In 2014 I had the honor to interview Bump Elliott. We chatted about his championship season of 1964, his legacy, facing his brother Pete and much more.
-
-
The Legend Bennie Oosterbaan | This Week in Michigan Football History
This Week in Michigan Football History returns for the home opener with a honoring the Michigan legend Bennie Oosterbaan who was officially launched into the Michigan Football Legends program on this Saturday back in 2012: Check it out Saturday live from the Go Labatt Blue Victors Lounge and on WTKA 1050AM starting at 8am. script after the jump:
-
The Michigan ‘Mad Magicians’ Travel Budget (1947)
Check out this letter including the estimated budget for the trip then-Coach Crisler and his Mad Magicians Magicians would take to Pasadena to pummel USC in the Rose Bowl. It includes the logistics of the nearly two-day trek to the west coast involving stops in Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico.
-
Missing Chap
So sad to get the news this week that Bob Chappuis, a true Michigan football legend passed away. I have many thoughts on this, but mainly a big regret. I was working on doing an interview with Mr. Chappuis this spring, already did the prep work, and had the questions and materials ready– it just needed to happen. For a few different reasons, it didn’t happen and obviously, that’s something I can’t get back. Michigan announcing they are unretiring the jerseys of Oosterbaan, Kramer and Ford brought to mind Chappuis to me this week, because I was hoping U-M would honor his #49 while he was still with us. (I think I said as much on WTKA last year but can’t find the clip). It will happen someday. Chappuis was a frequent visitor to the press box for games, often sitting with fellow legend Don Lund and family near the south side. Here’s a pic from 2010 before the UMass game: He could have occupied a chapter in Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation’: a sports legend, WWII airman, businessman, family man. Truly a great life. Speaking of his exploits in WWII, check out this once-classified report on the crash of his plane “Idiots Delight” (naturally, via U-M Bentley Historical Library) over Italy: For U-M fans, may Mr. Chappuis live on in diagrammed…
-
Michigan Drives The Trojans Mad (1948)
I can’t get enough of these diagrammed wire photos from yesteryear..especially those that capture the brilliance of Bob Chappuis and the Mad Magicians, here exposing the USC defense in the ‘48 Rose Bowl: The Wolverines pounded USC 49-0 and delivered Fritz Crisler a national championship is his final game at the helm of the Blue. Time Magazine did a nice job in describing the beating: Southern Cal’s beefy bruisers, the West Coast champs, were not clubbed to death. They were just hoodwinked and whipsawed by Michigan’s slickers. Jack Weisenburger, Crisler’s sturdy spinning fullback, started most of Michigan’s backfield ballet and ball-handling hocuspocus, and chewed through the center of Southern Cal’s bewildered line for three Michigan touchdowns.
