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…
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The Parlay Card Peccadillo (1958)
In 1958 a Michigan Daily writer named Barton Huthwaite exposed a gambling ring on campus that led to the arrest of a few notable students including a fellow Daily writer and couple prominent athletes. While betting on football wasn’t (and isn’t) exactly unheard of around the country, the report and arrests caught the eye of the nation—all the way up to media heavyweights such as The New York Times, LIFE Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
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Michigan Football Uniform Timeline: The Shoes (1968-1983)
Here's a rundown of the changes to the shoe changes of the Michigan Football team since 1968, via the great Steve "Dr. Sap" Sapardanis. Early on, Michigan had been a hodge-podge of shoe manufacturers until Nike changed all that staring in 1983:
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Swinging for The Cure 2013 (Photos)
Here’s a few pics from the 5th Annual Swing to Cure Diabetes held at the UM Golf Course on Monday afternoon. According to former Michigan QB/DB and event organizer Rich Hewlett, this was one of the biggest turnouts in the half decade of the outing that benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the University of Michigan Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UMCDC). I don’t have the final numbers but they raised a lot of money and ran another wonderful event. Special guests this year included Mike Hart, Ira Weintraub, Coach Mo, Coach Hanlon and Coach Hoke: Coach Hoke addressing the UMGC crowd, flanked by Hewlett and his son Jeffrey, a current U-M student living with Type 1 diabetes. I spotted Coach Hoke taking a few swings out there and yes, it went about a well as you’d guess (think blacksmith) Coaches Hanlon and Moeller circa 2013 and 1969 (inset) Before MC’ing the live auction, Ira flashed his jazz hands (& perhaps a few of the moves he broke out at the GHW Gala after party?) Go Blue! Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Mott Takeover 2013 – Ready yourself!
One of the highlights of the radio calendar – the WTKA Mott Takeover hits the airwaves tomorrow (Friday) starting at 7am. I may try to pop by and capture some sights and sounds, we’ll see. All the details are here and re-posted here. Remember those out of town can listen live (check out WTKA.com or via iheartradio here). JOIN US FOR THE 2013 MOTT TAKEOVER ON FRIDAY MAY 17TH ON SPORTS TALK 1050 WTKA, WTKA.COM AND iHeart Radio. Once again, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is taking over Sports Talk 1050 WTKA. HERE’S THE 2-13 LINEUP (always subject to change): 7-8am — Lloyd Carr, Jay Feely, Jarret Irons (call-in 7:15), David Baas (call-in 7:30) 8-9am — Al Borges, Remy Hamilton, Dave Brandon (call-in 8:45), Drew Stanton (call-in TBA) 9-10am — Dana Jacobson, Peter Vanderkaay, Zak Novak, Brian Griese (call-in 9:30) 10-11am — Anthony Thomas, Mike Hart, Larry Foote, Chris Floyd 11am-12pm — Jeff Backus, Ron Bellamy, John Navarre 12-1pm –Travis Conlon, Andy Mignery, Drew Henson (call-in 12:00) 1-2pm — Ron English, Roy Manning, Marlin Jackson, Chad Henne (call-in 1:15), Eric Mayes (call-in 1:15) 2-3pm — Cato June, Jerame Tuman, Aaron Shea, David Baas (call-in 2:15) 3-4:30pm at The M-Den — Steve Everitt, Steve Hutchinson, Glen Steele, Ben Mast, Jake Long (call-in 3:30) 4:30-6pm at The M-Den — Charles Woodson, James Hall,…
