Recently I had a chance to visit the incredible personal U-M memorabilia collection at the home of Kenn Domerese. In Part I we start with a brief interview followed-up by a look at a few items from his collection. This episode includies Michigan helmets from the 1910s and 1930s, a vintage cane that once belonged to Irving Pond (the man who scored the first touchdown in U-M history), original sheet music from The Victors, a 1930s "Schedule Bot", a 1901 cloth item dedicated to Fielding H. Yost's first team, and much more:
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Luring Tom Harmon (1937)
Eighty years ago today on November 13, 1937, this Western Union telegram landed in Ann Arbor (a copy was later obtained by the Michigan Daily and plastered on the front page): In the fall of 1937 things were a bit dicey for the football program. Since the 1933 national championship, coach Harry Kipke’s crew had just a handful of wins on the field. And in November 1937 the university launched a well-publicized investigation of the program, suspecting that football players were being “subsidized.” Kipke was sitting atop a flaming hot seat. If you need a two-minute version of Kipke’s mess, check out this episode of This Week in Michigan Football History: As the drama unfolded, eyes turned to Michigan freshman Tom Harmon. Despite the struggles on the field (..but perhaps due to some of the questionable behavior off the field), Kipke landed the multi-sport high school superstar from Gary, IN. In the fall of ‘37, he suited up for the freshman football team as was required back then. Harmon’s athletic exploits in high school made him widely known in the sporting world and even as a freshman, having yet to take a snap on the varsity squad, a Chicago Tribune headline dubbed frosh Harmon a “star”. Suddenly Harmon found himself involved in the off-field drama. He was named in the…
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Happy Birthday….Old 98 Tom Harmon
Born on this day in 1919…the Gary Galloper, Old 98, The Hoosier Hammer, Terrible Tommy. A tribute to his run against Cal that happened, coincidentally, on this day back in 1940: Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Harmon Wins the Heisman (1940) | This Week in Michigan Football History
Did you know it was 75 years ago Saturday that it was announced Tom Harmon had won the Heisman Trophy? Indeed, back then they voted, announced the winner, and held a ceremony to honor the recipient at a later date. So Saturday’s edition of #TWIMFbH talks a little about Old 98 and his finer moments on the gridiron (and off). Yes, in the radio clip I said Harmon “gave birth”. Ira busted my chops after that and wouldn’t let me edit it (to say “sired” or “fathered” which is probably a little more accurate, although I wouldn’t be against Harmon in life). Readers know the 1940 Cal game is one of my favorites; especially the drunk fan incident. More here and my tribute: You can listen to all 6 years of This Week In Michigan Football History here. And don’t forget to catch the whole KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff on WTKA 1050AM starting at 8am tomorrow, and of course live in the Bud Light Victors Lounge across from the Stadium on Main Street. See you out there. Follow MVictors on Twitter /script Well here were are, another regular season comes to an end as we face the Buckeyes in “The Game”. Today we honor so many great names in Meeechigan lore as we re- re-tire many jersey numbers, including the…
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Seeing and Hearing Willie Heston
Today marks the 110th anniversary of Willie Heston’s final game at Michigan. Heston was Michigan’s first superstar, a two-time All-American, who scored (somewhere around) 72 touchdowns. From 1901 to 1904, Heston’s teams went 43-0-1 and are credited with four national titles. I’ll have more on Heston later this year. Hearing WillieBack in 2012, I posted a short audio clip of Fielding Yost from the 1940 nationwide radio tribute the man titled, ‘A Toast to Yost from Coast to Coast’. Check it out if you missed it. In that post I promised to share a few more clips, and thanks to the Bentley Historical Library for passing these along. The man who introduced Yost to the crowd in attendance and the radio audience was none other than the great Heston. Here are two clips of the great Willie and in the first, we have a surprise. Before offering up his tribute to his old coach, Heston acknowledges that current student-athletes and national icon Tom Harmon is in the audience. Old 98 shares the mic & even has a little back and forth with Heston that is all in all pretty priceless. The second clip has Heston delivering his testimonial to Yost. Enjoy: As an aside, while I’m sure you’ll be hard-pressed to find another audio clip of the Harmon and Heston…
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Augie’s Glorious Return..and Old 98’s Righteous Coupe
Via my Google keyword spybot sentinels…from the Escanaba Daily News (naturally!), check out this piece on 92 year-old alum August Altese (inset left). Augie played on the freshman team in 1940 and suited up once more for the Victors Classic prior the Spring Game a few weeks ago. A few choice cuts from the story: On taking the field: ‘“I didn’t have my hearing aids in and they just pushed me out there,” Altese said. “I was so pleased to see that everyone was clapping. They assigned me the last five minutes and I just kind of ran this way and that. They didn’t throw anything to me, but when I was warming up they threw me three passes. I missed the first two, caught the third one and fell, and I still feel it.”’ On Billy Taylor: ‘”He was a great runner for Michigan, but he boozed it up and got into drugs after graduation,” Altese said. “Now he’s running an establishment that helps people. He’s a great guy.”’ and check this out, on Tom Harmon’s sponsored-sled(!!): ‘“As a freshman at Michigan in 1940, Altese didn’t get much playing time, and though he was on the same team as legendary Michigan quarterback Tom Harmon, he said he never met him. [Ed. The author didn’t know or point out that…
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Mark Harmon’s Comments at Michigan Stadium
"My dad was only proud of Michigan. His whole life everything came back to Michigan. On behalf of our family, I’d love to thank Dave Brandon for putting this together and making all of this possible. My dad always talked about Michigan pride, and I get that now, better than ever. Thank you."
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A Cool Ninety-Eight
<< From Sports Illustrated this week, Tom Harmon joins a few current athletes on its list of ‘Breakout Performers.’ The comment on the inset pic pretty much sums up why I (someone like you who knew damn well “who?” Harmon is) am a fan of the Legends program.
