Smoking the Brand (early 1900s)

Check out this University of Michigan-branded smoking tin (lead photo). I found a better look at a better-preserved version (on the right) via Flickr user Wystan’s collection.   The only thing that would have made it better is if Fielding Yost was featured lighting some up.  Backside:

Smoking was a big part of the campus culture for many years, and I know that during game weeks “Smokers”, i.e., smoking-themed events were held at the Union to support the football team and have an all-out good time.   From a different recent auction here’s a tin cup from the Smoker held November 28, 1911, in honor of that fine football season and team, held just a few days after the team returned from the epic trip out to Nebraska:

Thanks to reader Brian for passing that along after the original post.

As I understand it tobacco companies would sign up to provide hundreds of pounds of the good stuff for these events.  Just a hunch—the company that created that tin took it a bit further by slapping the U-M brand on their product. 

You can bet many of the M football players themselves smoked tobacco, and recall that years later Fritz Crisler asked everyone trying out for the squad that question—even  including studs like Tom Harmon (from survey prior to 1939 season):

Around the same time as Fritz’s questionnaire someone was marketing a Michigan Stadium ashtray (for the true fan…who wanted to snuff out his smokes on Michigan stadium):

Smoke ’em if you got ’em! Go Blue!