• The Jug Brotherhood +++

    September 1, 2011 /

    A hearty well done to reader Brian Snider for being the latest member of the Little Brown Jug club, and did he ever.  Snider created not only a 5 gallon version (like the actual jug), he knocked out four and three-gallon versions: Snider joins: Eric Mierzwiak – 2009 post Mark Foster – 2010 post Dennis Dail – Post from earlier this year Each member of the group has drawn on the experiences of the others.  Perhaps we need to form a Union – The Brotherhood of Primers and Jug Painters, Local 1903. Great work Brian! Update #1:  Snider is offering the 4 gallon version of the jug on eBay right now.  It’s the easy way to enter the Jug Club.    Update #2:  And speaking of auctions, check out a new mgoauction featuring a Jug print signed by the A-Train, Chuck Woodson and Butch Woolfolk: For more on the jug, get with the lore: Part I: What Really Happened in the 1930s Part II: Spinning Myths Part III: Getting it Right Part IV: 2013: A Space Quandary Part V: Red Wing Roots Part VI: Is the Greatest Trophy in College Sports a Fake? Part VII: Open Questions Part VIII: Doc Cooke and the Real Origins of the Rivalry

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  • Little Brown Jug Club +1

    July 23, 2011 /

    Congrats to collector Dennis Dail for joining the official Jug Club.  His painstaking work paid off, wouldn’t you agree? He joins Eric Mierzwiak (2009 story) and Mark Foster (2010 post) in the elite group and between us girls, I understand we may have a fourth member soon.  Here’s Dennis’s story in his own words: I wanted to shoot you a note to let you know my Little Brown Jug is finally complete and being displayed in my Michigan Cave in my basement….took me several months of late evening work, but I wanted to make it exactly like the Real Jug. I’m not sure if I have shared all this, but I found this “1905 5-gallon Red Wing Jug” (that’s what it said on the bottom) several years back at an Antique Shop, the big one on the South side of I-94 just over West of AA, that is now closed.  I pulled it out awhile back here and started the transformation process from a brown, ugly jug to the newly painted Little Brown Jug as we know it today.  It took many hours of planning, measuring, supply purchasing and thinking before the project began.  With help and tips along the way from fellow Jug maker Eric Mierzwiak and several visits to the local Sherwin Williams store, the painting began.  First…

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  • 40,000 Jugs

    July 9, 2011 /

    Enhancing the analysis of the true origins of the Little Brown Jug rivalry, I add this nugget.   We know that in the aftermath of the 1903 brutal battle with Minnesota, Michigan left a water jug behind and after a series of events a college football tradition was born.   As discussed in much detail here, the common contention that Fielding Yost requested that Minnesota athletic director Louis “Doc'” Cooke return the Wolverine water jug (and was told he’d have to “win it back”) never happened.

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  • Husking History

    July 1, 2011 /

      Today the Big Ten officially welcomes Nebraska to the conference, so I say welcome to fans & the Husker bloggers.  I’ve actually been to Lincoln for a “Big Ten” game – versus Iowa in 2000 and had an outstanding time.  Other than the stadium being completely doused in red (something we’ve seen before), my other lasting impressions include a strapping man launching T-shirts out of his portable missile launcher, and the pro football feel to the whole event with the omnipresent ads, sponsored replays, etc.  It’s a different environment than Michigan for sure, but not unlike what you get in other stadiums in the conference. Speaking of the bloggers, a few are celebrating the day with a post and Big Red Network even solicited notes from the conference blogosphere.  Brian chimed in: From MGoBlog – Welcome. Michigan looks forward to proving once and for all that the 1997 Nebraska team couldn’t hold a candle to Charles Woodson and company. Please try to blend in when you overwhelm our stadium. So did I: From MVictors — Welcome.  Nebraska and Michigan share many things historically of course: a deep running tradition of excellence, the 1997 national championship and Fielding Yost.  Our teams even shared the outcome of the game when we met 100 years ago this fall in Lincoln – a…

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  • Show me Your Signed Jugs

    April 29, 2011 /

    Ahh yes, the recent flurry of jug discussion here has prompted yet another reader to send along his Little Brown Jug: Home Edition, and this one’s a beauty as well.  Thanks to reader Dennis who passed along these photos.  This was a gift he gave to his dad.  Not only is it a marvelous replica, it’s signed by a bevy of Michigan coaches (Bump, Mo, Lloyd, Bo, Rich Rod) each of whom have walked off the gridiron with the coveted crock during their tenure:   Dennis is looking to have Coach Hoke sign it as well.  My suggestion: wait until he earns it! So go ahead and update the list of things that will survive the Apocalypse:  cockroaches, Lions fans, airplane black boxes, Little Brown Jug replicas. Elsewhere: * It’s not as slick as any of the three replicas I’ve featured on these pages, but you can get a 1950s-version painted Little Brown Jug on eBay right now.  * Better yet, how about a lineup card from the 1909 Minnesota-Michigan game: the first battle for the jug?  I’m guessing the seller, who’s asking $300, knew he had something there.

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