Longtime Michigan fan Dick Furnier of Canton, Michigan is passionate about the winged helmet. He called me recently, urging for to share his vision for minor tweak (if there is such a thing!) to the coveted headgear. An excerpt of the note he sent to me discussing his idea: ..The helmet was [originally] made of leather and constructed by sewing the wing and stripes onto the base helmet. This construction provided full definition to the wing and stripes, allowing them to stand proud of the helmet base. Because of the need to further protect the players, the helmet has completely changed to a one piece plastic shell with the wing and stripes painted on the same surface, therefore, losing the full definition of the wing in particular. With this letter, and enclosed pictures, I’m hoping that you will consider, at little cost, a minor change that will come close to restoring the full effect of the wings.. Here’s a snapshot of what Furnier would like to see changed on the helmet, from the current helmet (left), to the subtle addition of a thin line separating the stripes and the wings (on the right): Yes, this season marks the 75th anniversary of the wings and since the helmets for next season are probably already reconditioned and ready to go, nothing will…
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The Original Big House (80 A.D.)
A comparison of Michigan Stadium and the Roman Colosseum.
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Golden Forty Seven
Saturday night I had dinner with some friends at the Sheraton in Ann Arbor. In the bar I spotted a group of folks donning black and gold #47 jerseys and was puzzled. Was it a group of Oosterbaan family members? I’m thinking Bennie O’s godson Bennie McCready would have given me a heads up if that were the case, right Bennie?. Maybe it was Jake Ryan’s crew? Again I was thinking probably not, and if so, why would they wear throwback-ish jerseys? So I walked over. It turns out they were wearing the #47 in honor of Dr. Gerald Drake, a former Michigan State football player from the late 1930s. Oh, and the kicker: the 95-year old Dr. Drake was there with them! Photo inset are the Drakes: Chuck, Molly, Gerald, Donna, Dan & Doug. Naturally I hustled over & chatted with him. What a great man. I asked him how he ended up playing football at State. “My dad played football at [M.A.C.] in the class of aught three,” Drake told me. “It wasn’t intercollegiate football; it was class team football. They beat each other up without headgear on the banks of the Red Cedar.” He shared that he was a fullback at East Lansing High School and also ran track. Freshmen back then didn’t play on the varsity…
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U-M Antiques Roadshow: A 1837 Michigan Seal?
On campus you can still find official University of Michigan seals dated 1837. But we know that U-M was founded in 1817, so what gives? Here's a high level look at the history of the founding date
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The Debut: Michigan’s Winged Helmet (1938)
This weekend I swung by the local shop (Ann Arbor Sports Memorabilia) owned by uber collector Ken Magee. He’s got a solid archive of Michiganensians in the store and I thumb through the 1939 edition (‘38-‘39 school year). Check out a couple of photos from the debut of the winged helmet – October 1, 1938, against MSC in the Big House: Above>> that’s pistol back Paul Kromer donning the fresh headgear (pic added to the Uniform Timeline). He and fellow sophomore Tom Harmon were dubbed the ‘Touchdown Twins’ but Kromer was the lone star this day, scoring both touchdowns in the 14-0 victory. Kromer’s career was cut short but an injury in 1939 and Harmon went on to…<yawn>…win the Heisman, become a war hero, marry a Hollywood starlet, engage in a successful broadcasting career, sire the world’s most handsome man, etc. Also from the ‘39 yearbook is below>> you’ve got Mr. Wallace Hook outgunning one of the Spartans down the field in that game, also donning the righteous wings. If you look closely the distraught #24 is donning a winged helmet of his own, a style Biggie Munn bagged in 1947:Anniversary and The BookGiven those beauties first took the field in 1938, this season will mark the 75th anniversary of the most famous helmet in football. What better way to…
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Interview with former Michigan Daily Writer Bart Huthwaite
So call this Part 2 of my post from earlier this week. I suggest you read that post before you proceed here, but in summary, a Michigan Daily writer’s story about a group of students (including a football player and the basketball captain) selling sports gambling cards on campus caused a major stir and made national headlines. Several students were arrested and that Daily writer, Bart Huthwaite, was hanged in effigy in the Diag. As promised at the end of that post I tracked down Mr. Huthwaite, now 74, and he shared a few more memories of the story (including the FBI’s involvement) and more from his days at U-M, including the Spring Break he spent in a Cuban jail cell! The 1960 U-M grad now lives on Mackinac Island, MI although he spends his summers in Florida. Today he runs the Huthwaite Innovation Institute, as he describes it, “helping companies design their products so they cost less, they can sell more and they are easier to use and on and on.” Clients include Boeing, Gulfstream, and 100s of others. MVictors: So looking back at 1958, you’re a student working at the Michigan Daily when you wrote the parlay card story that made headlines around the country. First off, when’s the last time someone has mentioned this story to you?…
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Talking Team One, Game One (WTKA audio)
As always it was pleasure to check into the WTKA 1050AM studio this morning to chat with Ira and Sam. Today we discussed a little bit about the birthday of “Team 1”, the squad defeated Racine College 1-0 at White Stockings Park in Chicago on this day back in 1879. [display_podcast] And a bit of news out of this morning: Yes indeed I will return in 2013 for my 4th year doing ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’ aka #TWIMFbH as part of the WTKA football pregame show…and I can’t wait. Why Fraser’s Pub isn’t sponsoring this I’m uncertain. You can listen to all of the WTKA podcasts here. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Team One, Game One
[Ed. In honor of the anniversary of Team One Game One – a repost from last year.] Happy May 30th, the day Michigan football was born. The month of May you say? Indeed. Team 1 took the field on this day 133 ago against Racine in game played at White Stockings Park in Chicago. Fittingly May 30, 1879 is also marks the birth of, depending on your perspective, Wolverine fans getting SCREWED BY or whining about the officials. From a recap of the game as published in the Michigan Chronicle the following day: Despite the blind referee, by all accepted accounts Michigan prevailed 1-0 over Racine. To this day sources differ, however, on who scored the first touchdown and how it was scored. The feat is commonly attributed to Irving K. Pond and that will probably never change. In his autobiography Pond describes his heroic dash to the end zone and you’ve gotta love it: My touchdown was made towards the end of the first half and involved a long distance run to where the ball must be grounded directly behind and between the goal posts … To Avoid being tackled I was forced to mount the bleachers and run eastward along them until I was opposite the goal when I stopped suddenly and — fearing that a touchdown…
