Good Wednesday to you, friends. WPW leads off with a classic shot of the B1G football coaches meeting prior to the 1931 season (see above). This photo, from the Big Ten meetings prior to the 1931 season, is probably worth its $44 auction price. On the floor you’ve got M headman Harry Kipke with Purdue coach (and former player under Rockne) Noble Kizer demonstrating life in the trenches. Minnesota’s Fritz Crisler, who would replace Kipke later that decade, watches from the back. Amongst the men seated is Illinois legend Bob Zuppke sitting next to the one & only Amos Alonzo Stagg. Great shot. Dress code in ‘31? White shirt, tie, Brylcreem in the hair (except for Stagg). I don’t know when wire photos started to be distributed to newspapers, but this has to be a fairly early one (from 1926) featuring the great Michigan quarterback and NFL HOF’er Benny Friedman. The seller claims it is an original and wants a mere $30. If it’s truly the original it’s worth over $100 easy IMO.
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The Coach Was Happy (Beilein joins WTKA 3-11)
Ole! Via BTN Brent Yarina. Enjoy a very happy John Beilein chatting with Sam and Ira this morning on WTKA 1050AM. They hit on many topics – the success this year, the 1-3-1 zone, the postgame celebration on Saturday, the evolution of the Crisler atmosphere (LOL), the upcoming B1G tournament and much more: [display_podcast] As always, you can catch all of the WTKA podcasts here. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Schembechler Hall 2.0 (Fresh Renovation photos)
A few sneak-peek photos from the new Schembechler Hall renovation:
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Going Down Bloody-Nose-Lane With Bob Ufer (1965) | Storytime with Dr. Sap
[Ed. Did you know the great Bob Ufer called the occasional hoops game? Believe it. Here’s Sap breaking down a recording from the 1965 IU game with Ufe on the mic. P.S. If Ufe were alive today I bet he’d have a few choice words for Crean! #DONG] A guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis With Michigan winning their first outright B1G Basketball Championship in 28 years, I thought it would be appropriate to look back on the 1965 Michigan – Indiana Basketball game. Not because UM will be playing IU this weekend, but because Bob Ufer was doing the play-by-play radio on WPAG (the predecessor to your beloved WTKA 1050AM). Back in 1965 Michigan, led by the great Cazzie Russell, also won the B1G title and was ranked #2 in the country behind some school out west (UCLA). But the real story here is Ufer. A few years ago, Ufer.org came out with a CD that had the first half of the UM-IU Hoops game and it is priceless. To hear Ufer call a basketball game in much the same fashion that he called a football game is pure joy. Here’s a breakdown of a few selected tracks: [display_podcast] Track #1: Here you’ve got Ufe calling the opening tip of the game. Track #2: If you listen closely…
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Wire Photo Wednesday | Men Amongst Boys
This week WPW takes a look at three outstanding shots, each featuring a unique perspective of three Michigan greats – Cazzie Russell, Tom Harmon and Bill Yearby: Crisler is known as the house that Cazzie built, but here’s a look at Cazzie’s original digs: Yost Arena. Dang it looks pretty cool in there and I love the angle of that photo. Memo to #41: Nice socks, Milhous. Speaking of that venue, who’d like to see a hoops game at Yost? Get on board #1000SSS. And maybe they’d even bring back the Old Man?: Speaking of cool angles, I’m not sure I can recall a old shot quite like this, here you’ve got Old 98 Tom Harmon in 1938 trotting out of the tunnel handling a pigskin. Uniform snobs will note the block M socks. I also love the cheerleader’s sweater and the shiny pants (that guy has a little Barney Fife in him). Turning to the crowd, clearly if you didn’t wear a hat (children and ladies included) to the game back then you were a square, Daddy-O. A real flat tire. What I can’t make out is what’s on the guy’s sweatshirt behind Harmon? Best guess – it either reads “Maroons” (played in the Big House 10/8/38) or “Spartans” (the season opener 10/1/38). Hmm, who do you…
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Wire Photo Wednesday Cries Wolverbear!
WPW keeps rolling with a great shot that sheds some light on uniform history: First up, this isn’t a wire photo but something a little cleaner: it’s a 35MM negative from the 1962 game in East Lansing that is incredibly crisp. In the U-M lily whites you’ve got a wincing Tom Prichard (21) backed up by a flying Ron Kocan (88). The Spartans snuck by 28-0. More importantly, this slide appears to have solved a little uniform riddle that has bugged me and the illustrious Dr. Sap for a while. We had seen some photos from this era of players wearing what seemed to be a circular patch on their jerseys…but couldn’t confirm what it was. Sap dug an old shot with the mystery patch that we mulled over a year or 2 back (also obviously from the ‘62 State game as well, featuring Prichard, could be the same play): The first shot clearly confirms what is chilling on the left shoulder…the wolverbear ! </insert Happy Valley roar sound, slightly higher pitch> Viva the sailor wolverbear! Here’s more on the U-M logo history via my man Craig at HSR. Here’s the auction for the 35MM slide. Here’s another shot from the 1962 game via my friends at The Only Colors. Oh, and the Uniform Timeline is now updated…scroll down to…
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Coach Beilein Joins Sam & Ira (WTKA audio Feb 25, 2014)
It’s always fun to hear what the coach has to say after a big win. This morning coach B talked about everything from the zone, his relationship with Steve Fisher, to his philosophy & history of working on the refs, to Mitch McGary’s status and much more: [display_podcast] As always, catch all of the WKTA podcasts here. If you missed it, check out sights and sounds from Sunday’s big win.
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Sights & Sounds: Sweep Tight ! (Michigan 79, Michigan State 70)
Broom and Boom: We got you in Hoops, Ice Dancing and Jinxes. (Oh, and embroidery). Pres-elect Schlissel getting a tour from U-M Marketing chief Hunter Lochmann. Timmy Hardaway in the house representing and showing off his extra long digits. D Funch giving Stauskas some pointers during pregame Clean Several NBA Scouts on hand, here are a few looking over whatever they look at. They must have been drooling over Payne. I told one of them that #Levert was a pure athlete. Reply: “Yes he is.” “AP…Why do they call me the Angry Midget? Why?” Jon Falk! His last day officially on the job is coming up! :( Maize Rage feeling it! They joined the dance team for a spicy little routine during the game. Capt. Jake Ryan with Laura Hoke as Coach Mattison looks on. Scoop: at this pace no chance Jake’s flowing locks return for ‘14. There is a lot going on here, all good to me. Beilein going ballistic after the blocking call in front of him – he wasn’t alone. My pal Jil Gordon representing! Zack Novak Attack (was was Back) Happy Coach Happy Coach part II. “This happens all the time guys. Just like this.” Staus-KISS! – that’s pure $CAN right…
