Michigan’s 1932 and 1933 national titles were determined by the most widely recognized method at the time: the Dickinson System. Illinois economics professor Frank Dickinson developed a formula used to rank college teams based upon the quality of their results factoring for the strength of their opponent. The formula was pretty simple. Each game outcome (win, loss or tie) earned a score based on the quality of the opponent. The total of points for a season was then divided by the number of games to arrive at a common rating metric. Dickinson added a factor to adjust for games that involved teams from different parts of the country, which contained a heavy “Middlewest” bias: “differential points” would be factored in for an “intersectional game”, with ratings of 0.00 for East schools, higher points for “Middlewest” (+4.77) and Southwest (+1.36), negatives for the South (-2.59), the Big Six (2.60) and the Pacific Coast (-2.71). The strength of your opponent was a huge factor in the Dickinson system. A loss against a ‘first division’ team earned you 15 points, while a win against a ‘second division’ team earned you just 20. Michigan actually earned more points for tying Minnesota than did Princeton for pummeling Amherst 45-0. I mention the Tigers as they were the only unbeaten, untied team but only received sparse…
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Wiping Woody Hayes!
Most installments of eBay Watch feature items that pre-date the Bo-Woody era, but occasionally there's something that catches the eye. What we've got here is a genuine roll of toilet paper featuring the visage of legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, currently listed on eBay. I've seen these type of things before [insert team name on toilet paper] but the cartoon likeness of Old Dr. Strangehayes makes this one special:
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Yost Wants a Real Wolverine, Dead or Alive
Fielding H. Yost's search for a real, live, wolverine mascot was a success. Well, kind of.
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eBay Watch: 1976 NCAA Finals Ticket Stub
Sitting a Fraser’s pub for lunch on Thursday watching Michigan State take on Temple, it sure made you miss the days when Michigan basketball figured prominently in the tourney. My wife, a Michigan State grad, actually had the stones to ask me if Michigan was ever involved in these “brackets”. Yes, Michigan’s been more than involved in fact the Wolverines have appeared in six Final Fours (four according to the NCAA record books after wiping the records of the Fab 5) and have made it to the NCAA finals in each of the four decades prior to this one. Not looking good for the 2000s. This installment of eBay Watch takes a look at a ticket stub from one of those appearances, in this case the 1976 NCAA Finals. That season remains one of the most notable seasons in college hoop history as Bobby Knight’s Indiana ’76 squad are still the last to finish undefeated. Most Michigan fans know that it was the Wolverines that were the final obstacle to IU’s perfection, falling 86-68 on Monday March 29, 1976 at Philadelphia’s Spectrum. Here’s the ticket stub that’s on eBay right now: Michigan had a rocky path through the field of 32 [full bracket] that season, squeaking past Wichita State 74-73 in the first round, then past Notre Dame (80-76) and…
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eBay Watch items fetching Righteous Bucks
Two recently profiled eBay auctions are fetching some serious cash, check it out: – The auction for the 1904 sheet music of ‘The Victors’ closed. This beauty sold for $90 despite all of us learning last week that portions of the song were swiped. – That alleged 1930 “”authentic” Michigan football jersey. Well, at least a few folks are sold that it’s the really deal. It’s still up and bidding has exceeded $800.
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1930 Michigan Football Jersey
In February 2008, an item claimed by its seller to be an actual 1930 Wolverine jersey came up for bid on eBay. The description said that the jersey was previously owned by Francis Cornwell, the right guard on coach Harry Kipke’s squad (see lead photo).
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The Mountaineer Romp 1904 (Michigan 130, West Virginia 0)
In October of 1904 the Wolverine squad faced off with the team that every college football fan would love to see visit Ann Arbor in the next few years...the West Virginia Mountaineers. On October 22 coach Fielding Yost took on the team from his home state and beat them like they just sued him for $4 million. Make that $5 million. The Wolverines won 130-0 in front a sparse home crowd.
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Der Komisarek
Don’t miss Sports Illustrated’s piece titled ‘Big Banger’ on former Michigan icer Mike Komisarek. They’ve included a graphic that proves once and for all that the current Montreal Canadien is the toughest man in the NHL: And SI.com didn’t forget about where he honed his craft and got a quote from Red: During his two years at the University of Michigan, walk-ons hopeful of playing for the Wolverines would have to run the Komisarek gantlet. He remembers unloading on the newcomers, helmets and sticks flying as in a cartoon brawl. Says Michigan coach Red Berenson, “I’d have to say, ‘Mike, take it easy on your teammates. The enemy comes this weekend.’ “ Good to see some props to the rougher element of the NHL that we all used to love. Alles klar, Herr Kommissar Bettman? Mini eBay Watch: The University of Michigan Dance Marathon group is raising money and selling some cool items on eBay right now including a coach Berenson autographed stick, a football signed by BOTH Lloyd Carr and Rich Rodriguez and a host of other cool stuff. Check out their auctions here.
