Spotted this on eBay and had to pass it along: it’s what appears to be an official’s ribbon to the epic Michigan-Chicago game of 1898, the game that inspired U-M student Louis Elbel to compose The Victors (see above). Bidding is justifiably up over $400 right now – get some. While we’re on the topic of the famous 12-11 victory, a resurrected postscript:  Michigan was undoubtedly the Champions of the West in 1898, but looking back do our beloved Wolverines have a claim to the national championship that season?  It seems silly discussing this so many decades years later but there is a recent precedent for such action.   In 2004 Southern Cal looked back at its history and claimed the 1939 national championship.   And in August of 2012, our Little Brown Jug-toting buddies Minnesota announced that it claimed a share of the 1904 national championship.   While Harvard and Princeton each take credit for the 1898 crown based on different measurements – Does Michigan, who went undefeated and outscored opponents 205 to 26, have an argument to join them?