This week on eBay this beauty popped up on eBay--it's a 1940s-era WPAG wall clock (above).
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How about this non-conference schedule? (1957)
Here’s a quick version of eBay Watch, it’s a 1957 pocket schedule currently up for bid. Check out the non-conference line-up: Over the past few seasons, the attention the Buckeyes have been getting over their battles with Texas and, last Saturday, with USC, have made a few Wolverines fans get scarlet in the face. Calls to sports talk radio have asked the question, Will Michigan set up a home-and-home with one of these elite teams in the non-conference? The fact is Michigan’s got Notre Dame on the schedule until 2031 and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that this will happen. Bill Martin’s already indicated his preference to add another Big Ten game to the schedule once the rest of the conference is on board. The Wolverines didn’t have much trouble with these teams as those were different days. Coach Bennie Oosterbaan and crew went out to Los Angeles and handled the Trojans on September 28, 1957, 16-6 in front of 43,000 fans. The next week, Michigan came home and shut out Georgia 26-0 to the delight of 84,000 in Ann Arbor. The balance of the ‘57 season didn’t go so hot, going 3-3-1 in their remaining games to finish 5-3-1 good for 6th in the conference.
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Affectionately, Fritz Crisler (1968)
Check out this late 1960s unique item-it's a program from some sort of reception or dinner for Fritz Crisler. This one is pretty cool as Crisler signed it for a gentleman named George writing, “To George, a grand person, Best Wishes all ways, Affectionately Fritz Crisler."
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Honorary Captains, Miami OH game
Slight of hand by Pete Elliott as they prepare for the Gophers I was looking for this, here you go via The Hoover Street Rag: * Pete Elliott, 1945-48 Bump Elliott’s brother, a QB. Later head coach at Nebraska, Cal, and Illinois and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1994. * Ron Simpkins, 1976-79 A 1979 consensus All-American linebacker, Simpkins posted 150+ tackles in three consecutive seasons, including a mind-boggling 174 in ’78 and another 168 the year after. * Dick Caldarazzo, 1968-69 Caldarazzo only lettered two years, but he blocked for Ron Johnson (Original Recipe) as he broke most of Michigan’s rushing records and helped Michigan to its first Big Ten title in five years. That photo above? I just bought it a couple weeks ago on eBay. It’s Pete Elliott at practice before the Minnesota game in 1948, showing a little deception with the rock. Here’s a larger size photo. Full release from mgoblue.com.
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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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Norm Daniels – 101 and going strong!
I confirmed that former 1930-31 Depression Era Michigan player Norm Daniels [see my eBay Watch post here] is indeed still with us, 101 and going strong! Elsewhere: I’m at the Central Michigan-Eastern Illinois game tonight, looking forward to it and testing out my ’08 tailgating mettle.
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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,
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Doc’s not just the Nickname (1920)
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had a great line this past season- when asked to comment on the health of one of his players he shot back, “You know Doc’s a nickname, correct?” Laughter ensued and Boston went on to win the NBA championship. Doc of course is a popular nickname amongst athletes for whatever reason, and just like Rivers, typically these guys don’t hold a doctorate or a professional medical license. The next installment of eBay Watch takes a look at a Michigan Man who was far from typical. Up for bid is a 1920ish baseball card featuring John Leonard ‘Doc’ Lavan, who attended Michigan from 1908-1911 and went on to have a nice major league career [from nationmaster.com]: Lavan played in 1,163 major league games, of which 1,126 were at the shortstop position. In 11 seasons, Lavan had a lifetime batting average of .245 with 954 hits, 377 RBIs, 338 runs scored, and 186 extra base hits. He had his best season as a batter in 1920 when he hit .289 with 32 extra base hits and 63 RBIs. You can see his career statistics here. Here’s the full auction, as of writing this post the card was still trying to fetch an opening bid. As for the nickname Doc, you guessed it, Lavan was an actual doctor. His…
