawn
5. Glimlag
6. Michael Rows The Boat Ashore
7. Tips Of My Fingers
8. Transkaroo (Cupido^{[disambiguation needed ]})
9. Gezoem Van Die Bye (Des and Dawn Lindberg)
10. Sonder Jou
11. Kinders Van Die Wind (Koos du Plessis)
12. Million Drums
13. Die Wilgerboom
14. Liefde Is My Nooi Se Naam
15. Too Late To Say Goodbye
16. Dankie
17. As Jy My Nou Kon Sien
18. In Die RSA
19. Maak Die Bulle Almal Bokke
20. Tjoklitbeksoentjies

• Tribute

1. Prove Me Wrong (Prove Me Right)
2. Suspicious Minds
3. Deur Jou Vingers
4. Games People Play
5. Why Me Lord
6. Altyd By Jou
7. Man On The Moon
8. Cry To Me
9. Sweet Caroline
10. Don't Believe
11. Man On The Moon

• Tribute - Vol.2

1. Holly Holy
2. Kyk Hoe Lyk Ons Nou
3. I'd Love You To Want Me
4. Want Net Ons Weet
5. You've Lost That Loving Feeling
6. Burning Bridges
7. Photograph
8. Edge Of Love
9. Mammy Blue
10. Yesterday's Hero
11. Darlin'
12. Put Your Hand In The Hand / Glory Glory Hallelujah (Medley)

• True To You

1. Not Letting Go
2. True To You
3. Gimme Tonite
4. Verstaan Mekaar
5. Go / S Tonite
6. Om My Te Probeer
7. You Don't Bring Me Flowers
8. Forgiveness
9. Die Goed In My
10. Die Wasgoed Song
11. Vroeger Bracht Je Bloemen
12. Die Kind
13. Raindance
14. Threshold

• Grootste Platinum Treffers

CD 1

1. Laaste Lag
2. Know Me
3. Agter Elke Man
4. Hand Upon My Shoulder
5. Lose When U Lie
6. Ek Ken Jou Soms
7. Ghetto Song
8. Ek Weet Jy Weet
9. Rosie
10. Prove Me Wrong (Prove Me Right)
11. Deur Jou Vingers*
12. Kyk Hoe Lyk Ons Nou*
13. No Hero
14. Dis Hoe, Last Time U Came Along
15. Die Sprokie
16. Prove Dit Is
17. Kiss Me
18. Ver Hiervandaan
19. By My (Tjollie)
20. You Got Me

CD 2

1. Daar Waar Jy Moet Wees
2. Loves The Light
3. Gatvol
4. Gimme Tonite
5. Verstaan Mekaar
6. Die Kind
7. Forgiveness
8. Assegaai
9. Engele Om Ons
10. Toe Jy Hier Was
11. Amper
12. As Jy My Nou Kon Sien
13. Maak Die Bulle Almal Bokke
14. In Die RSA
15. Trein Na Margate (met Christo & Cobus)*
16. Die Bloubul
17. Pampoen
18. My Diefie My Duifie*
19. Doepading*
20. Skote Petoors*
21. Kaapse Draai (met [Nádine]*
22. Bly (Met Karin Hougaardt)*

DVDs[link]

• Toeka - Nag Van Die Legendes

1. Jou Hart Is Weer Myne - Steve Hofmeyr
2. Gypsy Girl - Steve Hofmeyr
3. Love & Roses - Sunette Bridges and Bles Bridges
4. I Wanna Live - Steve Hofmeyr and Tommy Oliver
5. Honderd Jaar - Tommy Oliver
6. You Asked Me To - Steve Hofmeyr and Bobby Angel
7. Medley: I Walk The Line / On The Road Again / Rose Garden / Gentle On My Mind - Bobby Angel
8. Ou Kraalliedjie - Steve Hofmeyr, Carike Keuzenkamp and Gert Van Tonder
9. Medley: Timothy / Kaalvoet In Die Reen / Heidi / Dit Reen In Tsitsikamma / Hoeka Toeka - Carike Keuzenkamp
10. Medley: Ek Is Lief Vir Die Wereld / Die Padda Wou Gaan Opsit / Dink Jy Darem Nog Aan My / Daar's Niks Soos Ware Liefde
11. Liefling - Steve Hofmeyr
12. Hasie - Steve Hofmeyr and Al Debbo
13. Sonbrilletjies - Al Debbo
14. Maak Die Bulle Almal Bokke - Steve Hofmeyr
15. Medley: Single Boy / Tell Laura I Love Her / Ave Maria / Patches - Jody Wayne
16. Million Drums - Dennis East
17. Pampoen - Steve

References[link]

Michael Oher

Oher during training camp in August 2009
No. 74     Baltimore Ravens
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1986-05-28) May 28, 1986 (age 26)
Place of birth: Memphis, Tennessee
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 313 lb (142 kg)
Career information
College: Mississippi
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23
Debuted in 2009 for the Baltimore Ravens
Career history
Baltimore Ravens (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Consensus All-American {2008) First-team All-SEC (2007, 2008) Jacobs Blocking Trophy (2008)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Games played 48 Games started 48 Fumble recoveries 0 Stats at NFL.com

Michael Jerome Oher (born May 28, 1986) is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels. His life through his final year of high school and first year of college is one of the subjects of Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game and the subject of the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Blind Side.

Early life[link]

Born Michael Jerome Williams, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee, he was one of twelve children born to Denise Oher. His mother was an alcoholic and crack cocaine addict, and his father, Michael Jerome Williams, was frequently in prison. Due to his upbringing, he received little attention and discipline during his childhood.^[1] He repeated both first and second grades, and attended eleven different schools during his first nine years as a student.^[1] He was placed in foster care at age seven, and alternated between living in various foster homes and periods of homelessness.^[1][2] Oher's biological father was a former cell mate of Denise Oher's brother and was murdered in prison when Oher was a senior in high school.^[1]

Oher played football during his freshman year at a public high school in Memphis and applied for admission to Briarcrest Christian School at the instigation of acquaintance Tony Henderson, an auto mechanic, with whom he was living temporarily. Henderson was enrolling his son at the school in order to fulfill the dying wish of the boy's grandmother and thought Oher might enroll as well.^[1] The school's football coach submitted Oher's school application to the headmaster, who agreed to accept him if Oher could complete a home study program first. Despite not finishing the program, he was admitted when the headmaster realized that his requirement had removed Oher from the public education system.^[1]

After the 2003 football season at Briarcrest, he was named Division II (2A) Lineman of the Year in 2003, and First Team Tennessee All-State.^[3] Scout.com rated Oher a five-star recruit and the No. 5 offensive lineman prospect in the country.^[4] Before that season and for his prior twenty months at Briarcrest, Oher had been living with several foster families. In 2004, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and son attending Briarcrest, allowed Oher to live with them and eventually adopted him. The family began tending to his needs after becoming familiar with his difficult childhood. They also hired a tutor for him, who worked with him for twenty hours per week.^[1]

Oher also earned two letters in track and basketball. He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds a game, earning All-State honors by helping lead the basketball team to a 27–6 record, winning the district championship as a senior. Oher was also a state runner-up in the discus as a senior.^[5]

Oher eventually increased his 0.76 grade point average (GPA) to a 2.52 GPA by the end of his senior year so he could attend a Div. I school by enrolling in some 10-day-long internet-based courses from Brigham Young University. Taking and passing the internet courses allowed him to replace Ds and Fs earned in earlier school classes, such as English, with As earned via the internet.^[6] This finally raised his graduating GPA over the required limit.^[1]

College career[link]

Though he received scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, and the University of South Carolina, Oher ultimately decided to play for Coach Ed Orgeron at the University of Mississippi, alma mater of his guardians, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy.^[7] The decision sparked an investigation by the NCAA. The first issue was that Oher's grade-point average (GPA) was still too low to meet the requirements for a Division I scholarship at the time of the offer from Ole Miss. That difficulty was corrected by graduation, when Oher completed online classes through Brigham Young University.^[1]

The second issue was the Tuohys' preexisting relationship with the school and the fact that Oher's high school coach, Hugh Freeze, was employed by Ole Miss twenty days after Oher signed his letter of intent.^[1][8] Freeze asserted that his position with Ole Miss was not an example of quid pro quo for encouraging Oher to attend the school, but rather the result of his preexisting relationship with Ole Miss offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone.^[9] The NCAA did not close its case on its suspicions of collusion. However, it ruled that Ole Miss had committed no NCAA violations in its recruitment of Oher. Freeze was found guilty of secondary violations for contacting other Memphis-area recruits before joining the Ole Miss staff.^[1][8]

Oher started in ten games as a guard during his first season with the Ole Miss Rebels, becoming a first-team freshman All American. After shifting to the position of left tackle for the 2006 season, he was named to various preseason All-Conference and All-American teams.^[10][11] Oher was named a second-team Southeastern Conference (SEC) offensive lineman after his sophomore season and a first-team SEC offensive lineman after his junior season. Oher was also successful academically at Ole Miss, and his tested IQ score increased 20 to 30 points between when he was measured in the public-school systems growing up and when he was measured in college.^[1]

On January 14, 2008, Oher declared that he would be entering the 2008 NFL Draft.^[12] However, two days later, he announced his withdrawal from the draft to return to Ole Miss for his senior season.^[13] After the 2008–2009 college football season, Oher was selected for the AP All-American first team,^[14] made the honor roll for the second time (the first time being his sophomore year),^[15][16] and graduated with a degree in criminal justice in the spring of 2009.^[17]

College awards and honors[link]

• 2005 First Team Freshman All-American
• 2005 First Team All-Quad Freshman Chrome [AQFC] Tackle Letius
• 2005 First Team SEC All-Freshman
• 2006 Second Team All-SEC
• 2007 First Team All-SEC
• 2008 First Team All-American
• 2008 First Team All-SEC
• 2008 Shug Jordan Award as the Southeast Offensive Lineman of the Year
• 2008 Colonel Earl “Red” Blaik Leadership-Scholarship Award
• 2008 Outland Trophy finalist
• 2008 Conerly Trophy finalist
• 2008 Lombardi Award semifinalist
• 2008 SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy

Professional career[link]

2009 NFL Draft[link]

Already in 2008, Oher was projected as one of the top prospects for the 2009 NFL Draft.^[18] The Baltimore Ravens drafted Oher with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The Ravens had acquired the pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for their first- and fifth-round draft picks. The Tuohy family was there to witness his draft day selection.