The term Michigan Man hasn’t been this hot since Bo dropped his epic blast at outgoing coach Bill Frieder. We know the use of the term goes way back, certainly before Bo used it so famously. Heck, we know that Bo dropped this on Mark Messner during a last-ditch recruiting trip in the mid-1980s: Bo walks over, just hands me a tape and says [Messner in perfect Bo voice]: “You’re a Michigan man and you belong at Michigan.” And got back in the car. I don’t know if there will ever be a true “source” of Michigan Man because as I understand it, it’s piggybacking on the concept of the ‘Harvard Man’, which I believe was simply extracted from England and the ‘Oxford Man’ or ‘Cambridge Man’, for instance. The Great Gatsby, chapter 7: “And you found he was an Oxford man,” said Jordan helpfully.“An Oxford man!” He was incredulous. “Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit.”“Nevertheless he’s an Oxford man.”“Oxford, New Mexico,” snorted Tom contemptuously, “or something like that.” Anyway, I did a quick search to find the phrase and nabbed a century-plus old source of it being used in the context of a U-M grad in a coaching position. Vanderbilt was coached by a former M player, assistant and Yost’s brother-in-law Dan McGugin. Frank “Shorty” Longman…
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Worshipping the Varsity Man
Check out the latest edition of Michigan Today for James Tobin’s piece on the Yost’s fight to build Michigan Stadium. It narrows in on a few folks that represented the opposition to not only the new stadium but the culture of football itself during the period. We’re talking the mid-1920s during the first major football arms race (when giant stadiums were popping up all over the place), and some struggled with the newfound popularity (and off-field revelry) that followed the growth of the sport. A few choice quotes – starting with Robert C. Angell, one of the leaders of the opposition: As for the players themselves, Angell said, only a few did more in class than maintain their eligibility. Nearly all their time and energy went to the sport. “Their diplomas cover a multitude of intellectual sins.” But the athletes were only “a few drops in the bucket of university life.” What harm could football possibly do to the thousands of other students who simply showed up to cheer? Well, said Angell, every autumn, football became a kind of addiction for students, “many but mildly, some seriously.” The sport seized “a monopoly of undergraduate conversation… A scientific theory or a piece of fine poetry has not a chance to squeeze in edgewise. “Around the dinner table, in one another’s rooms,…
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Taming Biff and Bennie
Partnering with Shashi Mara and MaraWatch was such a natural fit for me because that’s really what Shashi has been doing with his line of M luxury watches err, timepieces [when they are that nice you call them timepieces]. Over at Zingerman’s Coffee House earlier this year Mara tipped me off that he was extending out his catalog to add new products. Please welcome Biff and Bennie, new epic cufflinks as part of his collection: Fine-tuned M historians know that Biff and Bennie were the names of the living mascots that Yost brought to Ann Arbor in the 1920s, and the nasty duo was an attraction during the 1927 Michigan Stadium dedication against Ohio State. Check out more here, including the design process that pushes 3D printing technology to maize and blue glory. Want? Go to www.marawatch.com/collection to see the sets Writing Instruments (not mere pens!)Another addition to the collection are these premium devices – available for delivery immediately, order directly via phone (734) 436-8138. According to Shashi, there are fewer than a dozen available in each style (silver/gold), with the classic Point-A-Minute era gridiron design: Well done Shashi, keep it coming.
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Dr. Sap’s Decals | Leaving the Snake Pit and 2014 Behind
Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis bids adieu to a painful 2014 with a final offering of decals to a handful of seniors. But before that, did you catch ESPN’s GameDay on Saturday? It included a nice piece on the rivalry and the Michigan banner, including a short clip of the Buckeyes tearing down the coveted slice of canvas in ‘73 synchronized with Bob Ufer’s epic audio description of that dastardly deed. Guess who put that together and shipped it off to ESPN? That’s right..Dr. Sap himself! Here’s a low res version of the full clip Sap provided to our friends in Bristol: Those painful dekes: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN GARDNER? – We watched a gutty and gutting end to New 98’s career on Saturday. In between the first pass/interception of the game and the fumble that gave OSU the clinching score, Gardner played his heart out and did all he could to help UM win. Problem is, he also helped OSU win. Take away those free 14 points and we have an even ballgame. I don’t want to remember Gardner for his interception and fumble. I want to remember him for his courage for keeping UM in the game. I want to remember him for his compassion when he went over and consoled J.T. Barrett when he broke his ankle. Instead, I…
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Tripped by Terps, Sights & Sounds | Michigan 16, Maryland 23 (2014)
Ugh. For the record: This day in history – I mentioned to the fellas on air in the Victors Lounge that I’m actually getting crap on Twitter for citing history and historical events. Umm…that’s what I do and almost all I do. It this site’s raison d’être. Needless to say, I march on. So while sadly Saturday was a low point of sorts, November 22 will remain an epic anniversary for Michigan football for decades to come, if for no other reason these two games: Two Hundred. Holy fandom endurance awards, props to uber-fan Mike Khomutin for attending this 200th straight U-M game (yes, that’s home AND away). I believe that dates back to 1998. See Sap’s Decals for your decal. Jake No Patch – Some of you noticed that Jake Ryan didn’t wear his Bennie Oosterbaan Legends patch during the Northwestern game. I’m efforting some details from media relations on why. To my knowledge this hasn’t been addressed by anyone…and if you think this little detail is silly, I’d offer that it’s no sillier than anything else people are writing about this team at this moment. Willie Heston – Yo! My piece short bio piece on Willie Heston appeared in the game program on Saturday (page 4). I’ll repost it here soon and note that historian/pal John Kryk helped…
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Dr. Sap’s Decals | Terrapin the Tail on the Donkey Butt
[Ed. Bless you Sap for putting some heart into the final home decals of the year after…that.] OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN GARDNER – To me, New 98 is the LaVell Blanchard of the Michigan Football Team. Great kid. Smart kid. Face of the program for the past few years. Much like Blanchard, Gardner has been caught in the middle of a coaching change during his career. Caught in the middle of a program trying to find its way. Caught in the middle of a university trying to figure out what kind of identity they want their football team to have. Much like we do when looking back on the career of Blanchard, I’m sure we will say much the same for Gardner: “Oh, the Gardner years! Tough kid. Never quit. Never gave up. Sad that his record wasn’t better.” At the half, I saw no one on offense who stepped up to spark this unit. This offense rushed for almost 300 yards and only Gardner got into the endzone. You can see he’s feeling better, but he is obviously still a shell of himself, physically, and probably mentally. There’s an old Canadian hockey saying about a goalie that gets peppered with so many shots that draws a parallel to a QB in football who gets hit and sacked a lot: “That…
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Remembering 1964 | ‘Bump Elliott, the Michigan Wolverines and Their 1964 Championship Season’ – E. Bruce Geelhoed
Last Saturday WTKA played the Ufer broadcast of the 1964 Ohio State game (the 10-0 win that sent Bump Elliott’s crew to the Rose Bowl). Dang those broadcasts are gems and this was no exception (remind me to try to get a copy of Ufer’s halftime interview with Fritz Crisler and post it here). If you read this site you know how I feel about that squad and their legacy—they have to be one of the most underappreciated teams in U-M history. I think this year a few folks have done a lot to help right that wrong, leading with historian Bruce Geelhoed. For starters, Geelhoed has an outstanding story in the current edition of Michigan History magazine on the 1964 Ohio State game titled, ‘The Game that Turned Around the Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry’. You can pick it up at local Meijer and Barnes and Noble stores or online here. Captain Conley’s righteous pigskin – the Ohio State game ball But foremost — Geelhoed recently published this, a 248 page book on the 1964 season itself: If you are the type of fan who has books like John Kryk’s Natural Enemies and John Bacon’s Blue Ice on your shelf, this is no brainer— go out and get a copy. It includes an endorsement from yours truly on the back cover.…
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1903 Michigan-Minnesota Ticket Stub Found
Whoa - someone found one of the holy grails of Michigan football memorabilia--a ticket stub to the 1903 Minnesota-Michigan game from Minneapolis. Of course this is the game that started the Little Brown Jug rivalry.
