In 1924, Red Grange had one of the most famous games in college football history against Michigan. Did you know that U-M actually got its revenge on the Ghost the following season? With the Illini coming into town we’ll take a look back to October 24, 1925, the year after Red Grange put a whooping on Michigan at the dedication of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. Grange tallied 6 touchdowns in that game, five rushing and one passing, including four in the first 12 minutes on runs of 95, 67, 56, and 44 yards. For obvious reasons that game is still talked about today. What isn’t talked about so much is what happened the next year. Someone up in the stands didn’t take kindly to the humiliation of 1924 and was set on doing something about it. From Bruce Madej’s Champions of the West: Just one year before, Coach George Little’s Wolverines had been humiliated by the Illini and their junior halfback, Harold “Red” Grange. So embarrassed was U-M athletic director Fielding Yost by Michigan’s performance that day, he decided to abandon his seat in the stands and return as head coach. For 12 months, Yost schemed how to bridle Illinois’ Galloping Ghost. He replaced Michigan’s unsuccessful six-man line of 1924 with a seven-man front and a diamond-shaped secondary. Legendary Illini coach…
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eBay Watch: The 1954 Bust
There’s a bevy of legendary former coaches and players descending on Ann Arbor for the 2008 Griese/Hutchinson Champions for Children’s Hearts Celebrity Golf Tournament (Sunday) as well as the Swing to Cure Diabetes (Monday) both at the M Course. This provides a nice opportunity to take a look at another item in the eBay Watch series, this time a signed program from the 1954 post-season football Bust autographed by the team and many of the greatest names in Michigan football history. Check it out: Coach Bennie Oosterbaan’s ’54 Wolverines finished just 6-3, certainly nothing too special but there were some notable wins. Anchored by All Big Ten quarterback Ron Kramer and All American tackle Art Walker, Michigan upset #4 Iowa and #8 Minnesota at home but fell 21-7 in the season finale to Woody Hayes and his #1 Buckeyes. The AP slotted the Wolverines at #15 in the final poll and Dr. StrangeHayes and the Bucks ended up sharing the national title after downing Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. The 1954 season holds a special place in Buckeye lore. Obviously the national championship cements this distinction but this is in essence the year Woody Hayes deflected his critics and became a legend. I could go on about the ’54 version of ‘The Game’ but since my team lost, I…
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SI’s College Football Best, by Jersey Number
The end of the year always brings all kinds of all-time lists, be it the greatest teams, best players, most worthy Heisman candidates, and so on. SI.com took a little different approach: it has assembled of the greatest college football players of all time by uniform number. Here’s an article explaining the process and some of the challenges. This list excludes a few Michigan legends at the turn of the century like Germany Schultz and Willie Heston as these guys didn’t wear numbers but we’ll just have to accept this and move on. The list provided the name of the top player at each number, a runner-up, and then listed some names deserving honorable mention. Here’s a quick breakdown of where Michigan players landed. Michigan Players assigned as Best to ever wear their number:#1 – Anthony Carter#47 – Bennie Oosterbaan#49 – Bob Chappuis#98 – Tom Harmon Runners up:#2 – Chuck Woodson (Deion Sanders)#6 – Harry Kipke (Robbie Bosco)#21 – Desmond Howard (Barry Sanders)#40 – Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (Hopalong Cassidy). Note that Hirsch is listed as playing for Wisconsin but he of course played 2 seasons for the Wolverines. Honorable mention:#1 – Derrick Alexander, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell (M pretty much owns the category)#4 – Jimmy Harbaugh#6 – Tyrone Wheatley#7 – Ricky Leach#9 – Dennis Franklin#27 – Benny Friedman#40 –…
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The Wolverine Pack and 1926
Given the mood of most Michigan fans right now, it may be refreshing to take a look back at better days. Check out this graphic taken from the October 23, 1926 issue of the San Diego Sun which several members of the 1926 Wolverines.
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True Dedication – Opening Michigan Stadium Sights & Sounds (1927)
A few sights and sounds from the Michigan Stadium dedication on October 22, 1927. Video footage, a theft(!), the MMB, enemy praise and much more.
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Double OT Hoosier Champions | Dr Sap’s Decals
WoW – what a finish! Take the W and get out of Bloomington. A win is a win. Now it’s onward – to your Champions. OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – When things start to click, your game becomes one with your teammates. Plays that weren’t being made before, suddenly look like old hat. Jake Rudock is starting to click, but more importantly, he’s clicking with Jehu Chesson. That deep threat wasn’t there earlier in the season, but in these last two games, especially against Indiana, Jake Rudock to Jehu Chesson has been money. The two had record-setting performances Saturday night and it’s a perfect time in the season for this to happen. The threat of a deep passing game can only help the Michigan offense these next two games. Jake to Jehu – sounds much like another great Michigan QB to WR combination: Benny (Friedman) to Bennie (Oosterbaan). DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – Playing against a spread offense like IU only brings out the worst in your defense. It exposes lack of depth. It exposes poor tackling in open space. It’s never a pretty picture on D. As the game wore on, and as IU’s Jordan Howard kept ripping off huge run after huge run, I wasn’t going to select a Champion on defense. It just felt as if I would be rewarding the…
