With all the stadium and tunnel talk, this week is a perfect opportunity to discuss Fielding Yost and his quest to build Michigan Stadium (yes, with its coliseum-like tunnel entrance in the center of the arena). We also discuss a prime example of someone who didn't get his--namely Chicago's iconic coach Amos Alonzo Stagg--as well as the consequences. Go Blue.
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Denard’s Nod to Ron Kramer (2010); Bo Blasts Badgers (1976) | This Week in Michigan Football History
ad of Michigan's battle against the Washington Huskies on September 11, 2021, we first honor U-M legend Ron Kramer, who passed away on this day in 2010. We close with a focus on the 1976 season opener against the Wisconsin Badgers, where Bucky kept it close for a while until Bo Schembechler unleashed the hounds.
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“Close Enough” – Memories of Rob Lytle
I shot out a tweet yesterday acknowledging the birthday of the great, late Michigan back Rob Lytle. A few folks shared memories of Lytle, including this absolute beauty from all-conference flanker John Kolesar and it is priceless:
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Sights & Sounds: Michigan 31, BYU 0 (2015)
Whoa. What happened? Based on my straw poll of the press box, most media folks had BYU winning this one. So call BYU a good, at least a decent, team. That was a mercy kill. Offhand, that was probably the biggest beatdown of a good team since, what? 38-0 Vol. I over Notre Dame in 2003? Rudock made good decisions with the pigskin. Smith missed a couple of holes but it didn’t matter because he’s a beast. The defense was relentless and finished tackles. Special teams were sound. The playcalling was straight money and clearly, the playbook is being cracked open to the later chapters. Maybe there is magical khaki dust after all. Assuming we handle Maryland on the road, heading back home to face Northwestern will be fun to watch. It feels good man. To the sights and sounds: DER-EK JEET-AHH. The Pope could have visited Michigan Stadium today and no one would have noticed – here’s Derek Jeter: Above there’s Derek Jeter killing it in his Michigan hoodie, with suite ticket in pocket (does he really need a ticket? to anything?) with Sarah Harbaugh on the left. Any fool who tried to get too close to #2 had to deal with Big Tony, aka The Captain’s Cleaner: Coach Edwards. I strolled over to the opposing team suite (it’s…
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Wearing Nike: A History
Pulled from the Uniform Timeline, a few tidbits from our history with the Oregonian goddess of victory: 1976: Best we can tell (and by we, I mean me & the illustrious Dr. Sap), Nikes first appear on the feet of a Wolverine, here shown on #41, the great Rob Lytle (and yes that’s Ricky Leach killing it in the Pumas): 1983: Nike becomes the exclusive shoe provider for Bo’s men. March 1994: Michigan signs 6-year contract with Nike for, “apparel and shoes, totaling more than 23,000 items over six years for football, basketball, hockey, baseball, softball, swimming, wrestling, golf, tennis, field hockey, cross-country, track and field, gymnastics, volleyball, soccer and cheerleading squads.” January 1, 1998: Michigan wins Rose Bowl and the national championship. (OK, that wasn’t Nike’s doing – but clearly wearing the swoosh didn’t hurt). July 2007: U-M signs contract with adidas for footwear and apparel for all 25 U-M athletic teams. The new agreement begins with the 2008-09 academic year and extends through the 2016-17 season. September 8, 2007: Nike mogul Phil Knight buys rounds of drinks all over Ann Arbor before visiting the Big House to watch his Ducks destroy your beloved Wolverines – one week after The Horror: January 1, 2008: Final Nike jersey appears after adidas deal signed. Jerseys include Capital One Bowl patch on…
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Throwback Coverage
Via the indomitable Dr. Sap, his homegrown retro EA College Football covers. My favorite up first. Lytle: Terrible Tommy: Ricky Leach: Wangler to Carter (including an appearance from the most interesting man in the world in his suede jacket): General Bo:
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This Week in Michigan Football History: The Student becomes The Master (1976 Ohio State)
Here’s the next entry in ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’ to be played Saturday on WTKA 1050AM’s Key Bank Countdown to Kick-off pregame show before tomorrow’s battle against the Badgers. This time we look back to 1976, as Bo was set to face off with Woody Hayes in the 8th battle of their 10 Year War. Here’s the audio and it’s deeply laced with the voice of the great Bob Ufer and I love it: [display_podcast] A hat tip to the great WolverineHistorian who compiled this collection of clips with Bob Ufer calls overlaid. Watching Rob Lytle fly out of the backfield and break off those big chunks of years is a quite a spectacle: The sponsor of This Week…is Wolverine Beer so here’s where you can find it. You can hear all of the This Week… clips here.
