On August 22,1946, Michigan lost its Grand Old Man—Fielding H. Yost. Here is a wire photo from Yost’s funeral procession. The photo depicts the casket and his pallbearers: J. Fred Lawton, the composer of ‘Varsity’. Legendary player and coach Bennie Oosterbaan. 1922 team captain Paul Goebel. 1925 team captain Robert Brown. Legendary M Swim coach Matt Mann Andrew Baker, Yost’s secretary For as many times as you’ve speculated that Yost was rolling over in his grave, now you’ve got an idea of what he’s rolling in. Curiously the gent who composed the photo caption spelled Bennie Oosterbaan’s first name correctly (with the “ie”, often butchered as Benny) but laid an egg hammering when it came to his last name (“Oosterbaum”). Bah. The caption of the wire photo reads “GRAND OLD MAN OF MICHIGAN FOOTBALL LAID TO REST”. I can’t summarize Yost’s impact on Michigan athletics in a single post and won’t really try to. While he was not a man without flaws, he leveraged his incredible success on the football field along with his business acumen to lead U-M to build an athletic campus (for men, for women, and in spirit, for the people of the State of Michigan) that was years ahead of its time, with iconic structures like Yost Field House, the U-M Golf Course, and of course…
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Woody slugs the Camerman (1977)
Late in this very 1977 game ABC cameraman Mike Freedman got a little too close to Hayes and the old man decked him right in the chest. but as I understand it, the TV audience saw Woody take the swing but didn’t see much after that. Freedman was jolted but wasn’t seriously injured. Here's the clip:
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Lost in Translation
Let’s say by happenstance you are parked in a hotel bar in a far away land where certain sports, like cricket, are king. The locals are aware there’s an “American football” but can’t fathom how an amateur/college team could be as popular as a professional or national team. So here goes the question. And to add a little context, I’m working on a piece on the winged helmet tradition, which turns 75 this season. In the opening paragraph I started to write something about its place amongst the most defining characteristics of the Michigan program…and stumbled. The question: [poll id=68] P.S. I didn’t put “Tradition” in here because I don’t think you can’t really define what Michigan tradition means without mentioning one (or all) of the above. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Fourth and Not Much Longer
Don’t look now folks but in a few weeks John U. Bacon’s Fourth and Long will be on bookshelves and the talk of the town..err..several towns. It officially drops September 3 and you can order it now on Amazon if you want to impress your friends. Bacs just posted a series a places where you can see him (even get an advance copy of the book), as well as the timing of several excerpts that will run nationally and on prominent sites. Via johnubacon.com: I’ll have updates on the book tour events, the schedule of excerpts and radio and TV appearances very soon, but here are the first events, with more information to come. To attend, feel free to contact these organizations to reserve your spot. We WILL have books available for all at all these stops, even those that pre-date the publication date. EVENTS: -Tuesday, August 20, lunchtime: Columbus, Ohio, Rotary Club, lunchtime. -Monday, August 26, 5:30 p.m.: UM Alumni Club of Chicago, at the Diag Bar. -Friday, September 6, 6 p.m.: Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor. -Tuesday, September 10, 6 p.m.: UM Alumni Club of Grand Rapids, at the Louis Benton Steakhouse. EXCERPTS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND STORIES -Friday, August 16: The Wall Street Journal: excerpt on how Penn State kept their team together PennLive.com: Review and story by…
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Maize Flakes
While I was with Dr. Sap visiting Capitol Varsity Sports last month we stubbed our collective toe on something. After we witnessed Russ Hawkins execute the helmet painting process A to Z, our hosts mentioned a unique twist to the U-M helmet they made in 2012. As prescribed by the athletic department, they added gold flakes into the maize paint…and showed us an example: Say what? So then there was the question: Did the team wear helmets with gold flakes nestled in the maize last season? Before checking with #1000SSS, I asked around and couldn’t find anyone aware of the change or a release talking about the flakes.* I checked out some close-ups of photos and didn’t really notice anything. Sap found one U-M collector, Dan Oles, who got his hands on a 2012 helmet that indeed had the flakes. Oles wrote to Sap, “I contacted a few players via twitter asking if the regular season helmets had maize glitter paint. They all confirmed that they did.” Oles even shot a note to Jon Falk who confirmed the change. Fast forward to today. I verified with media relations & with Falk that indeed the team had the bedazzled headgear in 2012. The change to the paint was announced as part of the Cowboy Classic uniform reveal…but the news release didn’t…
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With A Bit of Practice (Photos!)
Love the first practice and first game photos – always fun to post. From 20 minutes of practice today, enjoy: Gardner and Funchess and share a laugh Eight pack of Faygo Orange pop Jake Ryan . . . with a game jersey including the Bennie Oosterbaan Legend Patch! The big man putting on his clownish shoes Coach working on a beard? Reminder of a major goal on the South field wall Gibby arming himself for battle, still rocking the golden adidas cleats (why would he change?) Matt Wile with a special kicking shoe; a few guys had the all maize variety like that cat in the background. [According to this tweet, that cat with the maize kicks is Kenny Allen] FBs Joe Kerridge and Sione Houma (hair) stroll out of the Glick Shane Morris snapping a Slim Jim Mommmm! Ball’s stuck on the Oosterbaan roof again! Johnny ‘frickin’ Wangler, people Follow MVictors on Twitter – those who do saw many of these hours ago!
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Stuff Like This…Elsewhere (2013)
A quick round-up of stuff to check out beyond this pages now and this fall: This Week in Michigan Football History…yes! – It’s back for the 2013 season so Go Blue. For the fourth season I’ll cut an audio segment on the history of your beloved Wolverines for the WTKA 1050AM Countdown to Kickoff for each game this season. Once again, to Angelique’s delight, I’ll bring it with #toughness. Ira and I are looking at the dates and working through the lineup. Check out the archive here. I’ll also continue to give you sneak peek Friday afternoons for your tailgate mixtapes, etc. Hail to the Victors 2013 – You don’t have it yet? And you call yourself a fan? Get it here and read my full interview with Bob Bergeron, five myths about the Little Brown Jug and finally, a little bit of Ron Kramer uncensored. That’s right, I said Kramer uncensored! So get some! Kramer says, “M fans, I salute you!” photo courtesy Peg Canham-Keeley Lindy’s – I’d like to say that 3 times followed by “.get your adverbs here” but only a handful of you would have any idea what I’m talking about it. In this year of the 110th anniversary of the founding days of the Little Brown Jug rivalry and the 100th meeting between Michigan and the…
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Bruce Madej to Retire June 2014
This announcement came through last night and I’m sad to see it. Like Jon Falk, U-M is losing another legend who’s not only been great to me personally, but also a legacy to a bygone era. Here’s to hoping Bruce puts together a memoir of his days at #1000SSS sometime soon. But as Bruce posted on Twitter, “it is not over yet! #GOBLUE.” Cheers to that, and cheers to Bruce. Full release via media relations: Long Time U-M PR Man Bruce Madej To Retire In 2014 ANN ARBOR, Mich. –Bruce Madej, the longest serving Sports Information Director in the history of the University of Michigan Athletic Department (1982-2010) and now U-M’s Associate Athletic Director for Special Projects, announced (Wednesday, August 7) his retirement effective June 30, 2014. At that time, Madej will complete 34 years of service to Michigan Athletics. “I have had the privilege to be an integral part of many of the greatest moments in Michigan Athletic history, yet those achievements rank a distant second to the friendships and the relationships I have been able to build and maintain with student-athletes, coaches, department team members, ‘M’ letter winners, alums, supporters, fans and the media through the years,” said Madej. “I have been especially blessed with those who have been close to me on a daily basis—my family and…
