Scanning through the recent eBay auctions, this caught my eye. It’s a 1972 Burger King cup featuring then-San Francisco 49ers linebacker Frank Nunley. Nunley patrolled the middle for Bump Elliott’s Wolverines from 1964-1966, earning all-Conference his senior season. I was able to connect with Nunley who explained why his face ended up on BK cup. “Len Rhode, 49er offensive tackle, owned a few Burger Kings around here. Still does,” Nunley wrote me. “He featured a different 49er each week. I think that is where this came from.” It was during his stint in SF that Nunley earned his nickname, “Fudge Hammer”. According to Matt Maiocco’s book, San Francisco 49ers, Nunley owes the nickname to his NFL teammate Stan Hindman. Apparently Nunley didn’t possess an intimidating physique but could drill opposing players with the best of them, as in, “he looked like fudge but hit like a hammer.” Naturally I needed to get a few memories on Nunley from 1964 team captain Jim Conley, who once again did not disappoint. Enjoy: Frank Nunley was a freshman when I was a senior. I remember his first significant contribution to our 1964 team occurred when Dr. Barry Dehlin got a knee injury. He came running into the defensive huddle and asked, “What do I do?”. I told him that Bill Yearby and I…
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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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Mini Me’s Victory Sled
Check out Verne “Mine Me” Troyer’s tricked out Maize and Blue scooter: Of course Mini Me is a big M fan, and has been known to represent the Maize and Blue for a while now. Based on this back and forth in the Twitterverse, Troyer may bring his pimped out sled to the Notre Dame game. While Troyer’s ride is tight, it pales in comparison to this masterpiece tossed together by the guys at OCC:
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Denny Fitzgerald and Winged Leather
I recently received this note from a reader (and Buckeye) Larry: I am a huge Buckeye fan. But I love the history of college football. I love the history of teams uniforms and helmets too. I know that Notre Dame was one of the last teams to use leather helmets. The Irish wore “plastic” for a little bit in the early or mid 40’s but went back to leather until the late 50’s. Ohio State last wore leather helmets 1946 with a guy or so a little longer. I note that Michigan had several players wear leather in the 50’s. But I saw one player, Denny Fitzgerald #18, wear a leather helmet and no facemask in 1960. That may be one of the latest I have seen a player wear leather and then to have no facemask. Maybe there was somebody else but I do not know who. I know Bobby Layne wore no facemask for the Steelers in the early 60’s. I enjoy your site for the historical things. I wonder if you could find out why Fitzgerald wore leather that late and no facemask. Larry attached a few photos of Fitzgerald donning the winged leather helmet with no facemask. I love this one: This is a man’s man and this is a tough man’s game. Fitzgerald’s athletic resume’…
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To The House
WolverineHistorian got bored (“I was bored so I made a video dedicated to kickoff and punt returns for scores.”) You win.
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Rudy Tomjanovic in Cazzie’s New House (1967)
When it first opened for business in 1967, the House that Cazzie Built was state of the art. And despite being opened forty years earlier, we have stacks of photos of the Michigan Stadium construction but seemingly very few of the to-be basketball arena. On eBay right now, here’s one from October 1967 of coach Dave Strack and Rudy Tomjanovich checking out the new digs as the finishing touches were being applied (see above).
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Little Brown Jug Club +1
Congrats to collector Dennis Dail for joining the official Jug Club. His painstaking work paid off, wouldn’t you agree? He joins Eric Mierzwiak (2009 story) and Mark Foster (2010 post) in the elite group and between us girls, I understand we may have a fourth member soon. Here’s Dennis’s story in his own words: I wanted to shoot you a note to let you know my Little Brown Jug is finally complete and being displayed in my Michigan Cave in my basement….took me several months of late evening work, but I wanted to make it exactly like the Real Jug. I’m not sure if I have shared all this, but I found this “1905 5-gallon Red Wing Jug” (that’s what it said on the bottom) several years back at an Antique Shop, the big one on the South side of I-94 just over West of AA, that is now closed. I pulled it out awhile back here and started the transformation process from a brown, ugly jug to the newly painted Little Brown Jug as we know it today. It took many hours of planning, measuring, supply purchasing and thinking before the project began. With help and tips along the way from fellow Jug maker Eric Mierzwiak and several visits to the local Sherwin Williams store, the painting began. First…
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Jimmy Maddock, Michigan Man
[Via Chicago Tribune and U-M Media Relations] Jimmy Maddock, a three-year starting quarterback at Michigan died Wednesday in Westchester. He was 76. Maddock played 27 games at quarterback for Michigan from 1954-56, winning 20 of them. “It was the most important formative part of his youth and being a part of those Michigan teams,” said his nephew and fellow Michigan grad Dan Maier. “He was very modest about his playing.” Maddock’s career moment probably was his last in a Michigan uniform. He led the Wolverines to a 19-0 win over Ohio State, throwing for 66 yards, catching a 23-yard pass and scoring Michigan’s final touchdown. “This is the way every Michigan football player wants to end his career, scoring the last touchdown against an Ohio State team you shut out,” Maier said. “There are not many greater prizes to Michigan football players than that.” Maddock then made an appearance at the North-South Shrine Game but did not move on to a professional career; instead opening a construction supply business, Maddock Industries, in Chicago, which he ran for more than 40 years. Related: 1954 The 1954 Bust 1956 –The Distinguished Digit – The “1? in official attendance
