One method is to compare players from the same era—and I get that—but that’s not what I went for here. With some input from a few Wolverine historians here’s a list of the top twenty-five Michigan football players of all-time.
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Hanging Football Coaches in Effigy (1958)
In 1958, in the midst of a brutal football season and in particular, a 55-24 loss to Northwestern, some students banded together & hung a likeness of Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan from a tree on campus.
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Tagging the Ohio Stadium Rotunda | This Week in Michigan Football History
For Tonight’s edition of This Week in Michigan Football History we stroll back all the way to the 1920s, a decade that saw the construction of Yost Field House and later, Michigan Stadium. The 1920s also saw a few Wolverine all-time greats take the gridiron, including Meeeechigan men like Harry Kipke – who helped Yost earn another national title in 1923, as well as legends Bennie Oosterbaan and Benny Friedman. One name that’s not often mentioned from that decade is a man named Paul Goebel. Goebel was born in 1901, just around the time Michigan hired Fielding Yost to lead the football squad into an era of point-a-minute mayhem. At around 6 foot 5, he was a giant for his day. A while you won’t hear him mentioned with greats like Anthony Carter, Braylon Edwards, Derrick Alexander, and David Terrell – he was the first Michigan end to don the once-coveted #1 jersey. If nothing else, you should know his name because of what he did on this day 95 years ago in Columbus, Ohio:Here’s the clip: Here’s the clip: This segment can be heard on the Keybank Countdown to Kickoff and you can listen live on 1050AM in Ann Arbor & on wtka.com around the world. This segment plays approximately 2 hours before kickoff each week. You can hear the archive…
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For Your M Bookshelf
I mentioned this in my Holiday Shopping List for Michigan Fans post, but noted I hadn’t actually seen it yet. Well I recently picked up a copy of Wolverine – A Photographic History of Michigan Football and I can confirm they did a nice job. Instead of offering a smattering of photos across Michigan Football History (which isn’t a bad thing of course), they took a unique path. They present a pile of photos that deftly chronicle 5 specific seasons: 1925, 1947, 1969, 1997 and 2011. Check out Bennie O. alongside Benny Friedman in the raccoon coat from 1925: And this shot from the Navy game that same year: It takes you on and off the field for these five years, including a few photos I’m not sure have been viewed by anyone outside of the photographer and a few folks in the Ann Arbor News sports department. Sadly, there’s no pic of me catching the ball after Gibby’s game-winning Sugar Bowl kick but I’m hopeful for the 2nd edition. Get Wolverine – A Photographic History of Michigan Football available at Amazon and, I assume around town?
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A Remembrance of Bill Daley
Michigan 1943 consensus All American fullback Bill Daley passed away on October 19, 2015 at 96 years old in Edina, Minnesota. He was a bruising and fast FB, HB and DB at 6 feet 2 inches and 206 pounds (big in those days). He led the 1943 Wolverines to Coach Fritz Crisler's first Big Ten Conference championship and a final AP 3rd place National ranking.
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Yost Returns to Bust the Galloping Ghost (1925) | This Week in Michigan Football History
Lesson: Don’t mess with Michigan, its football team, or in particular, Fielding Yost or Benny Friedman. You’ll pay. Just the great Red Grange about what happened in 1925…or better yet listen to Saturday’s BEAT STATE edition of This Week in Michigan Football History: More on that 1925 game against Red Grange here. You can listen to all 6 years of This Week In Michigan Football History here. And don’t forget to catch the whole KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff on WTKA 1050AM starting 4 hours before each game, and of course, live in the Bud Light Victors Lounge tomorrow starting at 11:30am. Follow MVictors on Twitter /script: 1925 was a special year in Wolverine football lore as it featured the return, after taking a season off, of Fielding Yost as head coach. His timing couldn’t be better and he led his beloved Meeechigan with one of the finest, arguably THE best, squads in his brilliant tenure in Ann Arbor. The 1925 season opened with 39-0 and 63-0 drubbings of Michigan State and Indiana leading to this day in Michigan Football History – a trip to Madison Wisconsin to face the Badgers 90 years ago today. The Badgers were headed by George Little, a former Yost assistant, who coincidently served as the Wolverine head coach in 1924. Wolverine quarterback Benny Friedman wasn’t…
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The Willis Ward Protests (1934)
A breakdown of the campus-chaos leading up to and following the infamous 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game. U-M benched Ward and succumbed to Tech's demand to not play against a black player. Read on:
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Wire Photo Wednesday | Fritz Watches Harry Wrestle
Good Wednesday to you, friends. WPW leads off with a classic shot of the B1G football coaches meeting prior to the 1931 season (see above). This photo, from the Big Ten meetings prior to the 1931 season, is probably worth its $44 auction price. On the floor you’ve got M headman Harry Kipke with Purdue coach (and former player under Rockne) Noble Kizer demonstrating life in the trenches. Minnesota’s Fritz Crisler, who would replace Kipke later that decade, watches from the back. Amongst the men seated is Illinois legend Bob Zuppke sitting next to the one & only Amos Alonzo Stagg. Great shot. Dress code in ‘31? White shirt, tie, Brylcreem in the hair (except for Stagg). I don’t know when wire photos started to be distributed to newspapers, but this has to be a fairly early one (from 1926) featuring the great Michigan quarterback and NFL HOF’er Benny Friedman. The seller claims it is an original and wants a mere $30. If it’s truly the original it’s worth over $100 easy IMO.
