This week in Michigan Football History - August 25, 1995, a look back at the Virginia Michigan game dubbed The Pigskin Classic. Michigan QB Scott Driesbach led a stunning comeback, connecting with Mercury Hayes with 4 seconds left to win the game.
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Fitz and Frank Stay Home (Official Statement)
Via U-M Media relations. Not a surprise to me. Statement from Head Coach Brady Hoke on running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and defensive end Frank Clark: "Fitzgerald Toussaint and Frank Clark have been suspended for one game and will not make the trip to Dallas for Saturday’s game.” "The decision was not easy, but I feel it is in the best interest of this program and for these kids, and those always will be my priorities. We have choices every day, and you have to be accountable to this program, your teammates, your family and the University of Michigan." "These are our sons. These are real lives, and I think too often many people forget that. It’s not always just about football, or a football decision. It’s about teaching life lessons, and if this helps these kids or someone else make a right decision later, then we’ve won. That is ultimately what we are here for, to help them grow and mature to become better sons, fathers, husbands and members of society.” "They are good young men who made poor choices, and we will continue to support them as members of our team and family."
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Desmond Howard joins WTKA (08-28 audio)
Desmond and Marcus Ray – 1990 SI cover legends sitting side by side The Magic man joined Ira and Sam this morning on WTKA to talk Michigan, Denard, Alabama, the Spartans, and his outlook on the college football season. Includes a nice story on when he first met Denard, an encounter they had in luggage claim after a flight to Florida (I thought Desmond had a private jet! What?) and more: [display_podcast] Follow MVictors on Twitter Related: @TreezyUM21?
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The Willis Ward Petition– 78 Years Later
Seventy eight years ago this fall the U-M campus was set ablaze. Students and teachers held heated (heated as in objects and insults being hurled) debates/protests over the proper way to handle the Georgia Tech game. You know the story by now: The Jackets visited Ann Arbor but made it known well before the game that they would only play if Michigan’s African American end, Willis Ward, didn’t participate. The saga, including background and the aftermath is documented in the documentary Black and Blue which you should own in your collection. The largest group, the United Ward Front, was a group of students and professors with a simple demand: Ward plays against Tech or the game should be cancelled. They gathered over 1,500 signatures in support and led many of the protests (clip from the 1934 Michigan Daily to the left). Fast forward nearly 78 years. The guys behind Black and Blue have a new petition —one urging U-M to honor Willis Ward on October 20, 2012. You can sign on here: http://www.change.org/petitions/honor-willis-ward The are asking U-M to honor Ward on Saturday October 20, 2012 because this will be the 78th anniversary of the Georgia Tech game. On top of that, Ward would have been 100 this year and the Michigan state legislature is already expected to declare that Saturday…
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Bo Thinks About…Practice
Thanks for reader Jonathan for passing this along. Check out this shot of Bo watching practice on the old practice field off of State Street: Looks like it made page 10 back in the day. It makes page 1 in my book. Update: I’ve been asked a few times if the old style, fitted Bo New Era M hats are still available. Naturally Underground Printing in Ann Arbor has them (and I’m guessing Moe’s). I was in there today:
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The Bacon Balcony Awaits (Jim Rome Audio 08-23)
Here’s John U. Bacon joining U-M grads/comedians/actors The Sklar Brothers as they guest hosted the Jim Rome show today. Bacs did a wonderful job discussing an unsourced rumor from an alleged incident a few years ago that I won’t discuss here…and more importantly, his upcoming book on college football (4th and Long: One League, Four Teams and the Future of College Football) and he served up a few takes on how the whole mess at Penn State will impact college football moving forward. [display_podcast] Strong work by Bacs—he kept up the comedic pace with two pros and gave a top notch interview. HT to Matt once again for the audio hookup. * Follow John U Bacon on Twitter and tell him where to hang out in Happy Valley Follow MVictors on Twitter Reminder: Don’t forget I’ll be at Laurel Manor Monday night with Brian Cook and Angelique for the U-M Club of Detroit’s annual Football Kick-off bash.
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1902 Usher’s Ribbon (Michigan-Minnesota)
So you don’t see many authentic items on eBay that fall inside the Yost Point-A-Minute era from 1901 to 1905. There’s one up now. So check out this Usher’s ribbon for the Thanksgiving day game held on November 27, 1902. It’s the last game played between the Gophers and Wolverines that didn’t involve a certain water crock. It wasn’t until the following year, 1903, that the Little Brown Jug was purchased in Minneapolis, left behind after the game, and reclaimed by Michigan in 1909…and the rest is college football history. Looking at the Usher’s ribbon, it looks to be authentic, although I’m not suggesting that someone would have the stones to forge such a thing, but you never know. Having written on this stuff for a while now when I first spotted the ribbon I knew I’d seen that font style before. Sure enough, on this vintage MVictors post from 2006, you clearly see the athletic department favored that print type on official materials including this 1901 season athletic pass that I’d give my right pinky to have on my wall. The usher who donned this silk ribbon watched Michigan take down the Gophers 23-6 in the ‘02 season finale. Yost and crew once again ran the table finishing the season a perfect 11-0, outscoring opponents 644-12 to claim the…
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The Brady Aura (8-20-12 audio)
Check out this clip today from the Jim Rome radio show. Here’s former NFL lineman Ross Tucker with guest host Kyle Brandt chatting about Tom Brady. In the clip Tucker describes a particular nuance Brady brought into the huddle when the two were teammates in New England and what it felt like to play with the legend: [display_podcast] HT to Matt for passing along the clip
