Given the buzz around the prospect of your beloved Wolverines opening the season in a maize alternate uniform, you should know it’s not the first time. Readers of this site are aware of the canary disaster of 1928, but here’s a refresher: I first read about all this thanks a tip from Bruce Madej, the legendary U-M SID, who reviewed the Uniform Timeline sent over a ditty from his book, Champions of the West. Within a section of the book talking about Fritz Crisler and the launch of the winged helmet at Michigan in 1938, it gets into a little uniform history— including this spicy meatball: The only change in the typical blue uniforms before 1949 came in 1928. As Michigan planned to play Navy in Baltimore, the Midshipmen refused to wear any other color than their traditional blue. Therefore, Michigan came out in bright yellow jerseys with blue numerals. The team was said to look like canaries, and the uniforms were put away after the 6-6 tie. Here’s the description from the November 8, 1928 Michigan Daily: Fast forward to today, and we can see that Navy did indeed have a uniform that resembled the gear the Wolverines wore back in the 1920s. (But note, FWIW, I think that happened a lot back then). Anyway – Via eBay, here’s…
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Michigan Returned to the Big Ten (1917) – But What if We Didn’t?
Given the history and deep ties between U-M and the B1G conference since those days astray, it seems hard to comprehend an alternate reality where your beloved Wolverines are not part of the conference. I really never have put much thought into the notion of U-M going it alone.
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The Snow Bowl (1950)
But none of these games, even the Rose Bowl, told the story of the 1950 season. It was all about what happened in the amazing game in Columbus that year. It was November 25, 1950, in Columbus—a game that will forever be known as The Snow Bowl. The lead-up, game and aftermath of one of the greatest games in college football history: 1950's "Snow Bowl" - Michigan at Ohio State.
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Unbeaten at the Big House
That’s the last time the Wolverines had a football season like this. Saturday’s 20-10 win over Indiana completed a perfect home slate. They’ve done that plenty—there have been 37 seasons in which Michigan has played at least four home games and won them all, most recently in 2011. But to win by an average margin of 32 points at the Big House, as Michigan did this year, is what makes 2016 so impressive. More:
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Bo Stays | This Week In Michigan Football History
For Saturday’s edition of This Week in Michigan Football History we headed back briefly to October 1st in 1927 and 1938 to acknowledge the first game at Michigan Stadium and the first time the Wolverines donned the coveted winged helmet respectively. From there we went to 1977 on this day exactly four decades ago, as General Bo Schembechler’s third-ranked Wolverines were set for an epic clash in Ann Arbor against fifth-ranked Texas A&M. The game was a blow-out, but A&M was enamored with Bo and later tried to lure him to college station. Here’s how it went down: [display_podcast] As always, this segment appeared on 1050AM WTKA and 1330AM WTRX’s epic KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff prior to each game. 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. October 1st marks a very special anniversary in Meeechigan football lore for two of our most enduring traditions.First, Fielding Yost’s dream came to fruition on October 1st, 1927, as it marked the first game in Michigan Stadium, a 33 to nothing shutout of Ohio Wesleyan. Eleven years later on this day in 1938, Fritz Crisler made his Wolverine coaching debut and outfitted the maize and blue with the iconic Winged Helmet for the first…
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Righteous Debuts (Winged Helmet, Michigan Stadium)
The first of October is a special day in Michigan lore. Two major milestones occurred on this day, eleven years apart: October 1, 1927. The first game was in a sparkling new Michigan stadium, where U-M thumped Ohio Wesleyan 33-0. Later that season temporary stands (borrowed from Ferry Field) were added to accommodate the crowds for the Navy and Ohio State games. Here’s a look at a pristine Big House: October 1, 1938. Fritz Crisler took the whistle on the western sideline for the first time on this day in 1938, and this was the debut of the iconic winged helmet: And thanks to the Michigan History Calendar, we also know that it was on this day in 1932 that the football program earned win #300 – a 26-0 shutout of Michigan State College in Ann Arbor. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Natural Rivalry Resumed (1942) | This Week in Michigan Football History
This week we mark Saturday’s anniversary of the resumption of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry in 1942, when your beloved #6 ranked Wolverines traveled to South Bend and crushed on the #4 Irish. But to understand the significance of that day, we first take a trip back to November 1910 to understand why the rivalry was originally cancelled. Go Blue, Beat Irish! [display_podcast] You can listen to all 6 years of This Week In Michigan Football History here. And don’t forget to catch the whole KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff on WTKA 1050AM starting 4 hours before each game, and of course live in the Bud Light Victors Lounge Saturday starting at 11:30am. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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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…
