• Forty-Seven & Victors Valhalla

    As discussed this weekend, Dave Brandon said he planned to extend an offer to the families of U-M players who’ve had their jersey number retired to be honored as Michigan Football Legends. If those families signed off, that would mean U-M would effectively “un-retire” those numbers and have them join #21 in the Legends program with a dedicated locker, a special patch on the jersey along with some prime, dedicated real estate in Victors Valhalla* inside Schembechler Hall.   As mentioned I’d like to see this happen and I hope those families eventually agree to do this.  Of course we won’t ever see a timetable from State Street for this to happen, so I sought out Ben McCready, the godson of Bennie Oosterbaan, to get his thoughts.  "I would love to see #47 on the field again," McCready told me.  "It would remind players and fans, old and new, about the incredible playing and coaching legacy of the greatest athlete in the history of the University of Michigan." McCready also recently contacted a couple of Oosterbaan’s closer living relatives and found that they were also supportive of the Legends concept.  "They loved the idea," he shared. So—this is far from official and we’ll see where this goes from here, but I see this as excellent news.  If the Oosterbaan family steps…

  • Retiring #21 Gets the Heisman

    Momentum seems to be building for another former M player (or 2) to have their jersey number retired, something that hasn’t happened since 1994 when we hung up President Ford’s #48.   As Mike Rosenberg discussed recently, Coach Carr brought it up and supports the idea: "Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson, as winners of the Heisman Trophy, I think they are both deserving of having those jerseys retired," Carr said Wednesday. "I believe that … I think it’s an issue that is very important to Michigan football." I’m not big on retiring jerseys but if the tradition is going to continue, I’d love to see Desmond and Woodson honored.  And while I don’t think there is racist intent, it’s still a bit glaring after all these years (and Heismans) that no African American is represented among those retired. So this brings me to this, and thanks to my man and local writer James Dickson (see MVictors guest posts) for allowing me to post this beauty.  A while ago JD dug up this October 1997 report from Amy Whitesall of Ann Arbor News, announcing that #21 would be hung up for good: Except of course none of that ever happened. So what’s deal?  The report was pretty specific (U-M board voted Tuesday…ceremony next season…) so you’ve got to believe something was seriously…