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…

Could Bo reload?   That was the question before the 1972 season after losing 4 All-Americans.  I’ll give you the answer now: Damn right Bo could reload! But there were a few nervous folks in these parts as we kicked off Bo’s fourth season at the helm.  Adding to the anxiety was the prospect of opening the season with a conference game, as the Northwestern Wildcats strolled into town.  A few notes: I’m not sure how the passing of Harry Kipke was treated in Ann Arbor.  He won a national championship as a player and coach (twice), but his coaching regime ended in a shambles amidst scandal in the late 1930s, opening the door for Fritz Crisler.  That’s why his name is on a service drive in the Michigan Stadium parking lot. Speaking of the reception, I wonder if Michigan fans in 1972 had any emotions about having a black quarterback take the reins – did anyone care?   I was too young, but I remember the buzz around guys like the Redskins’ Doug Williams and all that. And speaking of breaking barriers, this game marked the first gender-integrated Michigan Marching Band.  I did not know that there were no female musicians marching back in the day.  Check out James Tobin’s fine piece in Michigan Today for more on this…

For Saturday’s This Week in Michigan Football History we headed back 78 years to 1938, the year Fritz Crisler made his coaching debut in Ann Arbor.  Fritz was brought in to do a fixer-upper, as the Harry Kipke-era left the program in a shambles: 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: This week we head back to 1938, a season when many changes were afoot in Ann Arbor both on and off the field.   On this Saturday 78 years ago first year coach Fritz Crisler led his 4 and 1 Wolverines against one-time powerhouse Penn in a game played at the Big House.   Michigan lured Crisler from Princeton where he successfully turned around the once proud Tiger program winning  a pair of national titles..   Fritz would be tasked with another fixer upper in Ann Arbor, as previous coach Harry Kipke had managed only 10 wins over the four year stretch since Michigan’s 1933 national championship.  That stretch included four straight losses over Ohio State where U-M was outscored, cover your…

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…