On the brink of one of the biggest games in a generation, here's a look back at the trip out to California for the 1965 Rose Bowl. The trip to the was conducted in two distinct phases – party time and business time. The first portion started off with the usual tours, some time to hang out, and a bit of partying. OK, maybe a lot of partying. Here's the story - you'll enjoy it.
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Beaver Beatdown – Sights & Sounds (Michigan 35, Oregon State 7 – 2015)
“I GUESS I HIT THAT HOLE YOU NERDS!” (via Michigan Daily) Following another Smith score to put U-M up 26-7, Harbaugh personally called for the 2 point conversion. He gave some kind of signal to the celebrating players – it looked like a bear claw from the press box. He sat hunched over outside the team area basically begging for Rudock and a few other guys to get the message and line up—flashing the bear claw gesture as hard as he could. Rudock and crew eventually got the message, lined up, and successfully executed the 2 point conversion to put U-M up 28-7. On the trot back to the sideline Rudock tried to slide back to the bench with the rest of the unit but Harbaugh put his hand in Rudock’s chest—stopping him in his tracks. There was a quick chat between QB and coach, I assume something along the lines of maintaining composure even after a TD and paying attention. After the chat, #4 delivered a pair of hearty butt slaps and Rudock went back to the bench. Here’s the deal – Harbaugh is in absolute control (most of the time) of the sideline and what the players are doing on the field. The only other way he’d have it is if the rules allowed him to play a…
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Captain Conley and the 1964 Wolverines | Business Time (Part III)
Part I: Starting from NothingPart II: The Season Business TimeThe trip to the 1965 Rose Bowl was conducted in two distinct phases – party time and business time. The first portion started off with the usual tours, some time to hang out, and a bit of partying. OK, maybe a lot of partying. “Chrysler gave us a car for every 4 guys,” junior fullback Barry Dehlin recalled. “For the first week, you had a bunch of 20-year-old guys out there and we were partying.” As young men tend to do, they took advantage of their celebrity status with the California coeds. “We went to Disneyland. The next thing you know we’re in our hotel room and there are eight or ten of the Disneyland tour guides,” Conley recalled. “We also went to the Whisky a Go Go. The girls are dancing and all that, and let’s just say we had some guys that were good at what they do, do you know what I mean?” “I’ll never forget, we’re walking back into the hotel at night. [Senior end] Bill Laskey is with me along with a couple of other guys. We’ve got these girls with us with those frilly skirts shaking around. As we’re walking down the hall [assistant coach] Jocko Nelson walks by, looks at me, and just says,…
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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…
