Whoa - someone found one of the holy grails of Michigan football memorabilia--a ticket stub to the 1903 Minnesota-Michigan game from Minneapolis. Of course this is the game that started the Little Brown Jug rivalry.
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Holy Moly! The Rosy Grail (1902 Rose Bowl Program)
There are certain pieces of Michigan football memorabilia that many would consider a holy grail of sorts. Really anything to do with the 1901 perfectly perfect season fits that bill nicely (I’m still kicking myself for not buying this 1901 season pass), and there’s probably nothing more precious than this beauty. Earlier this year local collector Ken Magee of Ann Arbor Sports Memorabilia snagged an original game program from the 1902 Rose Bowl, yes, the birth of the Granddaddy of the All.
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Celebrating Uber Fandom
Today I bumped into uber fan Bob MacLean, the man who has an active streak of attending Michigan football games (home and away). Saturday’s Akron game will mark his 504th in row, and the run dates back to the 1971 Ohio State game. Here’s Bob outside Fraser’s Pub looking fit and not anywhere close to breaking the streak: Keep it rolling Bob. And speaking of uber fans, another that you may know is Ken Magee of Ann Arbor Sports Memorabilia. A portion of his epic Michigan collection is on display at ‘The Museum’ on Main St. in Ann Arbor now through December 1. The exhibit is titled, ‘The Legacy of Michigan Football: Collection of a Superfan.’ Here are the details: Through a selection of items from the private sports collection of Ken Magee, you will experience the inspirational tradition and history of Michigan’s key coaches, players and games. This guest exhibit is co-curated by University of Michigan, Museum Studies Program students Megan Boczar and Alicia Juillet. Highlights include game day programs over the years including a rare and original program from the first Rose Bowl ever played in 1902 where Michigan beat Stanford 49-0. The Museum on Main Street, 500 N. Main St., Ann Arbor MI (at the corner of E. Kingsley and Beakes St). Open on weekends: Saturday &…
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Pandora’s Jug
Last football season I got a call from #1000SSS asking me to inspect a few photos of a certain piece of crockery that turned up in Ohio. Based on the pics it appeared to be an early, somewhat haggard replica of the Little Brown Jug. The photos were pretty interesting but I needed to get a closer look to make any proclamations about what we were dealing with. Fast forward to this spring. The owners put the piece up for sale and it was purchased by Ken Magee, a local collector and the owner of Ann Arbor Sports Memorabilia. A few weeks ago I got that closer look: Diane Diller, the ex-wife of the man who has held the jug for over 40 years, says that her husband Steve came into possession of the jug in 1969 when he attended high school in Pandora, Ohio, a small town 15 miles west of Findlay. In her words: The late John Michaels, who was the custodian at Pandora Gilboa High School at the time, was cleaning the auditorium. Mr. Michaels found the jug behind the auditorium curtain. Steve Diller, who was a junior, happened to be in the area at the time and was asked if he wanted to take the jug home. He did, and has had it ever since. Over…
