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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The Michigan All-Stars (1901)
I rarely post eBay newspaper artifacts but occasionally there are exceptional items out there. Check this out – a November 24, 1901 edition of The Sunday Inter Ocean featuring a few of Yost’s finest from his first Point-A-Minute squad: Left to right you’ve got Willie Heston, “Boss” Weeks, Curtis Redden, Hugh White, Neil Snow, Arthur Redner (not Kidner), Bruce Shorts (Not ‘Shots’ – but maybe that was his nickname in the local taverns). This would make a nice ornament on your Michigan man cave or within your Wolverines shrine.
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John Maulbetsch’s Diamond (1914)
From reader and memorabilia collector Mark Bomia: Over the last couple years I acquired the entire John Maulbetsch estate. Maully was an All-American halfback for Michigan in 1914 and member of the College HOF. Some of these items, like most of his scrapbooks, I’ve donated to Bentley Library. One of the coolest pieces I still possess is Maully’s 1914 All-American ring, given to him by the “Ann Arbor Boys” in December 1914 when he was selected by Walter Camp. It is a gold ring with a .7 carat diamond with a block M on one side and “AA” on the other. The band has a congratulating inscription. Let me know if this is something your readers may enjoy. I can send pics, if interested. Naturally, I wanted to see the pics – pretty sweet: Bomia later shared, “The ring is 14k gold with a .7 carat VSI, D color diamond. The inscription on the inner band states ‘To Maully Maulbetsch from the Ann Arbor Boys Dec 1914.’ I’ve also included a signed letter from Yost congratulating Maully on his AA selection..” Maulbetsch was one of the first national celebrities for Michigan football, and he was featured in a 2017 season episode of ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’: He grew up in Ann Arbor and actually started career at Adrian…
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John “The Human Shrapnel” Maulbetsch | This Week in Michigan Football History
This Week in Football edition heads way back to discuss college football Hall of Famer John Maulbetsch: TWIMFbH is sponsored by Hillside Terrace of Ann Arbor. 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 of This Week in Michigan Football History clips here. If you have suggestions for future games hit me on Twitter @MVictors. Go Blue! /script …after the jump
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> Point a Minute (1904) | This Week in Michigan Football History
For this #BeatState edition of This Week in Michigan Football History we go back 112 years to 1904, a season that featured arguably the greatest Wolverine squad of all time. Dig it: [display_podcast] As always, this segment appears on 1050AM WTKA and 1330AM WTRX’s epic KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff prior to each game. During home games you can hear it live inside the Go Labatt Blue Light Victors Lounge starting 4 hours prior to kickoff. Go Blue! You can listen to all of This Week in Michigan Football History clips here. Follow MVictors on Twitter script after the jump:
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The National Football Foundation – Michigan Chapter – Wants YOU!
By Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis A couple of months ago I crossed off an item on my Bucket List when I became a member of the National Football Foundation. For those of you not familiar with the NFF, they are the organization that oversees the College Football Hall of Fame. Why did I want to become a member of the NFF? Simply put, I was tired of seeing other players get voted into the College Football Hall of Fame instead of some of the all-time greats of Michigan. So instead of sitting around and complaining, I did something about it. I am now a voting member, and while there are some great Michigan players and coaches enshrined (see below), there are several other deserving M-Men that need to get their due. According to the Bentley Historical Library, there have been 128 first team All-Americans at U-M. But only 25 players have been inducted so far! While it was great to see Rob Lytle finally get recognized for his achievements last Saturday, you might ask why did it take almost 40 years for #41 to get inducted into the CFB HOF? Part of the reason is that the Michigan Chapter of the NFF has experienced a drop-off of membership due to elderly attrition. We need to pick up the torch…
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TWIMFbH: Let’s Finally Play (Most of) A Football Game. Fergodsakes. (2011)
Brady trots out of the tunnel for the first time (& leaves headset in locker room by mistake) To kickoff the sixth season of This Week in Michigan Football History we dip back to 2011, to the official start of the last glorious period of redemption for Michigan football. Yes, our friends from Kalamazoo visited the Big House for a bizarre and historic day, when an otherwise obscure figure in Wolverine history made history as did Mother Nature. Dig it: [display_podcast] Don’t forget to catch the whole KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff on WTKA starting 4 hours before each game, and of course live in the Bud Light Victors Lounge when they lace them up in Ann Arbor. For those so inclined, here’s a little more from my 2011 post on the history of games ending early: It’s certainly not the first Michigan football game to end before the planned allotted time. Most notably two of the most famous games in college football history ended early: The 1902 Rose Bowl (the first bowl game ever played) ended with plenty of time on the clock because Yost, Heston and crew were putting a colossal smack down on Stanford. From the Bentley: With eight minutes remaining in the game, Stanford captain Ralph Fisher approached the Wolverine bench and offered to concede; Michigan consented.…
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The Brilliance of 1901, Michigan Football
Friends, fans, or mere passers-by of this site. Read this excerpt. Buy Stagg vs. Yost. This is a masterpiece that will be read and taught through the ages, and Kryk has offered up an exclusive morsel to you – the readers of MVictors. A huge thanks to John and his publisher and the U-M Bentley Historical Library for this exclusive including several of the photos – I know you will love it: – – – – Yost’s 1901 Wolverines: perfection and roses Fielding H. Yost’s first Michigan team in 1901 smacked Amos Alonzo Stagg’s Chicago Maroons by the largest score so far in the 10-year series, 22-0 — the Wolverines’ eighth win in eight tries, all by shutout. Afterward, Stagg acted as he usually did after a team clobbered him on the field: he counter-punched as hard as he could off it. Days after the Nov. 16 game, Stagg filed a protest to UM authorities, charging that starting Wolverine left end Curtis Redden was a professional, for evidently pocketing an $11 prize as a youth after having won sprint races at a town sports meet. UM authorities mulled the matter while Redden on the following Saturday played in Michigan’s 15-touchdown, 89-0 destruction of Beloit in 30-minute halves — a near repeat of the 128-0 University of Buffalo slaughter. Upon launching…
