Lifted from the Uniform Timeline, this page contains a complete catalog of the publicly known or observed helmet stickers donning Michigan football helmets. This new concept was introduced in 2021, "to tell the story of a player’s entire career."
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Decalanalysis Phase II: Evolution of the 2015 Helmet Sticker
Guest Post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis Before we examine the 2015 decal (which we started in Phase I here) we need to look back at the evolution of the Michigan Football helmet decals. 1969-1974 Version #1 – When Bo introduced the helmet stickers at Michigan in 1969 (Version 1), they were solid, maize-colored, crudely shaped footballs. These were used through the 1974 season. Here’s Don Moorhead’s helmet as featured on HelmetHut.com: 1975-1982 Version #2 – The decal shape became more oval and the snarling wolverine head was added. There was now a left-facing version, and a right-facing version. Here is a good look at them from one of Jim Dack’s helmets (find more info on Jim’s collection at wolverinehelmet.com): The other distinction with this version was that the wolverine image was actually clear, thus allowing the blue helmet paint to make the wolverine appear blue: Because the design was made 40 years ago, there was no high-end computer program like Photoshop that was used to create the snarling Wolverine head graphic. It was probably created using Line Art. Notice the level of detail on the hair, teeth and nose of the wolverine. The more you zoom in, the more detail you will see. 1983-1984 No Helmet Stickers. The mystery of this two-year stretch discussed here. 1985-1994 Version 3 –…
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Decalanalysis: Phase I
Rest assured I’ve forwarded several pics of the helmet stickers to Dr. Sap and we’ll have his full analysis later. For now, a few observations on the 2015 helmet stickers. First off, they appear to match the size and design of the 1985-1994 version of the helmet stickers (click here for your primer on U-M decal history) with a few exceptions: A few things stick out (note the 2015 photo above was taken from the field so it’s a tad distorted): (1) The tone of maize on the 2015 version thankfully generally matches the move to a darker maize on the uniform. (2) There is a blue border around the oval in the 2015 version (3) There is a bit of clear trim around the outside of the new decal. I won’t get into it in this post, but the wolverine in the 2015 sticker has less detail – clearly. I know Dr. Sap will have some thoughts on this. Latest Uniform Timeline here. Update: Good question from MGoShoe – Q: Orientation different? Or, do they point in different directions based on helmet side? Answer: the 2015 does have both left and right facing versions of the decals. It looks like the players had discretion on how and where to arrange the stickers (or the equipment staff was inconsistent). Follow…
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The Fall of the Legends?
So word is out that the helmet decals will return and the Legends program will be modified in some manner, starting with the patch on the jersey.
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What If Denard had Decals?
Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis Last year, we kept track of the helmet stickers every game for each player deserving these awards based on not only the individual but team accomplishments. After the Ohio State game, Denard Robinson led all players with 42 award decals. Ever since then I wondered what would Denard’s helmet look like if it had decals on it? With a little PhotoShop work, wonder no more. Below are a couple of possibilities – one with all 42 decals on one side, and another with half, or 21 on one side. In order to fit 42 decals on one side of the helmet, the decal size would need to be reduced, but you get the idea. That’s what happens when you are made of Dilithium! Think there are a lot of decals on Denard’s helmet? Mike Hammerstein in 1985 and Desmond Howard in 1991 were two former UM players that had a ton of decals on their helmets. #66 sported 47 decals on his helmet in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl against Nebraska: #21 in the 1992 Rose Bowl and against OSU in 1991: To me, there was nothing like seeing Michigan and Ohio State clash at the end of the season. Having both teams’ helmets filled with decals just added to the spectacle. So I…
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Dr. Sap’s Decals | Notre Dame
Ed. Dr. Sap is back with his decals for week 4. I added the Editor’s pick and Fan award again this week. Here are the picks from Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3. Back when Bo was coaching the Michigan Football team, he awarded decals for individual as well as TEAM accomplishments. He also selected Champions each week. Not only were the obvious categories (offense, defense, special teams) selected, but Bo also made it a point to recognize the not so obvious ones – Scout Team Champions and Team Hustlers – each week. OFFENSE JEREMY GALLON – While he only had three receptions for 33 yards, he seemed to always be there when Michigan needed a first down. Gallon is starting to emerge as Denard’s possession receiver. DEFENSE JORDAN KOVACS – Kovacs played another solid game, notching 5 solo tackles, 7 in total to lead the team in both categories as well as 1 tackle for loss. I wish this guy wasn’t a senior – I’d love to have him around for three more years. SPECIAL TEAMS MATT WILE – Boomed all three of his kickoffs with such efficiency that ND did not have the opportunity to return any of them – they all went for touchbacks. I’m sure Bo would have liked to have had Wile back…
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Mail! To MVictors
More mail, this time including an actual piece of USPS mail. A big thanks to everyone for all the comments, tweets, emails and real mails lately: An actual Helmet Sticker: My jaw dropped when I open this piece of mail. A former 80s-era player is a fan of the new Dr. Sap’s Decals segment and sent me an actual sticker from his helmet, check this out: He added in his note, “Funny thing I never noticed before but it appears that the “wolverine” part of the sticker is clear so the blue of the helmet visible through the sticker.” It certainly does appear that way and that’s wild. Note the paint on left side appears to be a bit of paint that peeled off the helmet. For sticker sticklers, the decal measures 7/8” high and just about 1.5” wide. A seller is offering sheets of Michigan football helmet decals on eBay right now (but the wolverine is blue, not clear, FWIW). Griese A Good Michigan Man. As you might guess, PR firms more and more seem to be looking to blogs and social media outlets to promote their product/cause/whatever. Since I received four emails from these guys, I surrender, and want to let you know that Brian Griese has been awarded the 2011 Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy,…
