During the 1979 and 1980 seasons, Wangler and Anthony Carter formed one of the most successful passing combinations in Michigan Wolverines football history.
Wangler attended Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he starred in both football and basketball.
[4] In its game coverage, the Associated Press wrote that "John Wangler brought alive a sluggish Michigan offense.
[4] The game-ending pass from Wangler to Carter has been called "the greatest single play in the 100-year history of Michigan football.
The Gannett News Service wrote: "Michigan, riding the arm of quarterback John Wangler and the fancy footwork of tailback Butch Woolfolk, rolled all over hapless Wisconsin here Saturday afternoon, 54–0.
Freshman Rich Hewlett got the start at quarterback, as Schembechler tried to surprise Ohio State with an option offense.
[4] Michigan ended the regular season with an 8–3 record and accepted an invitation to play against North Carolina in the Gator Bowl.
With 9:47 left in the half, Wangler threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Carter who was open at the North Carolina 20-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone.
[23] On the next drive, with Michigan leading, 9–0, Wangler was sacked by North Carolina's Lawrence Taylor midway through the second quarter.
O'Connor later recalled, "Usually, that type of injury is not compatible to coming back to the level that Wangler did ..."[26] Schembechler added, "I never thought he'd play again.
"[26]In his book, The Blind Side, Michael Lewis cited Taylor's sack of Wangler as an example of the vulnerability of quarterbacks.
"[27] Wangler told Lewis, "I was invited to try out for the Lions and Cowboys, but everyone was kind of afraid of the severity of my injury.
"[32] Wangler entered the game briefly and completed three of four passes for 36 yards, but Schembechler stuck with Hewlett in the fourth quarter.
Wangler replaced Hewlett in the second quarter,[33] throwing two touchdown passes (to Lawrence Ricks and Norm Betts) in the span of 1:19 to tie the game, 14–14, at halftime.
[34] In the third game of the season, Michigan faced a South Carolina team led by 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers.
[35] South Carolina scored 14 points in the second half and held the Wolverines scoreless to win the game 17–14.
"[41] The New York Times also took note: "Statistically, the conference's leading passer going into last weekend's games was John Wangler of Michigan, one of the runningest teams of the 1970's.
[44] Wangler drew praise for his handling of the crowd noise on a fourth down play at the Wisconsin four-yard line facing the student section at the north end of Camp Randall Stadium.
[45] In the tenth game of the season, Michigan faced a Purdue team led by senior quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Herrmann.
[4] The errors led coach Schembechler to say, "It may not be the prettiest win and its wasn't the most explosive offensive show you've ever seen, but we won it.
[51] He also won the Big Ten Medal of Honor as the Michigan student in the graduating class of 1981 who had best demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics.
The Associated Press ran a feature story on Wangler's coming back from adversity to lead Michigan to the Rose Bowl.
Jim Harbaugh noted, "Bo started to adapt from an option-based offense to more of a balanced attack when he had John Wangler at QB and Anthony Carter at receiver in the early '80s, and I benefited from that greatly.
"[55] After graduating from Michigan, Wangler attended training camps with the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions,[56] and New York Jets,[57] but never made an NFL roster.
As the Panthers also drafted Anthony Carter, the signing led to interest in the Wangler-Carter pass combination being reunited.
[59] In the 1983 Academy-Award nominated film, The Big Chill, Wangler is featured briefly on television during a game against Michigan State.
A pass of his is completed, but is called back due to a clipping penalty, much to the consternation of Tom Berenger's character, Sam Weber.
[60] In 1988, Wangler was engaged to Suzanne Marie Pagella, a former Ohio State cheerleader who became a television news anchor in Detroit, Lansing and other Michigan cities.
[62] Since approximately 2000, Wangler has owned and operated Top Cat Sales, a wholesale distributor of licensed apparel and footwear for Reebok and Adidas.
[62][63] Wangler's company printed several hundred championship T-shirts for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.