The next edition of eBay Watch once again looks over at Mastro Auctions for another cool item, this time an autographed copy of Woody Hayes’ 1969 tome, ‘Hot Line to Victory‘. It’s just one item in a collection of old programs and other goodies, but this is the standout item to me. Here’s the full auction. There are many autographed copies of Hot Line out there, but this one has a special note inside: If you can’t make it out it reads: To Gene RyanFrom John W. Printer [not sure what that means] Be sure not to pass any of this information on to Bo!Regards,Woody Hayes I wish I knew who Gene Ryan is and whether he truly had some ties to Bo Schembechler, but either way this is pretty cool. Michael Rosenberg talked a bit about Hot Line to Victory in his great book, War As They Knew It. In it he Rosenberg describes Woody’s tome as a “football textbook” and added, “the book was intended for the general public–Hayes wanted to share strategy and tactics with anybody who would listen.” While we don’t know who Gene Ryan is (yet), we do know that Woody’s comments not surprisingly were in jest. Obviously, Bo could have grabbed a copy off the shelf himself, but Woody made it easy. According to…
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Shand Uncensored: Part IV, The Rodriguez hire
The final segment of my four-part interview with former WTKA morning show host Dave Shand. In Part I, we discussed what Shand is up to these days, his lawsuit with Bill Martin, and his thoughts on the current morning crew at WTKA. In Part II, we looked at Jim Carty and the Ann Arbors News series on academics and athletics. Part III discussed Red Berenson, the future of the hockey program, and we got some of Shand’s candid feelings on how the University handled the Ed Martin mess. Wrapping things up, we turn to the Rodriguez hire. We talk about the hiring process, the deal that was allegedly struck in Toledo, the ensuing lawsuit, and finally, we get Shand’s thoughts on what Rodriguez’s system will bring on the field. Achtung! Shand uses some spicy language in this one (again). FWIW. MVictors: Michigan landed a big-name football coach in Rich Rodriguez. You’ve got a lawsuit with Bill Martin right now and of course, it was Martin who spearheaded the coaching search. What were your thoughts as you watched the coaching search unfold?: Shand: [laughing]It was a complete clusterfuck. It was an absolute disaster. And Bill Martin’s excuses, ‘I was at sea’ or whatever, I have no idea, he couldn’t contact Les Miles because he didn’t get permission from the athletic…
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Blue Books: Badgers Bungle Bo hiring
A couple weeks ago I looked back at Lou Holtz’s attempts to woo Michigan coach Lloyd Carr to South Bend and join his Irish staff. In late 1989 Carr had interviewed for the Wisconsin head coaching job which was eventually given to Notre Dame defensive coordinator Barry Alvarez. It was Alvarez’s departure that prompted Holtz to seek out Carr. Did you know that legendary General Bo considered an offer to take the reins at Madison back in the 60s? Indeed. Here’s an excerpt from John U. Bacon’s wonderful Bo’s Lasting Lessons, where Bo recounts what happened in Chapter Three titled ‘Wait for the Right Opportunity’: After we won our conference title in my third and fourth seasons at Miami–1965 & 1966–Wisconsin called. From the outside, it seemed like a pretty good job. Wisconsin’s a good school in a great league. It was about ten o’clock on a Sunday when I walk into this meeting room to face twenty guys sitting around–and some board member falls asleep, right there in front of me! Now what does that tell you? They also had a student on the committee, and this kid asks me how I would handle Clem Turner, a Cincinnati kid, who was always in trouble. Well, how the heck do I know how I would handle Clem Turner? I’ve never…
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Blue Books: Holtz Courting Lloyd Carr
This week we’ll go again to the absolute definitive tome on the Michigan-Notre Dame Rivarly, John Kryk’s Natural Enemies. There are several anecdotes of interest in the book, some I’ve mentioned on these pages before, and I’ll revisit some of these in the future. Today, a selection from Chapter 11 ‘Extra Points’. Lou Holtz will be honored at Saturday’s game and they are unveiling a statue. I’m sure Jason Peter has some thoughts on how to decorate the Holtz likeness. I don’t know if Lloyd Carr will ever be honored with a monument at Michigan but I’m sure he’ll get his name on a facility or prominent street. An obscure street near Michigan stadium was the reward for Depression era coach Harry Kipke, who won national championships but was also fired at the end of the decade. But according to Natural Enemies, Lou Holtz wanted Carr to join him in South Bend on a couple occasions: In an interview for this book in 2003, current Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr revealed that in the 1980s Lou Holtz twice tried to woo him to his staff at Notre Dame. Carr said he believes that the first offer from Holtz came in 1986. “One night I was sitting at home and Lou called me. I was shocked, honestly,” Carr recalled. “He said,…
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eBay Watch: 1976 Orange Bowl Stub
Next installment of eBay Watch features a somewhat unique piece of memorabilia from the Bo era, a ticket stub from the 1976 Orange Bowl game where Michigan faced Oklahoma. Here ‘s the auction, with a starting bid of $9.99 waiting for a taker, and here’s a snapshot of the stub being auctioned: For what it’s worth, here’s a cleaner version of how the ticket looked thanks to ticketmuseum.com, you can see they got a jump on the bicentennial craze right off the bat (1/1/76): The game holds a historic significance as the first non-Rose Bowl invite in Big Ten history (in the modern era). Under pressure from the Big Ten, much due to the dominance of Michigan and Ohio State over the past few years, the Big Ten decided that teams in the 1975 season would be allowed to play in a post-season game other than the Rose Bowl. The lock at the top by concerned the Big Ten, as these rivals cornered the market on recruiting pitches about bowl games. For Michigan fans, the game pretty much sucked and paled in comparison to the masterpiece put on in the 2000 Orange Bowl by Tom Brady and Alabama. Freshman Ricky Leach and the Wolverines lost 14-6 in a defensive battle struggle dominated by OU’s Selmon brothers, Leroy and Dewey, who…
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Interview with Michael Rosenberg: Part II
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Michael Rosenberg’s first book, War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a time of unrest, will be released September 10. I sat with Rosenberg this weekend after the Utah game. In Part I, the focus of the conversation was on the book. In Part II, we talk about his recent column where he sharply criticized Rodriguez, some of this thoughts on the Utah game and the rest of the season and close with a few more thoughts on the book. In a column earlier this year you went after Rich Rod pretty hard, you called Rodriguez ‘bullheaded’, you characterized him as a ‘serial job shopper’. Has your view of Rodriguez changed at all since you wrote the column? Rosenberg: No. But let me clarify a few things here. I do think he’s bullheaded. I think in some ways I think that’s helped him in his career, but I think he’s bullheaded. My issue is not that he was looking at other jobs. My issue is that this is his alma mater, he’s telling them publicly and privately how much he loved it there, and he’s going to be there, he made a big thing about turning down Alabama, and he’s going to stay there and show you can win national…
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Interview with Michael Rosenberg: Part I
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Michael Rosenberg’s first book, War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a time of unrest, will be released September 10. There have been a few reviews of the book out there already, and from what I’ve read it’s getting high marks. Rosenberg sent me an advance copy and I burned through the 330+ pages in a few days. It’s a wonderful read, well written and meticulously researched. A quick scan of the acknowledgments and book notes reveal the breadth of interviews, videos, books, and news sources that Rosenberg poured through to weave the tale of this period. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry certainly plays a key role in this book but it’s more of a backdrop. Rosenberg unveils how each man and their teams both dealt with and were affected by the social and political turmoil of this time. Mixed in are some new stories and a fresh, deeper look at some of the old legends. For me, the most interesting elements of the book: * Rosenberg’s accounts of the various protests in Ann Arbor and Columbus during the period. * The insight into the mind of Woody Hayes – the guy is completely off the charts. * And apologies to my English teachers/professors but I was also re-introduced to and…
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Norm Daniels’ 1931 Michigan Football Jersey!
This week on the uber-premium Mastro auctions site some incredible items surfaced including another jersey from one of Harry Kipke's great Depression Era teams. This time it's a 1931 uniform purported to have belonged to end Norm Daniels. Check it out,
