I love dropping by the U-M Bentley Historical Library. I stopped in recently doing a little research for the 2012 edition of HTTV and check out this gem Brian W., one of the archivists, shared with me: Now we know that the late, great U-M radio voice Bob Ufer played freshman football in Ann Arbor and was a U-M track star at Michigan, but I didn’t know he gave varsity football a run. Apparently so, as above is one of Fritz Crisler’s preseason surveys filled out by old Ufe himself. (Here’s Tom Harmon’s 1943 form, posted in 2010, worth a look if you haven’t seen it). He was living at the Phi Delt house at the corner of South University and Washtenaw at the time and as a good Pennsylvania worked in the steel mill during the summer. “VOICEM” Speaking of Ufer, had to scan eBay for a cool photo and jackpot. Here he is in 1976 showing off his luxurious sled and his fitting vanity plate:
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Coach Red Simmons Passes Away at 102
Coach Simmons during our interview at Crisler in 2009 (MVictors photo) It was very sad for me to see the press release this morning. We lost a great man and incredible tie to the history of athletics in this area. Simmons ran track with Jesse Owens and Willis Ward and was a pioneer in weight training and in women’s athletics at Michigan. For football fans: I’m confident he’s was the last living person to see the inaugural game at the Big House in 1927. Here are a few videos I took of Simmons during our interview: Part 1: On his friend, track legend Jesse Owens Part 2: Police Department Part 3: Hired by Fritz Crisler Part 4: Working out at Crisler Arena Part 5: More Workout at Crisler And here’s a link to several quotes from our interview a few years back, a few of my favorites: On meeting Fielding Yost: I met him, I think it was 1927. He was at a high school meet at some point. It was so long ago. My impression was that he was a very sociable man. He’d walk around and talk to you. There was no feeling that he thought he was special. He was just a regular guy.” On his friendship with Jesse Owens: I became friends with Jesse Owns in…
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A Black and Blue Piece of 1934
As I’ve mentioned before, the new Black and Blue documentary covering the drama that played out before, during, and after the 1934 Georgia Tech game is out and it features a piece of memorabilia that sits in my office today. Filmmakers Brian Kruger and Buddy Morehouse from Stunt3 Multimedia used the ticket stub that I purchased a few years back on eBay in one scene. Not shockingly my stub is not one of a kind. (Really, really not a shock since local collector Jack Briegel owns a stub from every game played at the Big House). There’s one up on eBay now and the seller must know something, asking $150 or, bid away with a start of $95: And I just noticed that the colors of the ticket match title of the new film: black and blue. I’m guessing a serious U-M collector or historian will want this in their collection. You can also order the Black and Blue documentary here with free shipping. Elsewhere on eBay: Love this 1947 Little Brown Jug-themed U-M Homecoming dance program, signed by big band great Louis Prima: Michigan indeed played and defeated the Gophers earlier that day back in ‘47 and went on to an undefeated season to give Fritz Crisler and crew the national championship. Finally–Can you beat this pocket schedule from…
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Night Moves: Michigan’s First Night Game (1944)
While Notre Dame will be Michigan’s guest for the first night game at the Big House, did you know it was Bo Schembechler’s 1982 Wolverines who played in the inaugural battle under the lights in South Bend? The Irish upset the 10th-ranked Wolverines 23-17 on that historic evening in front of 59,000 fans at Notre Dame Stadium. But that ’82 game wasn’t the first time the Wolverines played at night, as that tradition started nearly 70 years ago. On September 23, 1944, Fritz Crisler’s Wolverines traveled to Wisconsin to play The Hilltoppers of Marquette in a game that kicked off at 7 p.m. As part of the war effort, Michigan had several players on the roster as part of the Navy’s “V-12” training program. To enhance the supply of college-educated officers, the Navy rolled out V-12 in 131 U.S. schools. Those enrolled were considered active-duty personnel, required to adhere to strict military rules and discipline. One of those rules prevented any member to be away from the “base” (the campus, in this case) for more than 48 hours. To accommodate the 48-hour rule and to play a game on the road as far as Milwaukee, Fritz Crisler’s crew left Ann Arbor at around 1:30pm Friday afternoon and arrived at Marquette that evening. Crisler held a brief practice under the lights…
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See Me, Feel Me
Ok, don’t feel me (or touch me for that matter). But if you are inclined, you can get some more MVictors action these places: Audio –> “This Week in Michigan Football History” I’m returning to the 1050AM WTKA airwaves this fall during the football pregame show with my history segment. The first installment will cover the 2005 season. Think nailbiters, Manningham and new Math, JoePa, Jug gone, and we’re still waiting for Tyler Ecker to hand the ball to Breaston. You can hear all of 2010 segments here. Documentary –> Black and Blue Look for my contribution to the documentary on the 1934 Georgia Tech, Willis Ward/Gerard Ford drama sometime this fall, last I heard sometime next month. Latest trailer here. Live! –> 2011 U-M Club of Detroit Kick-off Dinner Monday night 8/29 in Dearborn I’ll be on the panel with media leviathans Brian Cook and Angelique Chengelis. Want to go? Sorry dude, it’s sold out, so check reach out to your black market sources. More details. TV –> Big Ten Network Keep your eyes peeled to an upcoming special on BTN, similar to the Icons series from last year. I can’t say anything other than that :( Print –> GoBlueWolverine Magazine As usual, check out my monthly history piece in GBW. Next issue has a cool story about 1964…
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Mail! To MVictors (Valiant)
I get a lot of great emails from readers and as you can imagine, they are usually related to history or some piece of memorabilia. Enough over the past week to prompt a post: Vintage Henne? First up, a question on an item from reader Rachel: …I picked up a football practice jersey at the garage sale on Saturday. It was different from most of the other jerseys there, and I’m curious if it’s older than most of what was available. It is what i think of as ‘old school maize’ – that deeper goldenrod. I know that you just covered the whole ‘has maize really changed’ debate, but this definitely isn’t the lighter color of the last few years. It also is not Nike or Adidas – the brand is Tri County Sports, which I did Google to find out it’s a local sports equipment manufacturer. It’s a looser fit, very different than the current ones that stretch over pads. There is elastic at the waist and end of the sleeves. My question is if you know (or you know someone who does) when Michigan got practice jerseys from that company rather than part of their deal with Adidas or Nike. I looked at Ebay and didn’t see anything similar. In the interest of full disclosure, it’s #7 with…
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Brandstatter and the Mighty Mites
This tweet from Jim Brandstatter’s iPhone caused a bit of a ruckus: When is lying to your boss, to the NCAA heroic. Is it heroic to teach young men that wrong isn’t wrong unless you get caught? Gimme a break He was of course reacting to Mark Dantonio’s statement at the Big Ten media days when he referred to his old pal Jim Tressel as a tragic hero. I get Dantonio defending his little sweatervested buddy and of course, I understand Brandstatter thumbing out his 140 character disapproval of those comments. Whatever. In reacting to the Twitter bomb, Dantonio claimed he didn’t know who Brandstatter was. I’m guessing he does but if he doesn’t, he should. Not because of Brandy’s longtime broadcasting career with the Lions and the Wolverines, but rather due to his deep family ties to East Lansing and the Spartan football program that date back to the 1930s. Jim was born in EL and his father Art, Sr., and brother Art, Jr., each suited up for the Spartans. More recently Jim’s nephew and Art Jr.’s son Brody skated for the Spartan hockey squad. Art, Sr. had quite a career for the Spartans in the 1930s, earning All-American honors in 1936. The elder Brandy is enshrined in MSU’s Hall of Fame and received consideration from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg…
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The Dickinson System: How an Econ Prof determined the National Champion
Harry Kipke’s 1932 and 1933 teams were champions not by virtue of a poll of writers or coaches. The two titles were determined by the most widely recognized method at the time: the Dickinson System, a formula devised by Illinois economics professor Frank Dickinson that ranked college teams at the end of each season.
