~Little Brown Jug Lore – The History of Football’s Oldest Rivalry Trophy~

The 2009 football season marked the 100th anniversary of when Michigan and Minnesota first played for The Little Brown Jug.  Early in that year I started on a quest to find out everything I could about the old trophy.  I reviewed the legends, interviewed writers, equipment managers, coaches and pored through newspapers, pottery experts, photos and other accounts on the history.  Here’s what I learned:

Chapter 1: What Really Happened in the 1930s
Chapter 2: Spinning Myths
Chapter 3: Getting it Right
Chapter 4: 2013: A Space Quandary (solved! see above)
Chapter 5: Red Wing Roots
Chapter 6: Is the Greatest Trophy in College Sports a Fake?
Chapter 7: Open Questions
Chapter 8: Doc Cooke and the Real Origins of the Rivalry
Chapter 9: Gophers Here, Gophers There – When Michigan played Minnesota Twice
Chapter 10: How It Started: Minnesota Madmen 6, Michigan Machine 6
Chapter 11: A Righteous Sip, and Why Michigan Bought the Jug
Chapter 12: Making It Official—Jil Gordon & Painting the Little Brown Jug
Chapter 13: 40,000 Jugs—Financial Analysis from 1903
Chapter 14: 1903 Ticket Stub Found!
Chapter 15: Five Myths and Misconceptions:  The Little Brown Jug
Chapter 16: On the Precipice (1903) | Little Brown Jug Lore