So the WSJ posted a piece [We Have a Basketball Team?] comparing the the lack of success of the Nebraska hoops program vis a vis the Cornhusker football team. Since I have a string of posts going mentioning the name Fielding H. Yost, I’ll note that in 1898 Yost was the head coach in Lincoln and led the Huskers to an 8-3 record, their first eight win season in history. The Huskers hold the distinction of having the biggest discrepancy between winning percentages between these two major programs, a gap of +.173 (football minus basketball). In the same piece they cite your Wolverines as having the second biggest gap. Details: But..when you’re talking about the team with the all-time highest winning percentage of all the teams to ever to play this collegiate sport, it’s not shocking to say there’s a decent gap between Michigan football and Michigan sport X. Next, the source of the data is the NCAA. It’s probably safe to assume their .579 all-time hoops winning % factors for the NCAA-vacated games, but the WSJ didn’t mention that. Yes, vacated means vacated and the NCAA is awesome and all that—but it was probably worth mentioning with a *. I checked with U-M media relations, they actually have the official winning % (factoring for the NCAA sanctions) at .578…
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80 Years Today…The Real Jug Returns!
Many of you know the story—For those who don’t read on. For those who do, skip to the bottom for a little Jug update. PANIC(!) erupted in mid-September 1931. The coveted Little Brown Jug, the symbol of the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry, vanished from the U-M Administration building. A frantic search ensued sending media relations man Phil Pack (think of a vintage Bruce Madej) all over town chasing leads. Based on a tip Pack even searched a few cider mills..but those visits proved fruitless. /wink Then, on November 19, 1931, the very same week of the Minnesota game that season, a car pulled up to the Tuomy Hills gas station (now the Bearclaw Coffee at the corner of Washtenaw and Stadium) with four men wearing “dark goggles.” One of the disguised passengers rolled out a jug onto the pavement & it was scooped up by gas station attendant K.D. Smith. While initial reports were skeptical of the authenticity of the crock, which was said to have been “freshly painted”, Fielding H. Yost himself inspected it and said it was indeed the real McCoy. A local sports writer said Yost was full of it, calling it “a clever imitation.” Michigan retained the jug in 1931 but then headed back to Minneapolis in 1932. Yost went along on the trip (Harry Kipke coached the…
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Michigan’s Grand Old Man Laid to Rest (1946)
On August 22,1946, Michigan lost its Grand Old Man—Fielding H. Yost. Here is a wire photo from Yost’s funeral procession. The photo depicts the casket and his pallbearers: J. Fred Lawton, the composer of ‘Varsity’. Legendary player and coach Bennie Oosterbaan. 1922 team captain Paul Goebel. 1925 team captain Robert Brown. Legendary M Swim coach Matt Mann Andrew Baker, Yost’s secretary For as many times as you’ve speculated that Yost was rolling over in his grave, now you’ve got an idea of what he’s rolling in. Curiously the gent who composed the photo caption spelled Bennie Oosterbaan’s first name correctly (with the “ie”, often butchered as Benny) but laid an egg hammering when it came to his last name (“Oosterbaum”). Bah. The caption of the wire photo reads “GRAND OLD MAN OF MICHIGAN FOOTBALL LAID TO REST”. I can’t summarize Yost’s impact on Michigan athletics in a single post and won’t really try to. While he was not a man without flaws, he leveraged his incredible success on the football field along with his business acumen to lead U-M to build an athletic campus (for men, for women, and in spirit, for the people of the State of Michigan) that was years ahead of its time, with iconic structures like Yost Field House, the U-M Golf Course, and of course…
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Woody slugs the Camerman (1977)
Late in this very 1977 game ABC cameraman Mike Freedman got a little too close to Hayes and the old man decked him right in the chest. but as I understand it, the TV audience saw Woody take the swing but didn’t see much after that. Freedman was jolted but wasn’t seriously injured. Here's the clip:
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Lost in Translation
Let’s say by happenstance you are parked in a hotel bar in a far away land where certain sports, like cricket, are king. The locals are aware there’s an “American football” but can’t fathom how an amateur/college team could be as popular as a professional or national team. So here goes the question. And to add a little context, I’m working on a piece on the winged helmet tradition, which turns 75 this season. In the opening paragraph I started to write something about its place amongst the most defining characteristics of the Michigan program…and stumbled. The question: [poll id=68] P.S. I didn’t put “Tradition” in here because I don’t think you can’t really define what Michigan tradition means without mentioning one (or all) of the above. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Fourth and Not Much Longer
Don’t look now folks but in a few weeks John U. Bacon’s Fourth and Long will be on bookshelves and the talk of the town..err..several towns. It officially drops September 3 and you can order it now on Amazon if you want to impress your friends. Bacs just posted a series a places where you can see him (even get an advance copy of the book), as well as the timing of several excerpts that will run nationally and on prominent sites. Via johnubacon.com: I’ll have updates on the book tour events, the schedule of excerpts and radio and TV appearances very soon, but here are the first events, with more information to come. To attend, feel free to contact these organizations to reserve your spot. We WILL have books available for all at all these stops, even those that pre-date the publication date. EVENTS: -Tuesday, August 20, lunchtime: Columbus, Ohio, Rotary Club, lunchtime. -Monday, August 26, 5:30 p.m.: UM Alumni Club of Chicago, at the Diag Bar. -Friday, September 6, 6 p.m.: Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor. -Tuesday, September 10, 6 p.m.: UM Alumni Club of Grand Rapids, at the Louis Benton Steakhouse. EXCERPTS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND STORIES -Friday, August 16: The Wall Street Journal: excerpt on how Penn State kept their team together PennLive.com: Review and story by…
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Maize Flakes
While I was with Dr. Sap visiting Capitol Varsity Sports last month we stubbed our collective toe on something. After we witnessed Russ Hawkins execute the helmet painting process A to Z, our hosts mentioned a unique twist to the U-M helmet they made in 2012. As prescribed by the athletic department, they added gold flakes into the maize paint…and showed us an example: Say what? So then there was the question: Did the team wear helmets with gold flakes nestled in the maize last season? Before checking with #1000SSS, I asked around and couldn’t find anyone aware of the change or a release talking about the flakes.* I checked out some close-ups of photos and didn’t really notice anything. Sap found one U-M collector, Dan Oles, who got his hands on a 2012 helmet that indeed had the flakes. Oles wrote to Sap, “I contacted a few players via twitter asking if the regular season helmets had maize glitter paint. They all confirmed that they did.” Oles even shot a note to Jon Falk who confirmed the change. Fast forward to today. I verified with media relations & with Falk that indeed the team had the bedazzled headgear in 2012. The change to the paint was announced as part of the Cowboy Classic uniform reveal…but the news release didn’t…
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With A Bit of Practice (Photos!)
Love the first practice and first game photos – always fun to post. From 20 minutes of practice today, enjoy: Gardner and Funchess and share a laugh Eight pack of Faygo Orange pop Jake Ryan . . . with a game jersey including the Bennie Oosterbaan Legend Patch! The big man putting on his clownish shoes Coach working on a beard? Reminder of a major goal on the South field wall Gibby arming himself for battle, still rocking the golden adidas cleats (why would he change?) Matt Wile with a special kicking shoe; a few guys had the all maize variety like that cat in the background. [According to this tweet, that cat with the maize kicks is Kenny Allen] FBs Joe Kerridge and Sione Houma (hair) stroll out of the Glick Shane Morris snapping a Slim Jim Mommmm! Ball’s stuck on the Oosterbaan roof again! Johnny ‘frickin’ Wangler, people Follow MVictors on Twitter – those who do saw many of these hours ago!
