A special edition of the MVictors History Show, recorded in the mancave of author, super collector and historian Jon Stevens. Items include Yost Field House doors, a 1905 Ohio State-Michigan program, the vintage U-M scrapbook owned by Michigan superstar Neil Snow, and much more. Also, check out the piece of history from 1898 that made my jaw drop!
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2012 Football Bust Notes
Why do so many fans attend this the Bust each year? I chatted with a few folks while the players were still signing autographs for fans, well before the event officially started and asked that question. It’s not cheap (small glass of beer is $5, rail cocktail $7), and there are other opportunities during the year to see the players. While U-M fans are charitable, it’s got nothing to do with supporting the U-M Club of Detroit. When the seniors got up to speak I was reminded why, to me, the Bust is such a special event. It’s really a unique chance to see these young guys in this moment when they say what really want they want to say—relatively unfiltered. I remember Angelique asking Kovacs to reflect on this career moments after the Ohio State game. Understandably he wouldn’t (probably couldn’t) do it. It’s so rare to get these guys to open up about anything beyond what happened on the field. While all the seniors, especially Kovacs, Denard, Will Campbell (hilarious), Pat Omameh and Jack Kennedy did a real nice job, it was Roy Roundtree who delivered the moment of the night. He started out in a joking mood talking about his recruitment, basically saying despite his commitment to Purdue, once offered by Michigan he was on his way…
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The Final Piece of the Puzzle (1943)….Found!
This month I submitted a piece on Ann Arbor resident Jack Briegel and his extraordinary collection. His focus is on ticket stubs and get this, of the 517 games played at Michigan Stadium to date, Briegel has a full ticket or stub from all of them but one. That's right – he's missing 1!
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The House that Jack Built: The Ultimate Wolverine Den
There are a few places in Ann Arbor where you can view some of the finest Michigan football memorabilia in the land. If you can get inside, the museum at Schembechler Hall features helmets, jerseys and other relics from the early days of the program. Up on North Campus the wonderful archives at the U-M Bentley Historical Library contain an extensive array of documents, photos and news clippings covering the history of Michigan athletics. Neither collection is quite like what lifelong Ann Arbor resident Jack Briegel has at his home.
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American Pickers Coming This Way
Do you know these guys? That’s Mike Wolfe and his partner Frank Fritz, stars of History Channel’s American Pickers. According to AnnArbor.com, the treasure hunting pair is coming to town looking for a good pick: Show producer Jeff Eggleston confirmed on Tuesday that the show will be coming to Michigan, but said the itinerary is not set. The show plans to shoot in the area sometime between April 12 and April 24, he said. So why do I care? I love the show but more importantly, check out what’s on Eggleston’s list of items they are looking for on their visit: Michigan sports memorabilia: Unique pieces related to any of Michigan’s college or professional sports teams. I try to catch the holy trinity of memorabilia shows on Monday: Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars and American Pickers hoping that one day they’ll stumble upon an item related Michigan football and dial up yours truly to provide some expert input. (I even stretched this wish to Detroit’s Hardcore Pawn as I told Hondo Carpenter the other day.) I reached out to the show’s research department to let them know I’m available if they find anything, and I suggested a couple places/people to talk to about their collections. If you know of an awesome collection they should check out, email americanpickers [at] cineflix.com.
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Schembechler Hall Lockers – Still Available
A must have for any man cave, Michigan shrine, office, garage and/or living room (if you aren’t married). Details: Full size locker, with combination. We have proof of authenticity, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the ultimate Michigan Football memorabilia collector. It could be a very long time before they change lockers again. Locker numbers still on them. Dimensions: 36? wide x 24? deep x 74-3/4? tall Weight: About 200 lbs – free pick-up in Detroit It seems a local demolition company cleaned out the locker room and was granted rights to take away the lockers. Get this—they actually crushed one of them before someone came to their senses. The company is based in Detroit and they’ve still got some to sell. Interested to buying one of these to round out your shrine or for a gift? The seller was asking $800 earlier this year but shoot me an email, he might do better: One recent buyer sent over this pic. He got the #7 locker and went with the Drew Henson theme. Looks great, although I think a few Ricky Leach and Chad Henne fans are scratching their heads:
