An interesting item popped up on eBay in the past week. It’s a torn ticket stub from the 1969 Michigan-Vanderbilt game held on September 20, 1969. Normally a non-conference game against Vanderbilt wouldn’t spark much intrigue but this one is special: it was Bo Schembechler’s first game as head coach. You don’t see a lot of 1960s era Michigan items up on eBay. Michigan football was a bit down, folks didn’t hold onto stuff back then and certainly, fans didn’t realize quite yet that they had a legend standing on the sideline. But some cool items have survived like the Vandy stub and memorabilia like this vintage ’69 pocket schedule with a great photo of young general Bo: As far as the game that day, Bo’s not-so-mellow men came out firing as the unranked Wolverines put a 42-14 beat down on the Commodores in front of 70,000 curious fans. The game was the first played on the artificial turf that new AD Don Canham used to carpet the gridiron, but I suspect that most fans wanted to get a good look at this guy “Bo”. Apparently, they saw enough as only 49,000 showed up the following week against Washington. The holder of this ticket stub didn’t get the best view of Bo as he was seated in row 88 on…
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Ultimate Michigan Football Highlight? You Decide
You like me have likely been suffering through ESPN’s tournament for the greatest sports highlight of all time (which inexplicably contains an entry with no actual footage and may have never actually happened: Babe Ruth’s called shot). I typically hate these things unless there’s some Michigan-related element to it (see Legg’s goal winning the ESPY). To make a bit interesting I rolled my head through the greatest highlights in Michigan football in the past 40 years or so. Several came to mind and I’m certainly missing some of your favorites. My favorite? See the pic that leads this story. I was in the upper deck in Spartan Stadium on the same side of the field and saw the whole thing. My head almost exploded when I realized what I had just watched. Here’s a poll and get your takes and feel free to add your own entry: {democracy} Here’s what I could find on the YouTube. Thankfully I witnessed each of these in person except for the great Wangler to Carter game winner and of course the Harmon ditty:
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Michigan Outdoors Man
It’s always great to catch up with former Michigan players. I recently chatted with Captain Michael Tilmann II, defensive back for Coach Moeller from 1991-1993. While his playing career was hampered by two knee surgeries, he went on to found Tilmann Outfitters, a premium vacation and fishing charter service out of beautiful Manistee, Michigan. He’s highly regarded in fishing circles and has hosted several shows on The Outdoor Channel. He was kind enough to speak with me: What are some of your best memories of your playing days? Tilmann: You mean the best memories that I can share?! It’d have to be having Bo come to speak to us before big games such as the Rose Bowls, Notre Dame, and of course against Ohio State. The respect he commanded when he walked into the full team meeting room was unmatched! As far as the games, the highlights were the ’92 and ’93 Rose Bowls, each against Washington. We lost the first with Elvis but won the second with Todd Collins. Here’s a photo from Pasadena on the sideline with Bo: Have you always wanted to be a fisherman?Tilmann: Yes, I’ve always loved to fish and this has been a lifelong dream of mine. That said, I’m proud to say I received my BS in Education. I am a teacher first…
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Must See: Expanded Wangler to Carter
Check out Brian Cook’s AOL Fanhouse post on the new montage put together by the talented “expressfan”. It’s not just your same old Wangler to Carter. He’s got clips from the Bo and Brandstatter on Michigan Replay talking about the play and about broadcasting legend Bob Ufer. Plus, he thankfully includes a great clip of two plays prior to the famous pass when Michigan threw the ball right into Indiana coach Lee Corso’s hands to kill the clock. In one of the Ufer recordings (not provided here) you hear him talk about this but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. It’s hilarious. Here’s the YouTube and don’t miss Cook’s take on the Fanhouse:
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Mark Harmon Faces Michigan, MSU
With the rumors that have Ryan Mallett and quarterbacks coach Scott Loeffler heading to UCLA, it’s a good time to look at the next item in the eBay watch series. Many of you know that Michigan legend Tom Harmon is the father of actor Mark Harmon and that the younger Harmon played quarterback at UCLA. What you may not know is that Mark’s Bruins actually faced his old man’s team in the early seventies and they both returned to Michigan the following year to battle the Spartans. Here are the programs for each game that were recently auctioned on eBay: There were a couple of storylines leading into the Wolverines trip to Los Angeles in 1972. The week prior UCLA started their brutal schedule with a huge win over #1 Nebraska, snapping the Huskers’ 32-game winning streak. It was Harmon’s first game for the Bruins, and a wishbone offense was installed to suit the new quarterback. Mark was named the MVP of the game and finished with 71 rushing yards. A headline in Sports Illustrated that week declared, “YOUNG HARMON MAKES HIS MARK: From Out of Hollywood Comes the Saga of Mark Harmon, Handsome, Articulate, the Son of Old No. 98”. Geez SI, take a cold shower. The other storyline for the game was of course the son playing his legendary…
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Carr wins Dodd
Last night they announced that Coach Carr won the Bobby Dodd Foundation coach of the year award. Obviously this was a nod of respect to the departing coach who by all accounts is highly respected in the profession. Here’s the selection panel if your interested. He’s not the first M man to win as Bo won the award in its second year back in 1977.
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Carty: They’re fat
Per AA News columnist Jim Carty, the team (save Marquis Slocum) looked noticeably a tad plump at the open practice: Hart looks to be carrying a few extra pounds and he was far from alone. Right guard Alex Mitchell and a number of other linemen on both sides of the ball are as big as they’ve been all year, and by big, I mean big as in bellies, not big as in ripped. I question this a little bit, I mean, what’s Carty’s frame of reference? The locker room after the regular season games? He did add that Henne and Hart appeared to be a full strength despite Hart’s portliness. Elsewhere, the New York Times named Rich Rodriguez one of its 5 individuals who had a major impact on the sports world in 2007. Pete Thamel who does the Times’ The Quad Blog wrote the piece. On the Michigan hire: By hiring Rodriguez, Michigan, which had clung to its Bo Schembechler-bred power football roots, essentially pulled its head from the proverbial cloud of dust and conceded that gaining 3 yards at a time was no way to win national titles. Finally, I’m not a doctor but looks like they should have delivered Henne’s cortisone shots in his arse.
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Michigan Tradition 101: Study Guide for Coach Rodriguez
In his introduction press conference last week, Coach Rodriguez was up front about not knowing much about the Michigan football tradition. He promised to take a book on Bo Schembechler (I assume it was the new one, John Bacon’s Bo’s Lasting Lessons) home over the weekend and give it a read. I think most Michigan fans are concerned about wins and losses and would trade a championship for a coach that knows, cherishes and embraces the previous hundred and thirty years of football in Ann Arbor. Fine. But there are quite a few of us around that the tradition matters. Again, not to say that an outsider can’t come in and embrace it. While I’m growing tired of the Bo references to this situation, you have to consider Schembechler. Bo wasn’t quite a complete outsider as was Rodriguez, but he was an outsider nonetheless and is now the quintessential M man. Count me as a one that will be disappointed if during his Monday press conference on November 3, 2008, Coach Rodriguez fails to recount the history of the Little Brown Jug, as Coach Carr did each year during his tenure. And consider me ‘blue’ if we learn that Rodriguez doesn’t do something each practice to prepare for Ohio State, as has been done by each opponent since the days…
