With the news that some disgraceful vandals took a few shots at Michigan stadium this week, it’s a good chance to look back at when a more formidable foe provided some unwanted alterations on the athletic campus.
On Monday, May 11, 1959, the Midwest was hit with a raging windstorm and Ann Arbor was drilled. One person in the Burns Park area was killed by a downed power line and at least two houses were set ablaze. The city was declared a disaster area and the Red Cross was deployed to lend a hand.
Two of the most prominent structures on campus were also drilled. This recent auction of a wire photo shows an overhead shot of the giant gap ripped in the Yost Field House roof:
Wow.
According to several news sources, the wind also blew out several windows in the Michigan Stadium press box. One story also noted that the wind cut “a mile-long path” on the athletic campus.
No one bothered to bid on the wire photo before the auction closed.
