[Ed. Just a reminder friends: No Mud Bowl this weekend, it will be November 10th.] Mark your calendars and pack your ear muffs. The annual SAE Mud Bowl is officially slated for Saturday November 10th starting at 9am. The event will once again benefit Mott Children’s Hospital. Northwestern is in town later in the day, kickoff time still TBD. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Looking for the Next Freddie Hunter (Sans 7 Dwarfs)
From Mitch Albom’s Fab Five: Via U-M Media Relations: Men’s Basketball to Hold Walk-On Tryouts The Wolverines will hold walk-on tryouts on Sunday, Oct. 14th at the Crisler Center. Oct. 9, 2012 ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan men’s basketball program will hold walk-on tryouts on Sunday, Oct. 14, from 8-9 p.m., at the Crisler Center. Students trying out should enter the Crisler Center through the north tunnel entrance and arrive no earlier than 7:30 p.m. Basketball attire should be worn and players need to be warmed up and ready to begin at 8 p.m. Any student wishing to try out must have a signed and completed physical within the last six months, along with a signed and completed sickle cell test or a sickle cell waiver. For more information about the tryouts, contact Kyle Barlow at (734) 763-5504 or at barlowk@umich.edu.
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Dr. Sap’s Decals | Purdue
Ed. Dr. Sap is back with his decals for week 5. I added the Editor’s pick and we collaborated on the Fan award this week. Here are the picks from Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3 and Week 4. Back when Bo was coaching the Michigan Football team, he awarded decals for individual as well as TEAM accomplishments. He also selected Champions each week. Not only were the obvious categories (offense, defense, special teams) selected, but Bo also made it a point to recognize the not so obvious ones – Scout Team Champions and Team Hustlers – each week. OFFENSE DENARD ROBINSON – So it wasn’t just me. Even Frank Beckmann said that the way Denard and the UM offense was churning out the yardage Saturday, you could put a #7 on his back and you would have thought Rick Leach was running the Michigan offense again. Only fitting that Denard’s performance made him the All-Time Big Ten Rushing QB Leader. When he’s healthy, Shoelace is tough to bring down – with or without his shoes on. DEFENSE JAKE RYAN – After watching #47 do his thing again, one word came to mind – MANSTER. In the late ‘70s, Bob Ufer recalled how UM D-Tackle Chris Godfrey was called “manster” by fellow wolverine Ron Simpkins. Why manster? He…
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Write Caption. Win Bacon.
OK, I’ve got one more copy of the new paperback version of John U. Bacon’s epic ‘Three and Out’. I’m guessing I might even be able to convince Bacs to sign it for you. Want it? Write a caption for this and I’ll pick a winner: That’s the Grand Old Man Fielding H. Yost on the left tossing a ridiculously large and awesome pigskin to U-M Legend (and Top 25’er all-time) Benny Friedman. They were attending a coaching convention together back in 1937. Contest ends next Saturday. Creativity scores big points. FYI – This pic is also up for bid on eBay right now. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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TWIMFbH: Case Closed, Ghost Trapped, Yost Opened (1923)
Cigars, Ghosts, Field Houses and Yost. You get a little bit of it all and more in this week’s edition of This Week in Michigan Football History. Enjoy: [display_podcast] Want more? Check out: Yost Steps off the Sidelines, for now Leathernecks Help Dedicate Yost Field House (1923) You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here. Listen to it live tomorrow on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM or catch it live at the Wolverine Beer Tap Room. Just a reminder the segment is sponsored by Stadium Trophy which has partnered with WTKA on its ‘Michigan High School Scholar Athlete of the Week Award’ segment.
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The Human Bulwark is a Lock
I was recently contacted by the Detroit News for a freelance assignment to come up with a list of the Top 25 Michigan football players of all time. I’ve kinda had lists like this in my head over the years but never actually put it down on paper. One guy who is a lock is Mr. Adolph “Germany” Schulz who dominated the line of scrimmage on Yost’s teams between 1904 and 1908. If he wasn’t a lock on the first pass, this note in his College Hall of Fame profile sealed it: Grantland Rice wrote in 1928: “Schulz stands as the fastest giant who ever played football, a human bulwark fast enough to tackle at either end, as he brought down his man after the manner of a hawk snaring a quail.” Clearly, the clever guy who dubbed young Adolph Schulz “Germany” never conferred with the original G Rice. Speaking of Schulz, I love this photo that I share courtesy of the great U-M Bentley Historical Library. Here’s the still imposing Germany inspecting the 1949 Michigan Stadium expansion, looking somewhat skeptical (click to enlarge): I’m not sure when the News plans to publish the Top 25 list but I’ll keep you posted. I expect to get the usual beatings that are thrust upon dudes who make sports lists. Hawk-on-quail-like…
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Willis Ward Getting His Day
Readers know I’ve been pushing for a while to have Willis Ward honored by U-M. While that hasn’t happened just yet, this isn’t half bad either–last week the State of Michigan Senate unanimously passed a resolution to declare October 20, 2012 as “Willis Ward Day” throughout Michigan. The Detroit News is getting behind the idea as well. Check out the editorial from September 29: A petition for history’s sake On Oct. 20, 1934, U-M football star Willis Ward was held out of a home game against Georgia Tech because the Southern school refused to suit up against a black player. The incident is widely regarded as the darkest day in the proud, 133-year history of Michigan football. As much as Michigan alums and the Ann Arbor community tried, they were unable to get then-athletic director Fielding Yost to stand for right and defend his player. Exactly 78 years later, on Oct. 20, Michigan faces the Michigan State Spartans in a home game. Filmmakers Buddy Moorehouse and Brian Kruger, creators of "Black & Blue," a documentary on Ward (and teammate and future U.S. President Gerald Ford, who almost quit after Ward’s mistreatment) have started a petition on change.org to get U-M to honor Ward on the 20th, with the whole world watching. Signing the petition will help. Officially honoring Ward and…
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Happy Birthday Old 98
[Ed. Originally posted July 2010- reposting today on Old 98’s birthday] September 28, 1940, is a great day in Michigan football history. On his 21st birthday, to-be Heisman winner Tom Harmon helped the Wolverines roll up Cal on the road at Berkeley 41-0. The season opener also yielded one hilarious moment, when Bear fan Harold Brennan got fed up with Old 98’s exploits and tried to take matters into his own hands. Check out these wire photo reproductions of three of the stills from the famous incident that originally appeared in LIFE magazine: I’d probably hold off on bidding on these and instead enjoy a couple of the tributes to the incident out there on YouTube. First, the special edition YouTube of the battle including photos and quotes from the LIFE magazine feature on the incident:
