Salute! via Dr. Sap’s archives
The Stanford Cardinals (yes, s) came to town exactly 39 years ago Saturday and surely braced themselves to face Bo Schembechler in the 1973 home opener. TWIMFbH gets into that game and much more. Have a listen…includes a couple salutes to the great Bob Ufer:
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As discussed in the clip, the boys from Palo Alto hold a special place in Michigan football history as they were the lambs opponents vs. Fielding Yost’s undefeated, untied, and unscored upon Point-A-Minute crew in the 1902 Rose Bowl. Staring at a 49-0 deficit with eight minutes still left in the game, the Indians found the only white towel that wasn’t blood-stained and waved it, begging for mercy. It was granted.
Fast forward nearly four decades and it was once again Stanford who faced another one of the finest Wolverines squads in history—this time Fritz Crisler, Bob Chappuis and the Mad Magicians of 1947. Once again Michigan hung 49 (to Stanford’s 13) on October 4, 1947.
Bo Schembechler didn’t hold back either when the Cardinals visited in ‘73, thirty-nine years ago this Saturday, in fact he practically beat the “s” of the Stanford nickname (although that wouldn’t officially happen until 1981), winning 47-10.
But ‘73 is better remembered by U-M fans by the vote of Big Ten commissioners that occurred at the conclusion of the regular season. We salute you (see bumper sticker above) and We Never forget!
You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here. Listen to it live tomorrow on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM or catch it live at the Wolverine Beer Tap Room.
Just a reminder the segment is sponsored by Stadium Trophy which has partnered with WTKA on its ‘Michigan High School Scholar Athlete of the Week Award’ segment.
3 Comments
Teddy
This was two seasons after they cost us the national title in the ’72 Rose Bowl. We had a 10-3 lead in the 4th and ended up losing 13-12 when they kicked the winning FG with 12 seconds left. Makes me wonder how things would change if Bo had won the national title in just his 3rd year at Michigan.
MM10
I’m not sure a win in the ’72 Rose Bowl would have resulted in a National Title for Bo. An undefeated season, yes. But #1 Nebraska thumped #2 Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl. An anemic victory over the #16 ranked Indians would not have been enough to overtake Nebraska in the polls.
Jeff Cummins
Greg, outstanding as always! That ’73 season was when I first began to really follow Michigan as a youngster, and that was a dominant team that is largely forgotten. Yes, the season ended in a tie and that controversial vote against UM, but that team should be remembered as one of Michigan’s best in the modern era, and if DAVE BRANDON has any sense of history, they should be honored next year on the 40th anniversary of that season. Paul Seal, Dennis Franklin, Gil Chapman, Ed Shuttlesworth and Don Dufek. Michigan Men never forget! GO BLUE~