[Ed. Did you know the great Bob Ufer called the occasional hoops game? Believe it. Here’s Sap breaking down a recording from the 1965 IU game with Ufe on the mic. P.S. If Ufe were alive today I bet he’d have a few choice words for Crean! #DONG]
A guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis
With Michigan winning their first outright B1G Basketball Championship in 28 years, I thought it would be appropriate to look back on the 1965 Michigan – Indiana Basketball game.
Not because UM will be playing IU this weekend, but because Bob Ufer was doing the play-by-play radio on WPAG (the predecessor to your beloved WTKA 1050AM).
Back in 1965 Michigan, led by the great Cazzie Russell, also won the B1G title and was ranked #2 in the country behind some school out west (UCLA). But the real story here is Ufer.
A few years ago, Ufer.org came out with a CD that had the first half of the UM-IU Hoops game and it is priceless. To hear Ufer call a basketball game in much the same fashion that he called a football game is pure joy. Here’s a breakdown of a few selected tracks:
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Track #1: Here you’ve got Ufe calling the opening tip of the game.
Track #2: If you listen closely you can pick up Ufer calling the game in the vernacular of the day. Catch phrases, or Ufer-isms, like “Bloody-Nose-Lane” or “Net City” in 1965 would be replaced with “In the Paint” and “Nothing but Net” some 20 or 30 years later.
Track #3: My favorite might be the “right-handed push shot” that was used back in the day.
Track #4: You also gotta like how Cazzie always seemed to be the guy to “pull Michigan up by its boot-straps” when they needed a bucket!
So Ufer once again set the bar in UM radio broadcasting by calling both basketball AND football games.
And as the search for Frank Beckmann’s replacement continues, I wonder if Matt Shepard is reading…
Related: Ufer merch? T-Shirts, CDs and more. Believe it.
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7 Comments
Wm Wilson
“Down Bloody Nose Lane” was not a commonplace term; Ufer was referring to the title of the big Sports Illustrated article on Michigan basketball which made a big splash when it came out, and which referred to the bruising Michigan team composed of Cazzie, Bill Buntin, Ollie Darden, Larry Tregoning, George Pomey, et all.