• The Eleven Jugsmen

    From reader Daniel: I love reading the posts about custom Brown Jugs that readers make.  In an awesome twist of fate, I found myself as the owner of a replica mini Brown Jug.  Actually 11 of us did.  One of my good friends got married in August.  As a gift for all the guys who stood up, ushered, etc…he had replica Brown Jugs made. I had to pass these photos along. Right on, brother.   Best wedding photo EVER: Like those guys didn’t get action that night.   Check out these beauties:     One disappointment: As an ordained minister in Jugology, I feel like I should have officiated this wedding.  I case you are wondering, yes, all the scores are on there and it has the two spots awaiting the 2011 and 2012 games.   Nicely done, gents!  Consider yourselves in the Jug Brotherhood, Local 1903 along with: Brian Snider – 2011 post Eric Mierzwiak – 2009 post Mark Foster – 2010 post Dennis Dail – Post from earlier this year Related:  Little Brown Jug Lore 

  • The Jug Brotherhood +++

    A hearty well done to reader Brian Snider for being the latest member of the Little Brown Jug club, and did he ever.  Snider created not only a 5 gallon version (like the actual jug), he knocked out four and three-gallon versions: Snider joins: Eric Mierzwiak – 2009 post Mark Foster – 2010 post Dennis Dail – Post from earlier this year Each member of the group has drawn on the experiences of the others.  Perhaps we need to form a Union – The Brotherhood of Primers and Jug Painters, Local 1903. Great work Brian! Update #1:  Snider is offering the 4 gallon version of the jug on eBay right now.  It’s the easy way to enter the Jug Club.    Update #2:  And speaking of auctions, check out a new mgoauction featuring a Jug print signed by the A-Train, Chuck Woodson and Butch Woolfolk: For more on the jug, get with the lore: Part I: What Really Happened in the 1930s Part II: Spinning Myths Part III: Getting it Right Part IV: 2013: A Space Quandary Part V: Red Wing Roots Part VI: Is the Greatest Trophy in College Sports a Fake? Part VII: Open Questions Part VIII: Doc Cooke and the Real Origins of the Rivalry

  • Little Brown Jug Club +1

    Congrats to collector Dennis Dail for joining the official Jug Club.  His painstaking work paid off, wouldn’t you agree? He joins Eric Mierzwiak (2009 story) and Mark Foster (2010 post) in the elite group and between us girls, I understand we may have a fourth member soon.  Here’s Dennis’s story in his own words: I wanted to shoot you a note to let you know my Little Brown Jug is finally complete and being displayed in my Michigan Cave in my basement….took me several months of late evening work, but I wanted to make it exactly like the Real Jug. I’m not sure if I have shared all this, but I found this “1905 5-gallon Red Wing Jug” (that’s what it said on the bottom) several years back at an Antique Shop, the big one on the South side of I-94 just over West of AA, that is now closed.  I pulled it out awhile back here and started the transformation process from a brown, ugly jug to the newly painted Little Brown Jug as we know it today.  It took many hours of planning, measuring, supply purchasing and thinking before the project began.  With help and tips along the way from fellow Jug maker Eric Mierzwiak and several visits to the local Sherwin Williams store, the painting began.  First…

  • Show me Your Signed Jugs

    Ahh yes, the recent flurry of jug discussion here has prompted yet another reader to send along his Little Brown Jug: Home Edition, and this one’s a beauty as well.  Thanks to reader Dennis who passed along these photos.  This was a gift he gave to his dad.  Not only is it a marvelous replica, it’s signed by a bevy of Michigan coaches (Bump, Mo, Lloyd, Bo, Rich Rod) each of whom have walked off the gridiron with the coveted crock during their tenure:   Dennis is looking to have Coach Hoke sign it as well.  My suggestion: wait until he earns it! So go ahead and update the list of things that will survive the Apocalypse:  cockroaches, Lions fans, airplane black boxes, Little Brown Jug replicas. Elsewhere: * It’s not as slick as any of the three replicas I’ve featured on these pages, but you can get a 1950s-version painted Little Brown Jug on eBay right now.  * Better yet, how about a lineup card from the 1909 Minnesota-Michigan game: the first battle for the jug?  I’m guessing the seller, who’s asking $300, knew he had something there.

  • His Own Little Brown Jug (v2)

    Reader Mark Foster recently ventured where only eagles dare: he set out to create a replica Little Brown Jug for his M-Mancave and inevitably to show off at tailgates and make women swoon, etc., etc. He pinged me first with a questions about certain details and I shot him some of the photos I’ve collected from the jug research.  Next, I pointed him to Eric Mierzwiak who, if you recall, in 2009 went on a similar quest and created a beauty of jug and had some great pointers on how to prime and paint the crock. Here’s a look at Mierzwiak’s masterpiece: Foster was find enough to send me the chronological blow-by-blow of the project, enjoy: