Scanning through the recent eBay auctions, this caught my eye. It’s a 1972 Burger King cup featuring then-San Francisco 49ers linebacker Frank Nunley. Nunley patrolled the middle for Bump Elliott’s Wolverines from 1964-1966, earning all-Conference his senior season. I was able to connect with Nunley who explained why his face ended up on BK cup. “Len Rhode, 49er offensive tackle, owned a few Burger Kings around here. Still does,” Nunley wrote me. “He featured a different 49er each week. I think that is where this came from.” It was during his stint in SF that Nunley earned his nickname, “Fudge Hammer”. According to Matt Maiocco’s book, San Francisco 49ers, Nunley owes the nickname to his NFL teammate Stan Hindman. Apparently Nunley didn’t possess an intimidating physique but could drill opposing players with the best of them, as in, “he looked like fudge but hit like a hammer.” Naturally I needed to get a few memories on Nunley from 1964 team captain Jim Conley, who once again did not disappoint. Enjoy: Frank Nunley was a freshman when I was a senior. I remember his first significant contribution to our 1964 team occurred when Dr. Barry Dehlin got a knee injury. He came running into the defensive huddle and asked, “What do I do?”. I told him that Bill Yearby and I…
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Conley Won’t Trade This Award
I had the chance to take in the Bob Ufer Quarterback Club dinner last night at Barton Hills. The highlight of the evening was the speech by 1964 captain Jim Conley, who gave a passionate speech in receiving the 2011 Bennie Oosterbaan Award for service, dedication and leadership. Ever the captain, Conley thanked his teammates for the award and added, “it’s on behalf of them that I accept it.” He also thanked the the Ufer Club for honoring him while he’s still alive noting, “Red Simmons got this award at 99. I don’t think I’ll see 99 [laughs].” He was about to step down from the podium, but grabbed the mic back from MC Jim Brandstatter, held up the plaque and added this: [display_podcast] Conley: “I just want to say one more thing…I will not trade this for a tattoo”
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Bill Yearby, Michigan All-American, Passes Away
Bill Yearby, an All-American defensive tackle for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1963-1965, died on Dec. 20th after a long illness.