A unique, well-traveled piece of Michigan athletics memorabilia showed up on eBay this week. It’s described to be a ticket stub from a game between Michigan baseball and a university team from Tokyo, played in Japan in 1932. At first glance, I laughed thinking there was no way a college team traveled to Japan during the throes of the Great Depression to play baseball. And the auction description didn’t help sell it for me: 1932 Michigan University vs Meiji University tour ticket stub from game 1 played at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo. From an excellent summary published in Michigan Today in 1998, it all started with Japanese teams doing a college tour in the US years earlier, with many of the stops in Ann Arbor from 1911 to 1925. Then in 1929, Michigan coach Ray Fisher got an invite from the Meiji University inviting the maize and blue to visit Japan as “ambassadors of goodwill”. Fielding Yost and the board of athletics approved the trip and so they headed west, then more west, until they reached the Far East in 1929: After playing several games on the West Coast and one in Hawaii, the Wolverines arrived in Japan for a 30-day visit. Lodged at the Imperial Hotel, the 14 team members and Coach Fisher and his family were received lavishly…
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More Cowbell, Coach!
With Coach Beilein out with an inner ear infection, fortunately a few other coaches filled the void at the Eastern Michigan hoops game this afternoon: Wife Laurie trying to help Coach Carr out with the rhythm on the cowbell. Coach Rodriguez takes a break from the recruiting trail BTN in HD was not designed for Coach Keady Related: – Game Recap from UM Hoops
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For Good Measure: 1997 Nebraska Cornhusker Ring
Days after I noted that the 1997 Michigan national championship ring was offered on eBay for $3,600 but yielded no takers, lookie here. A seller has countered with a 1997 Nebraska “national championship” ring asking for $2,500 or best offer. I think that settles the debate over this once and for all. (Well, not really, but I think this is about as relevant as pointing out the hypothetical Vegas line on a hypothetical game between Michigan and Nebraska). Anyway, here’s what the Cornhusker version looks like, note the likeness of Coach Tom Osborne on the side: The seller claims this version is authentic and was originally owned by one of the coaches. Here’s the full auction.
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Leachapalooza: The Best of Rick Leach (WTKA 12/9)
I waded through the audio of Rick Leach in studio at WTKA 1050AM this week and boiled it down to a eleven noteworthy clips, each about a minute, give or take. You can download all the clips here for your 2009 road trip and tailgate mixtapes. Here you go. Be patient, the clips need to download for you to hear them. Oh, and is it me, or does Leach have a borderline WWE voice? On the Les Miles hire and some of the “garbage” that went on: When Don Nehlen called Leach and what that meant to him: Contrasting Michael Rosenberg’s perspective, on how Bo would support Rodriguez: Click here for the rest of the clips:
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Carr Reacts to Leach comments (kind of)
Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News dropped into Lloyd Carr’s office in Wiedenbach Hall this week and tried to get your former coach to bite. He didn’t. Of note: Former Michigan quarterback Rick Leach said early in the week on an Ann Arbor radio station, in response to a question about Carr, that he wishes the former coach would come out publicly to support Rodriguez. “As far as I know, there’s been no comment, nothing come out publicly to support him, and to me, and I guess since I speak my mind, my feeling is, I guess silence speaks 1,000 words,” Leach said. “I wish he would, because many people came to his side when he needed help.” [Ed: Here’s the audio:] Carr, however, said he made his intentions clear from the beginning. “I’ve talked with Rich several times, and I told him I would not be making any comments publicly because I didn’t want to have anything that I said be misconstrued,” Carr said. “However, I told him if he ever needed me, I was available. I would be there. “And he made it clear that I was always welcome. I think our relationship has been very positive.” To the folks who insist Lloyd Carr come out and say something: What exactly is he supposed to say? That he…
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J. Fred Lawton & ‘Varsity’ (1911)
Probably based on the posts on this site around history and memorabilia, I receive the occasional email from folks asking where to find an old item, or more frequently, asking to put a value on something. So I’m like those twins on Antiques Roadshow who price out furniture. Reader Meg sent this note to me recently: I have a signed copy of Roses That Bloomed in the Snow, a book of poetry by J. Fred Lawton. Is it worth anything? Good question. I’ll get to the value in a minute but first, a little about Lawton. From a umich.edu page on the history of the Michigan Marching Band: During the fall of 1911, two Michigan students — J. Fred Lawton and Earl Vincent Moore — decided that the University needed a new song. (Since Michigan was no longer a member of the Western Fooball Conference, the words “…champions of the West…” as sung in the Victors seemed inappropriate.) Together, they wrote the fight song, Varsity, which was an immediate hit at the weekly Friday night pep rally in University Hall at which Moore played his new song on the Frieze Memorial Organ. Fischer was in attendance that night and, upon hearing Varsity, recognized its appeal. He agreed to play the march the next day at the Michigan-Case football game. Yes,…
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No Sale
The auction closed this evening on the 1997 Michigan national championship ring, and no one stepped up to the $3,600 starting bid price. More details on the ring here.
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Fielding H. Yost’s Warning to the Drunks (1933)
With more than a nip in the air the past couple of weeks it’s time to turn to alcohol. Here is a 1934 Michiganesian yearbook with photos from the 1933-34 school year and athletic seasons. Often the yearbooks are dated with the year the school ends (not begins), therefore for football purposes this beauty contains recaps and photos of the 1933 national championship season, not 1934, arguably the worst season in Wolverine pigskin history. The value of the yearbook is certainly lifted by the presence of president-to-be, Gerald Ford, here in his Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity photo: The seller shows a few photos in the auction but the highlight is this–some type of cartoon the yearbook staff thankfully included: I love it. Above notation “The Alumni Return”, the box reads, “Drinkers Are Warned Again By Coach Yost. Stadium Officials Ordered to Eject All Spectators Found Drunk“, and the cartoon depicts a happy fellow in a raccoon coat chugging a bottle of the good stuff. While this was clearly part of the 1934 yearbook, it’s possible it was some sort of nostalgic piece from earlier school years. Why? Fielding H. Yost probably would have been referred to as “Director Yost” if this were written in 1933 or 1934. This school year featured the end of Prohibition with ratification of the 21st…
