Norm Daniels’ 1931 Michigan Football Jersey!

Earlier this year I featured one of the coolest items I’ve covered on eBay Watch, the 1930 Michigan football jersey. That auction formed the cornerstone for the article I submitted to Hail to the Victors 2008.

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, here’s the front:

And the back:

And while there was some question over whether the 1930 jersey from the previous post was the same one worn by the player (Francis Cornwell) in the 1930 team photo from the Bentley Historical Library, this one seems to be a spot-on match. Judge for yourself – once again from the Bentley:

Mastro indeed attracts some major items. You may have heard of the holy grail of sports memorabilia, the 1909 Honus Wagner card, that recently sold for $1.35 million. The 1930 jersey sold for around $2,000 on eBay in February with a poorly constructed auction description; I wonder if this one will sell for closer to $4K. Here is more from the auction description:

The offered grid-wear hails from the University of Michigan’s early days of Big 10 Conference dominance. Worn by quarterback Norm Daniels (he of subsequent legendary coaching tenure at Weslyan University) as the Wolverines secured back-to-back league co-championships in 1930 and 1931. This blue pullover garment is a wool/cotton blend with the number “32” sewn to the front in gold-colored canvas and that same identifier sewn to the back in maize felt. A “SPALDING” manufacturer’s label is stitched within the left cotton seam and a size “42” tag resides on the underside of the wool crotch flap. Heavy wear is evident, with a few small holes about the wool elements. Accompanying is a team photo print in which Daniels is depicted wearing this very jersey. LOA from Mastro Auctions.

The Bentley actually lists Daniels as a right end on the great Kipke squads which dropped just one game from 1930 to 1931. It was in ’31 that Daniels met Gerald Ford, who was just beginning his Michigan career. A little Googling revealed that Ford, Daniels, and Bo Schembechler actually met in 1975 at a coaches convention in Washington, DC:

Knowing the NCAA Coaches Convention was soon to convene in Washington, Walker and Sardo asked the President [Ford] if he might like to see Michigan’s then-football coach “Bo” Schembechler and Wesleyan’s Norm Daniels while the two were in town for the convention. The President concurred and the date was set.

On the appointed day, Schembechler and Daniels waited in a private room at the hotel hosting the convention. At the scheduled moment, a door opened and the President came came in. Daniels’ spontaneous greeting outraced the moment’s protocol as he chimed, “Well, hello, Jerry!” only to catch himself, “…I mean, Mr. President.” “No, no, Norm…,” countered the President, “I will always be ‘Jerry’ to you.”

Shortly after he left Michigan, Daniels went onto a prolific coaching career at Wesleyan-Connecticut. Over 19 years he compiled a 76-61-10 record, the pinnacle being the period from 1945-1948. During this ridiculous stretch, his teams put up Yostian numbers, going undefeated with just one tie. He left the coaching position in 1963.

Still with us! Perhaps the biggest surprise to me, after digging a little further, it looks like the original owner of that jersey is still around. I’m not positive but I couldn’t find any news to the contrary. Here’s a photo from the Wesleyan U. website when they celebrated Daniels’ 100th birthday on March 25, 2007!! He’s the seated 100-year-old gentleman giving the thumbs-up:

Unreal! I wonder if Daniels or his family wants that jersey back? Very cool stuff, I’ll be watching to see how much the jersey fetches.