Today obviously the head coach of Michigan football team doesn’t have to look beyond campus to hit it big. This hasn’t always the case of course, especially in the early days of the program. While Fielding Yost’s contracts compensated him very competitively for the day, it definitely didn’t make him a wealthy man. Yost spent a good part of the year pursuing his private business interests out of town. Do you know the story of Gustave “Dutch” Ferbert? He suited up for the Wolverines in the mid-1890s but most notably he was head coach of the famous 1898 squad that delivered Michigan its first conference title. The championship-sealing victory over Chicago that year inspired Louis Elbel to compose ‘The Victors’. Ferbert coached one more season but then packed his bags and headed north, hoping to strike it rich in the Klondike. In 1900 he traveled up to Nome and allegedly told folks he would “return rich or not all all.” Well, there was some question whether he would make it, especially early on. Thanks to Brian at the Bentley for forwarding this over, apparently from 1902: Here’s the opening paragraph: The many friends of “Dutch”” Ferbert, Michigan’s football coach in 1898, and one of the greatest halfbacks who ever carried the ball, have been fearful for some time that something…
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Then West and Now West
I saw this pop up on Twitter and now on eBay, what appears to be the official 2015 Michigan Football schedule poster. The vintage and modern split shot of Michigan Stadium is a great idea and nicely executed save for one big item: the two halves are the same side of the stadium just flipped around. The left is a view of the west side of the stadium looking north; the right once again features the west side of the stadium, but this time looking south. The west giveaways are the press box and flag pole on the old photo, and the flagpole (in the distance) and the empty band section on the current-day photo. If you look really hard you can see John U. Bacon waaayyy up on the upper right in row 7 of the press box. Now…the folks at #1000SSS may have understood this and did it anyway (or did it intentionally) – because in small script in the lower left of the photo they wrote “South End Zone” and on the right they put “North End Zone”—perhaps to let the pesky nerds like me who would call out the west/west thing know that they meant to do this. Or we can all blame Hyundai. Either way I like it, but I would have properly split the…
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Wearing Nike: A History
Pulled from the Uniform Timeline, a few tidbits from our history with the Oregonian goddess of victory: 1976: Best we can tell (and by we, I mean me & the illustrious Dr. Sap), Nikes first appear on the feet of a Wolverine, here shown on #41, the great Rob Lytle (and yes that’s Ricky Leach killing it in the Pumas): 1983: Nike becomes the exclusive shoe provider for Bo’s men. March 1994: Michigan signs 6-year contract with Nike for, “apparel and shoes, totaling more than 23,000 items over six years for football, basketball, hockey, baseball, softball, swimming, wrestling, golf, tennis, field hockey, cross-country, track and field, gymnastics, volleyball, soccer and cheerleading squads.” January 1, 1998: Michigan wins Rose Bowl and the national championship. (OK, that wasn’t Nike’s doing – but clearly wearing the swoosh didn’t hurt). July 2007: U-M signs contract with adidas for footwear and apparel for all 25 U-M athletic teams. The new agreement begins with the 2008-09 academic year and extends through the 2016-17 season. September 8, 2007: Nike mogul Phil Knight buys rounds of drinks all over Ann Arbor before visiting the Big House to watch his Ducks destroy your beloved Wolverines – one week after The Horror: January 1, 2008: Final Nike jersey appears after adidas deal signed. Jerseys include Capital One Bowl patch on…
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The Case of the Missing Helmet Decals | Storytime with Dr. Sap
In my never-ending quest to accurately recap the history of the Michigan Football helmet stickers, I have since determined, and confirmed with Jon Falk, that there were indeed three versions of the Wolverine decals. The image below recaps the nuances of the three versions:
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Bo Gets Cut! (1976)
To demonstrate that Coach Harbaugh isn’t the first U-M head coach to peel and flash the washboard and the guns, here’s a look back at when his mentor Bo Schembechler did the same. Sure, it was under different circumstances, but still: Just in time for the polar vortex of death, here’s what the doctor ordered. How about a look at a shirtless General Bo out for a run in the summer of 1976, as featured in the Sunday Magazine? Thanks to the keen eye of Dr. Sap for spotting that on eBay, up for bid right now. I assume this was a product of the Detroit News. Bo’s in tip-top shape after having open heart surgery in late spring of ‘76. Go Bo!
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1940-1969 | Michigan Football Uniform Timeline
Welcome to the MVictors Uniform Timeline where below you will find a descending timeline of changes to the Michigan football team uniforms over the years. 2020-Current > Click here | 2015-2019 > Click here | 2010-2014 > Click here | 2000-2009 > Click here | 1990-1999 > Click here | 1980-1989 > Click here | 1970-1979 > Click here | 1940-1969 > Click here | 1867-1939 > Click here Note: For all uniform changes prior to 1970, the rules change a bit. If I have a compelling photo of an actual jersey (or portion of a jersey) over this period, I will include it in the timeline even if it didn’t mark a particular change in design or new feature: 1969 Season | Ann Arbor, MI Bo Schembechler arrives as head coach and performs a massive overhaul of the uniform:HELMET: Maize numbers are removed from the sides of the helmets (they return for the 2011 season and the first game for the 2012 season).HELMET: Award stickers are placed on helmets in the form of solid maize football-shaped decals. Don Moorhead’s 1970 helmet via Helmet Hut: SHOES/SOCKS: Team adopts new style of shoe and cleat for use on the newly installed artificial turf in Michigan Stadium. Black trim added on socks.JERSEY: Block ‘M’ removed from sleeves on home and road jerseys,…
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Beneath the Big House
Last night I attended a fundraiser benefitting Ronald McDonald House of Ann Arbor, held in the stadium at the Jack Roth Stadium Club. The event included tours of the field and inside the stadium locker room. A few observations: More evidence that the The Legends program is going away—the Legends lockers used to look like this: Last night the engraved Legends patches were gone from the back of the lockers: There are also a few new displays up closer to the entrance of the locker room that are pretty nicely done. I don’t recall seeing these before. First, a very conspicuous tribute to Tom Brady: Further down the hall several great moments in Michigan football history are immortalized: Along with the ones you can see (OSU 1997, OSU 1969, #BraylonFest, Desmond Heisman pose), they also have 1979 Indiana (Ufer/Carter), and 1985 Harbaugh to Kolesar, and a couple others (Ron Kramer?). Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Sights & Sounds | Michigan Spring Game 2015
To those who attended, that had a gameday feel, didn’t it? Now we need to convince Ira, Sam, and Steve to prop up the Victors Lounge tent in 2016 and we’ll be all set.
