• Coach Robinson’s Championship Ring (1990)

    It looks like another Michigan championship ring up for auction, this time a 1990 Big Ten Championship Ring.  Here’s a look: A few notes: Like most of these rings it’s 10K gold. It appears as though the stone is maize colored, the first time I can recalled seeing that. Reads “Big Ten Champions” around the stone. One side reads “Count On Me” which I take to be the team slogan that season, along with the score 35-3 below an alligator.  That of course is a nod to the 1991 Gator Bowl when Gary Moeller’s men crushed Mississippi (Wolverine Historian YouTube).   That’s the game the entire Michigan offensive line (Dean Dingman, Tom Dohring, Greg Skrepenak, Matt Elliott, Steve Everitt) was named the MVPs of the game.  Steve Everitt told the Ole Miss guy across him, “YOU LIKE THAT, HUH??” a record 17 times that day. The other side features the player/coach name, a depiction of the Big House and their position/role on the team. This one belonged to a coach named “Robinson”.  There wasn’t a major position coach on the team with that surname but the team photo does reveal a David Robinson, fourth from the right in the seventh row, probably supporting S&C or another group: So…this probably was this man’s ring.  Having featured a bunch of rings on this…

  • eBay Watch: Hand Him the Hustler Award (1990+)

    While Wolverine fans tend to toss any great individual performance that occurred during a loss in the circular file, there are a few that stand out.  One of those is tailback Jon Vaughn’s 201-yard rushing performance in Gary Moeller’s coaching debut, a thrilling 28-24 loss in South Bend in 1990.  Thanks to eBay, we now also know that Vaughn had a little more than game film and the occasional ache/pain to remember that great effort.  Evidently Vaughn was the game’s ‘Offensive Hustler’: Yes, apparently Coach Mo not only dealt out helmet stickers, he also handed out Little League second place trophies for individual efforts.  Per the auction description: Very rare one of a kind John [sic] Vaughn offensive hustler award for the game on sep 15 1990 vs the notre dame fighting irish. The trophy stand approx 14 inches high. The trophy does have some wear in areas. Please note that this trophy does not specifically mention his name. However i just recently purchased a memoribilia [sic] grouping from John [sic] Vaughn. Vaughn earned more prestigious honors at the end of the season, particular co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.   Against Moeller’s advice, Vaughn bolted to the NFL after the season and had a short career in the bigs.  Other Hustlers eBay Here’s a couple other guys who deserved…