[Ed. Here’s another great Bo-era story from the mind of Dr. Sap.] Guest Post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis After Bo Schembechler left U-M to become the president of the Detroit Tigers he met Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley. Finley liked to dabble in the unique as he was the inventor of the high visibility yellow baseball as well as the green and gold tunics the A’s wore in the ‘70s. The two talked about Finley’s new football invention – the reverse dimple football. Its enhanced grip was supposed to improve the accuracy of throws and increase the distance it was kicked. [more on the patent here.] The grip enhancement looked much like a golf ball’s surface and the leather looked something like this: Bo was intrigued and told Finley to go see U-M equipment manager Jon Falk in Ann Arbor…and that’s exactly what he did in the spring of 1990. The two hit it off and Falk agreed to try the new ball that Rawlings now dubbed the “Double Grip Football” with the 1990 Wolverines. Everybody liked it. The quarterbacks liked the grip and felt more accurate throwing it. The receivers liked the tackiness and the kickers felt it sailed longer when booted. Falk wanted to use the new pigskin against Notre Dame to start the 1990 season, but…
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The Willis Ward Protests (1934)
A breakdown of the campus-chaos leading up to and following the infamous 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game. U-M benched Ward and succumbed to Tech's demand to not play against a black player. Read on:
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Ufer Returns Saturday!
God bless your maize and blue fedora-covered ears, old Ufe returns Saturday! Continuing an awesome tradition, starting at 9am Saturday WTKA 1050AM will air another game from the Bob Ufer radio archives, this time the battle between the #11 ranked Michigan men and #16-ranked Michigan State at Spartan Stadium played on October 6, 1979. A huge thanks to the great Dr. Sap, a few clips from the game for you: So after weeks of ignoring those important in your life, tune in while you are making good with your spouse, friends, family or putting rake to leaf in the yard. Go Blue! Stats, as you can see Braylon’s old man carried the load. [more stats here] More on Bob Ufer here. Follow MVictors on Twitter there.
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Sights & Sounds | Michigan 18, Penn State 13
A few sights and sounds from the 2014 Penn State game including blue pants, a lightshow, Roy Roundtree pregame and much more:
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Getting Wild About Harrys | 1930 #TWIMFbH
For tomorrow’s evening affair, a trip back to 1930, a season that started with a double-header(!) in front of only 13,000 fans but was notable nonetheless. In that year coach Harry Kipke got things working and started a string of 4 consecutive conference crowns. October 11, 1930 was week 3 when his Wolverines faced defending league champ Purdue. This game also marked the debut start of would-be superstar quarterback Harry Newman. Check it out: [display_podcast] You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here…And don’t forget to catch it live Saturday on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM or inside the Bud Light Victors Lounge starting at 3pm. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Charity Schmarity (1931) | A Benefit at Michigan Stadium
In 1931 the Western Conference agreed to schedule a full slate of games to benefit a fund for the many Depression-era unemployed worker at the end of the season. The league also agreed the games would count in the tight conference standings.
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Curses and Clans
Bless you blogs. During bona fide crisis such as this we need thee. Read this #1: Craig at The Hoover Street Rag explores why we are cursed. (Because we are certainly cursed). A list of the possible curses: 1. President Ford2. Little Brother3. Herbie4. Tim Tebow5. The Yost Bleachers6. Clowney7. The Kraft Noodle8. Old 98 + 9. Chicken Dance + 10. Skywriters Example: Read this #2: Picking up on my 2011 post, Mgo-reader saveferris checks in with ‘The Clans’ and does an excellent job rolling through the state of mind of the clans, given the ugly state of affairs. Well done sf. Example: Follow MVictors on Twitter
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The Heat (#A2C2)
Do something worthwhile on a weekend this fall: The Ann Arbor Chili Chowdown (A2C2), hosted by Ron’s Roadside BBQ, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct 12th from 12-3. Currently there are 20 confirmed restaurants including Grizzly Peak, Blue Tractor, Zingerman’s, Wolverine Brewing Co, and Black Pearl. The Ann Arbor community is invited to come out and cast their vote for Ann Arbor’s chili king. Former Michigan running back and NFL record holder Jamie Morris is going to emcee the event and live entertainment booked for the afternoon as well. Safehouse Center of Ann Arbor is the beneficiary of this first annual A2C2. If you’re not familiar with their work, they provide support for women and children impacted by domestic violence or sexual assault in Washtenaw County, including counseling, legal advocacy, and most importantly shelter. This event is particularly fitting in light of the recent Ray Rice NFL scandal and considering October is national Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Tickets are available for $20 presale or $25 at the door, and 100% of the proceeds go to the SafeHouse Center. Children 5 and under are free, and ages 6-12 are $7. For any more information, everyone can check out our Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/791739284211770/ They can also email annarborchilichowdown@gmail.com or call (217) 621-7040.
