• Bovember All Offense

    November 12, 2015 /

    [Ed. Given it’s Movember again, had to repost this beauty from back in 2013 from Dr. Sap, celebrating the greatest ‘stashes in U-M history.] The All-Schembechler mustachioed offense.   I supplied the stache’d Schembechler and the mustache ratings. Offensive GuardSTEFAN HUMPRIES1980-1983 CenterTOM DIXON1980-1983 Offensive GuardREGGIE McKENZIE1968-1971 Don’t let the look deceive you, #76 was as good as it gets on the O-line. Anchored the All-American O-line in 1981.  Every player ended up being an All-American selection. The standard by which all U-M guards are measured. Offensive TackleJON GIESLER1975-1978 QuarterbackSTEVE SMITH1980-1983 Offensive TackleGREG SKREPENAK1987-1991 Dude still looks tough today even without all the hair and the bowtie. Fastest dual-threat QB Bo had and could do it on the ground or in the air. Bo’s largest player at 6-8, 322. Fact: was a Road Grater and Pancake Machine FlankerANTHONY CARTER1979-1982 Tight EndCRAIG DUNAWAY1979-1982 Wide ReceiverVINCE BEAN1980-1984 Knew he was special when he scored a touchdown the 1st time he touched the ball. Most memorable catch was the game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame in 1980.  I still refuse to accept the final score! Played opposite AC but had a knack for getting BOTH feet in bounds. TailbackBILLY TAYLOR1968-1971 KickerBOB BERGERON1980-1983 FullbackSTAN EDWARDS1977-1980 The charter Movember member loved to wear stylish teal Puma cleats back in the day. Might have been the lightest player to don…

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  • Bo the Merciless (1981) | This Week in Michigan Football History

    November 7, 2015 /

    November 7, 1981 was a day of very mixed emotions in Ann Arbor.  For starters, it was the first home game since the passing of the iconic Bob Ufer.  Second, the opponent was Mike White and Illinois, a head coach and program that was on a list Bo Schembechler kept that you didn’t want to be on. Game highlights from WolverineHistorian, note back-up QB B.J. Dickey hurling the pigskin down the field late in the fourth quarter: Today we head back 34 years, to November 7, 1981, when Bo Schembechler’s #12 ranked Wolverines welcomed Illinois. Normally a crisp fall football Saturday in Ann Arbor is met with great joy, but on this day there was a somber mood in Ann Arbor as this was the first home game since the passing of the iconic Meeechigan radio voice Bob Ufer. Weeks earlier, he was honored by the student athletes when the coveted GO BLUE banner was redesigned to read BOB UFER. The marching band joined the tribute, creating a formation that spelled out his name upon Canham’s carpet. Before kickoff the fans observed a moment of silence. But there was business at hand and this was a big one – and the opponent created a different type of emotion for Michigan’s head coach. Across that field on the eastern sideline was…

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  • Weight, Weight do Tell Me

    November 3, 2015 /

    Update: Refreshed the data with the 2021 weights: Original post: The posting things like the tale of the tape from the epic 1903 Minnesota and Michigan game always sparks a few chuckles. ICYMI: So I took a gander at the Roster Database at the Bentley Historical Library.   Notes: The original dataset included a record for every player for every season.  After removing rows that didn’t have weight and the bad data (1997 OG Eric “Plankton” Warner weighs 2.5 pounds), we had nearly 10,000 records.  Keep in mind the “roster” appears to include everyone who even sniffed the gridiron – ineligible freshman, redshirts, and back-in-the-day second teams, etc. I’m not a data scientist and spent about 14 minutes on this.   Chart FWIW: A closer look at the spikes and dips since the late 1980s, kind of looks like welp guy ¯\_(?)_/¯ Updated:  Here’s the average height.  Despite the big jumps of weight in the 80s and 90s, height has basically remained flat since the late 1960s: Comparing height and weight, here’s how much players weighed per inch of height – the welp pattern is exaggerated since weight jumped up and down, but height stayed about the same: Looking at home states.   Stacking up the height and weight based on the listed home state – only shows those States with over 50…

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