So over the weekend a gent named Neal Rubin for popped up and wrote this piece on Rodriguez in the Detroit News, basically talking about how much of an a-hole Rich Rod is. Normally I wouldn’t bother to say anything – it reads like a bad sports radio call – but after basically calling Rich Rod a slippery, money-grabbing phony, he went here: Fielding Yost didn’t sign contract extensions and then flirt with other schools to extort raises. Actually, despite this being a completely different era in college sports, Yost maneuvered quite a bit with his contracts and with U-M. I know FHY on some level—he was a very savvy negotiator and businessman, go read The Big House–so when I saw this I got a laugh. I asked author/historian John Kryk [Natural Enemies], who’s in the process of writing the definitive history of Yost and his Point-A-Minute teams, and he shared this on the topic: “No matter how long Yost’s contract was (one-year, two-year, five-year) in his first decade, it was always a source of relief in Ann Arbor every late-Nov/early-Dec when he announced he was for sure coming back. Occasionally, there were reports he was considering an offer from, say, Wisconsin — or from the East. One year he even boldly and publicly disputed the wording of his contract…
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Signed WWJ Michigan Pigskin (1958)
Check out this vintage football signed by the 1958 University of Michigan football squad (see above) Above ‘UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN’ it is stamped ‘WWJ 1958’. The WWJ stands for longtime radio station WWJ in Detroit which aired Wolverine games for many years, including, according to the Bentley Library, what is believed to be the first live broadcast from a football stadium in 1924. The auction’s limited description doesn’t indicate why it says WWJ or when the ball was signed, but perhaps it was passed around during the annual bust held in December of that year after the rough season. How rough? Well, the Wolverines finished 2-6-1, losing their final four games, and prior to the finale against Ohio State coach Bennie Oosterbaan resigned. This probably didn’t help matters: There was no drama or transition period after Oosterbaan handed in his resignation. He stayed at the university and former star player and then assistant coach Bump Elliott took over effective January 1, 1959. Back to the ball, while it doesn’t appear to be loaded down with superstars, it does include Oosterbaan’s predecessor and current athletic director Fritz Crisler: And historians might recognize the name Harry Newman, the great quarterback from the early 1930s, but.. ..you might also notice the “Jr.” tagged on the end. That’s Harry Newman’s son who didn’t leave…
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Toasting Crazy Legs Hirsch (1943)
Have a look at this can of Old Style beer featuring the great Elroy ‘Crazylegs’ Hirsch of Wisconsin.
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The Bashful Dick Kempthorn (1947)
You’ve gotta love these old candid photos. Here we have a wire photo of the undefeated 1947 Michigan football, attending a Hollywood movie premier days before their Rose Bowl game against USC: That knock-out broad? That’s Loretta Young, star of film and television from the 1930s and 1940s. She’s shaking hands with hard-hitting Michigan fullback/linebacker Dick Kempthorn, whose confidence and skill on the field hadn’t yet translated to his off-the-field interactions with the dames. This photo reminds me of this shot of Tom Harmon with two actresses from 1941: This uncomfortable greeting is about the most adversity the Wolverines faced during their trip to LA, as the Trojans didn’t put up much of a fight in the Rose Bowl. Michigan smoked Southern Cal 49-0 and prompted the AP to take a then-unprecedented postseason vote to name Fritz Crisler’s crew the national champions. As for Kempthorn, what an amazing guy. A selection of stories/anecdotes sucked from his extensive Wikipedia entry, on and off the gridiron: What’s a Michigan Man? The Supreme Court would say you know one when you see one. Kempthorn is a Michigan Man! Related: 1948 Rose Bowl and the title debate – Notre Dame or Michigan #1? Honorary Captains, Miami OH game – Pete Elliott photo Crisler Describes the Spinner – Fritz Book excerpt, diagrams Rose Bowl Pics…
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This Week in Michigan Football History
~This Week in Michigan Football History~ Since 2010 as part of WTKA 1050AM’s Key Bank Countdown to Kick-off pregame show, ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’ examines a game, player, coach or season in U-M football lore. Are you looking for a speaker on U-M historical topics such as these? Check out my Speaking page for more. Previous episodes of TWIMFbH: 2022 | Season #13 Week 1: GOAT Watch! And 43 to 1. (2016, 1898)Week 2: Pass the Remy (1944, 1994)Week 3: How Michigan Kept AC Warm (1979)Week 4: Foiling A Spartan Plot | (1949)Week 5: Bo Rejects Texas A&M (1977, 1981)Week 6: Kramer of Michigan (1955)Week 7: LC, The First Script Ohio, Touchdown Manningham (2022, 1997, 1932, 2005)Week 8: The Paul, The George, and The Dickinson System (1892, 1932, 1953)Week 9: Yost Gets His Stadium. Stagg Gets Stalled. (1927)Week 10: The Original 7, Edison Films it, The Legend of Lytle (1904, 1978)Week 11: Leaving the Big Ten Conference (1907, 1910, 1977)Week 12: Hail Haskins, Roasting Stagg, Beating Ohio 2021 | Season #12 Week 1: Carr Chooses…Wisely (1999 Notre Dame)Week 2: Denard’s Nod to Ron Kramer (2010); Bo Blasts Badgers (1976)Week 3: Tar Heel Heat (1965), Hello Mike Hart (2004)Week 4: The Legend of Bennie Oosterbaan (1948)Week 5: The Featherweight Fullback, John Maulbetsch (1914, 1926)Week 6: Yost Faces Michigan; Leads…
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The Case for Al “Ox” Wistert’s Hall Pass
[Ed. Guest post by writer/historian James D. Dickson – big thanks to James. Enjoy.] This weekend’s Pro Football Hall of Fame festivities mean two things – the return of football, every weekend from now through early February, and it’s time to start campaigning for the Hall’s Class of 2011. When the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee meets to discuss old-timers candidates for 2011, dominant Michigan and Philadelphia Eagles T Al “Ox” Wistert (’42) should be at the top of the list. Readers of this blog will recognize Wistert as the second in a trio of Wistert brothers from Chicago who all played Tackle for the Wolverines in the 30s and 40s. Though brothers Francis “Whitey” (1932-1933) and Alvin “Moose” (1947-1948) were the only two Wisterts to win national championships at Michigan, Al “Ox” did a lot of his damage in the National Football League. Still, the Wisterts’ dominance and lineage were so powerful in Ann Arbor that the #11 worn by the Wistert brothers will never be worn by another Wolverine. The Brothers Wistert But Al “Ox” was the one who established himself in the pros as well, joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943. World War II fans will remember the 1943 “Steagles” team, a wartime confab of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers that satisfied no one. Despite…
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Tom Harmon vows, “I know damn well I will!” (1939)
Brian over at the U-M Bentley Library was thumbing through the Fritz Crisler-era archives and found this gem and was kind enough pass it along. Huge hat tip to Brian. It’s pretty standard fare these days for football coaches to make players sign some sort of pledge prior to the season. Well, Brian found a 1939 version filled out by Old 98, who apparently spent the summer back home in Gary between his sophomore and junior seasons. Here’s a look: Crisler wanted to know if they were enrolled in classes and if any were scheduled a) after 3:30pm, or b) Saturday mornings. Harmon hadn’t enrolled yet. Then there’s this. Obviously smoking was more common in 1939 (around 66% of men under 40 smoked according to big Tim’s project) and I’m not sure how well folks understood the impact the heaters have on athletic performance. Clearly Crisler had a clue and apparently Harmon enjoyed the cool flavor of his smokes: In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “”It’s not that smoking is cool. It’s that smokers are cool.” Harmon was cool, Daddy-O, at least through July. I also love, ‘Are you smoking now’, as in, ‘Are you smoking as you are filling out this form, you nicotine addict?’ It’s unknown if Harmon had started to go for the gusto quite yet.?…
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Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame inducts four Michigan Men
[ed. Enjoy this guest post by James Dickson of AnnArbor.com. James offered to post his coverage of this event on MVictors and of course, I was thrilled.] On Saturday night, the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund held its second annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The Gridiron Greats fund came about in 2007 to assist players from what former Detroit Lions DT Roger Brown called the “B.C. Era” – Before Cash – and has granted upwards of $2 million to former players and their families since its founding. 14 men were inducted into the hall of fame, mostly men who played or coached for the University of Michigan, Michigan State, or the Detroit Lions at some point in their careers. Among the inductees were legendary Detroit Lions Lomas Brown and Lem Barney, broadcaster Pat Summerall and headliner Mike Ditka, who has served as the public face of the nonprofit since its founding. Four Michigan Men were inducted into the Hall: Lloyd Carr, former head coach, and retiring associate athletic director, “The Specialist” Bob Chappuis, war hero and star of Michigan’s 1947 national championship-winning team, John Greene, an end under coach Fritz Crisler who went on to break barriers as a Detroit Lion, and Michigan’s new athletic director David Brandon. Lloyd Carr Without Lloyd Carr, the University of Michigan would have to…
