This Saturday (9/28/2019) would have marked Tom Harmon’s 100th birthday. Here’s my salute to Michigan’s great 1940 Heisman Trophy recipient, Old 98. What better way to mark this occasion then to relive this incident during the 1940 Cal game? After deking out several Bear defenders, Harmon faces one more “Cal” man near the endzone – a pickled fan named Harold Brennan who had enough of Terrible Tommy and decided to take matters into his own hands.
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Luring Tom Harmon (1937)
Eighty years ago today on November 13, 1937, this Western Union telegram landed in Ann Arbor (a copy was later obtained by the Michigan Daily and plastered on the front page): In the fall of 1937 things were a bit dicey for the football program. Since the 1933 national championship, coach Harry Kipke’s crew had just a handful of wins on the field. And in November 1937 the university launched a well-publicized investigation of the program, suspecting that football players were being “subsidized.” Kipke was sitting atop a flaming hot seat. If you need a two-minute version of Kipke’s mess, check out this episode of This Week in Michigan Football History: As the drama unfolded, eyes turned to Michigan freshman Tom Harmon. Despite the struggles on the field (..but perhaps due to some of the questionable behavior off the field), Kipke landed the multi-sport high school superstar from Gary, IN. In the fall of ‘37, he suited up for the freshman football team as was required back then. Harmon’s athletic exploits in high school made him widely known in the sporting world and even as a freshman, having yet to take a snap on the varsity squad, a Chicago Tribune headline dubbed frosh Harmon a “star”. Suddenly Harmon found himself involved in the off-field drama. He was named in the…
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Happy Birthday….Old 98 Tom Harmon
Born on this day in 1919…the Gary Galloper, Old 98, The Hoosier Hammer, Terrible Tommy. A tribute to his run against Cal that happened, coincidentally, on this day back in 1940: Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Tom Harmon Exhibit at the U-M Bentley Library
A few hours after I published this post discussing how the Michigan Football Legends program has spawned fresh materials on these guys and their eras…I got this press release from the U-M Bentley Library: Harmon of Michigan The Bentley Historical Library is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibit, “Harmon of Michigan” focusing on the life and career of University of Michigan football legend Tom Harmon. The exhibition, in conjunction with the “unretiring” of Harmon’s famed number 98 jersey this season, highlights Harmon’s college career at Michigan, both as a student and an athlete. Using archival documents, photographs, and artifacts, including material recently acquired through Harmon’s son, Mark Harmon, the exhibit traces Harmon’s career as the University of Michigan’s first Heisman Trophy winner, World War II pilot and war hero, and a pioneering radio and television broadcaster. The exhibit is curated by Greg Kinney. The exhibit runs from September 3 to December 20, 2013. Exhibit Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Special Event: September 7, 2013, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On September 7, the day of the Note Dame game, at which Tom Harmon will be honored, the Bentley Library will have special exhibit viewing hours. There will also be repeated showings of the 1965 television program “One Saturday Afternoon.” Produced…
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Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5 (Full Episode)
Big Ten Icon #5 Tom Harmon.. Follow MVictors on Twitter Related: Inside Big Ten Icons Big Ten Icon #5 – Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5
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Tom Harmon Radio (Feb-3 – WTKA audio)
photo via this site I swung by WTKA 1050AM this morning to chat with Ira and Sam about the great Tom Harmon, the Big Ten Network’s #5 Icon. The show will air Sunday at 2:30PM (and re-air at 9pm, if the Super Bowl is a dud.) [display_podcast] – More Harmon stuff: Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5 The Drunk and Old 98 Tommy’s the BMOC Harmon and Old Number..Six? Tom Harmon says ‘Vote Heston’ Harmon Jitterbugs with Joan & Jinx Harmon Goes for the Gusto
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Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan
Continuing the discussion of items you might not know about Harmon. In the last post, I mentioned his high school athletic prowess at Horace Mann High in Gary, Indiana. An interesting question is why he ended up at Michigan. Three factors would suggest that Harmon might consider a different destination during his senior year of 1936-37: Harmon had brothers who were athletes at relatively nearby Purdue & another who landed at Tulane. Michigan football was in the middle of a horrible stretch, coming off the worst 3-year span in school history from 1934-1936. (And still the worst three year stretch, thanks Brian for having my back.) He was walking into a serious rough patch and head coach Harry Kipke was under fire. The powerhouse at the time was jug rival Minnesota, with Bernie Bierman’s Gophers rolling up a string of 3 straight national championships. Nearby Notre Dame and coach Elmer Layden had some decent teams in the mid-1930s as well. One disclaimer: I’m not a Harmon biographer of course. These thoughts draw upon what I’ve read over the years (which isn’t everything). The non-cynical view: THIS IS MICHIGAN! Despite the tough stretch, U-M was still a great football power with two national titles in the decade under Kipke. On top of this and perhaps more importantly, Harmon’s high school coach…
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Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5
This morning the BTN revealed that Old 98 Tom Harmon will be the next athlete featured in their Icons series. The Harmon segment will appear on Super Bowl Sunday at a special time: 2:30PM (and will re-air again at 9pm). The BTN cameras were on campus last week interviews for the feature. This week I’ll run a few posts on interesting things you might not know about Harmon. You know he’s #98 and the Heisman winner and of course he’s actor Mark Harmon’s dad. (Mark did consider coming to Michigan FWIW—his pops stayed out of it.) For starters, here’s a little about Harmon’s exploits before he even strapped on Crisler’s new-fangled winged helmet: High School Days Harmon was beyond a standout athlete in high school—he was off the charts. It was in his blood, demonstrated by his athletic family. Two of Harmon’s brothers ended up at Purdue, another at Tulane. In addition to being named all-state quarterback twice, Harmon earned 14 varsity letters at Horace Mann High in Gary, IN. He captained the 1936 basketball team and won the state title in the 100-yard dash & the 200-yard low hurdles. He tossed three no-hitters in AAU summer baseball. Fielding Yost called him the scholastic athlete of the year. It was in high school that Harmon also settled on the famous…
