Yo! Tuesday night I’ll be attending/moderating the screening of Black and Blue at the Detroit Center (3663 Woodward Ave, Detroit 48201 map & directions). The event is sponsored by the U-M Club of Detroit. I’ll be joining my pal Brian Kruger of Stunt3 and we’ll entertain questions about the film of course, but we’re also willing to delve into booze, horses, women and politics. More here and here: * * * * U-M DETROIT CENTER TO HOST FILM SCREENING OF INSPIRING DOCUMENTRY “BLACK AND BLUE” Learn about an inspiring moment in collegiate football history on Tuesday, June 17 from 6 – 8 p.m., as the University of Michigan Detroit Center hosts a screening and discussion of the film “Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game.” This screening includes free admission, parking and complimentary refreshments. Emmy nominated producer Brian Kruger and sports historian Greg Dooley will moderate a brief discussion following the film. Locally produced by Stunt 3 Media and written by Buddy Morehouse and directed by Brian Kruger, “Black and Blue” follows the iconic story of two friends and one game during a time of civil injustice. During the 20th century in-heed of Jim Crow laws, it was commonplace for college athletic teams in the North to bench their black…
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Ufer’s Brazilian Soccer Buddy (1978 audio) | Storytime with Sap
[Ed. Via the extensive archives possessed by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis, a timely piece as we begin the 2014 World Cup..proving once again that you can tie Michigan football history back to anything.] Guest post by Steve Sapardanis In 1978, Bob Ufer had some hilarious stories along with a few “friends” he would often refer to during his radio broadcasts to further emphasize how great Michigan was doing and how the stars were aligning to match U-M’s football hopes and dreams that season. When Michigan travelled to South Bend to face Note Dame for the first time in 35 years, Ufer was ready. He had talked about this game for years and couldn’t wait for kickoff. Irish fans, still feeling the highs of their 1977 national championship, claimed that “God made the Irish #1.” Ufe had other ideas. As the seconds winded down in U-M’s epic 28-14 victory in South Bend, Ufer went on about how actor George Burns, who portrayed The Almighty in the movie, “Oh, God!” was seen leaving the ND sideline to walk over to shake Bo’s hand. Burns really wasn’t there of course, but the metaphor had already been cast – everybody loves a winner, even the gentleman upstairs! Then there was this. After the game Ufer proved that Michigan fandom extended all the way to…
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Model Athletes | Wire Photo Wednesday
WPW returns after a brief hiatus with a trip back to Ann Arbor in 1965, a few months following Michigan’s 34-7 Rose Bowl beatdown of Oregon State. The folks at Esquire Magazine visited Ann Arbor and came to the Sigma Chi house looking for a few good men to model summer clothes. This shot included a few of Bump Elliott’s champions strolling in the Arb: [Left to right above you’ve got Captain Jim Conley (Sr – End) in his prime, joined by Rick Sygar (Jr. – fullback), the lovely Jane Horsfall (class of ‘65), Jane’s boyfriend Bill Laskey (Sr. – End), and student Norm Legacki.] I recently caught up with Captain Conley recently who explained how it went down: MVictors: How did this shoot come about? Capt. Conley: “It started at the Sigma Chi house. It wasn’t about the athletes because, of course, because they can’t do that, but they could do it about the student athletes. Since our house was totally filled with athletes, it was pretty easy for them to round up the right amount of guys and put this whole spring fashion thing together. The guy that was doing it apparently was a U-M grad. He came to campus and he went and went to Sigma Chi house and said, ‘Hey guys, you want to get some…
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The 1 and the 7 | Storytime with Dr. Sap
Two of the most iconic numbers in Detroit Red Wings hockey history were determined by bunk bed assignments on the team train in the 1940s. Ted Lindsay & Gordie Howe were awarded the #7 and #9 jerseys respectively not because someone in the organization thought they’d be great, but because bunk beds #7 and #9 became available for Lindsay & Howe when they were just beginning their Hall of Fame NHL careers.
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The New Schembechler Hall Towsley Museum
The new Schembechler Hall museum is quite a sight – definitely check it out next time you have the means. A virtual tour from 2019 if you prefer it:
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Man Down in the Press Box | Brandy Does Play-by-Play (1980)
Last week we learned that the new radio broadcast team will be former U-M teammates Jim Brandstatter and Dan Dierdorf. The big news is that Brandy is shifting over a seat to do the play-by-play, with DD handling the color commentary. I confirmed with Doug Karsch that he will remain is his previous role handling the on-field duties. I kinda hope Karsch would get the nod to be in the booth (in one role or another) but it’s hard to argue with the Brandy-DD team. Heck, I didn’t even know Dierdorf was an option. You might know that Brandy stepped in to handle the radio play-by-play back in 2003 for the Northwestern game, but that’s not actually the first time he performed those duties during a Michigan football game. It turns out that was way back in 1980…on TV. Recently Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis shared with me the details of Brandstatter’s first shot calling the game: In 1980, Larry Adderley and Jim Brandstatter were all set to call the Michigan-Notre Dame football game from South Bend, Indiana for a local cable TV outlet. Adderley, who had just finished 5 years as the host of Michigan Replay with coach Bo Schembechler, would unfortunately come down with laryngitis just before kickoff. He made a valiant effort to do the play-by-play, but…
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Augie’s Glorious Return..and Old 98’s Righteous Coupe
Via my Google keyword spybot sentinels…from the Escanaba Daily News (naturally!), check out this piece on 92 year-old alum August Altese (inset left). Augie played on the freshman team in 1940 and suited up once more for the Victors Classic prior the Spring Game a few weeks ago. A few choice cuts from the story: On taking the field: ‘“I didn’t have my hearing aids in and they just pushed me out there,” Altese said. “I was so pleased to see that everyone was clapping. They assigned me the last five minutes and I just kind of ran this way and that. They didn’t throw anything to me, but when I was warming up they threw me three passes. I missed the first two, caught the third one and fell, and I still feel it.”’ On Billy Taylor: ‘”He was a great runner for Michigan, but he boozed it up and got into drugs after graduation,” Altese said. “Now he’s running an establishment that helps people. He’s a great guy.”’ and check this out, on Tom Harmon’s sponsored-sled(!!): ‘“As a freshman at Michigan in 1940, Altese didn’t get much playing time, and though he was on the same team as legendary Michigan quarterback Tom Harmon, he said he never met him. [Ed. The author didn’t know or point out that…
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Dr. Sap Discusses…the Bo Brackets (WTKA audio 4-18)
A close-up on the watch Bo is wearing on the Schembechler Statue – hmm, 1981 Rose Bowl! Note it also reads 1pm – Bo’s favorite time to start a game — (MVictors photo) Bo’s headset – with the Dymo tape and all– (MVictors photo) If you missed it, we had some great radio this morning on WTKA 1050AM as Ira and Sam were joined in studio by MVictors’ own Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis to discuss his recent Bo Brackets series. The discussion of Bo’s greatest teams wasn’t left to those in studio alone, as Ira took calls from longtime coach Jerry Hanlon and legends Don Dufek, Stan Edwards and Ali Haji-Sheikh. Check out all of the Bo Brackets posts here: Background Results: Schembechler 16 Elite 8 Final Four Title Game Here are three clips from the show with a little on each: Clip #1: The Bo Bracket is introduced, Sap explains the origins and the initial seedings. 1980 kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh joins about 10 minutes in, and shares a quote from Bo himself what he considered his best team. Clip #2: Leading off with a Bob Ufer clip, they get deeper into the Brackets and coach Jerry Hanlon joins in (5 mins in) and then Stan Edwards (10 minutes in). Edwards tells Hanlon, “…you know damn well..” that 1980 team…
