• The Huckleby Wink & The 1970s Player Introductions | Storytime with Dr. Sap

    By Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis In the 1970s player introductions for college football games were very different compared to the productions that they are now.  There were no fancy graphics, no computer-generated backgrounds, and no animations some forty years ago.  While the intros back then lacked the glitz and glamour of today’s game, they made up for it in uniqueness and creativity. In 1973, the player introductions for the Michigan-Ohio State game were announced over the Michigan Stadium public address system. ABC-TV’s Bill Fleming was live on the field and had the players run-up to the on-field camera as he announced their names to the sell-out crowd and national TV audience, literally minutes before kickoff.  Those introductions were epic and captured the emotion of the moment.  None were better than Michigan’s Curtis Tucker, Dave Gallagher, and Paul Seal’s introductions. A few years later, ABC decided to use video mug shots at the Friday walkthroughs for both teams instead of delaying the start of the game with on-field player introductions.  This was relatively boring as the players were usually just standing there in their team-issued sweat-suits as the camera moved down the line, one by one. Then, in 1978, Michigan tailback Harlan Huckleby added a subtle coolness to his intro for the game against Notre Dame.  When the camera moved in…

  • The Bo Brackets | Schembechler Sixteen Results

    Via the mind of Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis, here are the Round 1 results of the Bo Brackets.  ROUND 1 GAMES – 1970s 1969 vs 1970In a close game, 1969 pulled away late in the 2nd half with a pic-six by Barry Pierson and a Garvie Craw 1-yard TD run that came off a Tom Curtis interception.   Final Score: 21-71969 advances   1971 vs 1972Dennis Franklin out dueled Tom Slade for most of this game, but Billy Taylor scored his 2nd TD of the contest on a 65-yard scamper to put the ’71 squad up, 17-13. Franklin’s last second Hail Mary pass was batted down by Thom Darden in the endzone to preserve the victory for the 1971 team as they move on.   Final Score: 17-13 1971 advances   1976 vs 1977Rob Lytle ran for three TD’s as the ’76 squad looked to make this game a blowout, but Rick Leach’s three TD passes in the 4th quarter tied the game at 21 with just under a minute to go. Jim Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to set up Bobby Wood’s game winning 33-yard field goal. Final score: 24-21. Final Score: 24-211976 advances   1973 vs. 1974A back and forth contest that saw the lead change 3 times, this game, not surprisingly, came down to a…