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PAGE SIX
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19,1961
PAGE SIX THE MICHIGAN DAILY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1964
Buckeyes Get Snow Job in
'50 'Blizzard Bowl'
I *tuchdtdo
By RICK STERN
They kicked and fought their
way through a raging blizzard
and arrived in California, basking
in unexpected glory.
The Gold Rushers in 1850? No-
Michigan's last Rose Bowl team
one hundred years later.
In the depths of third place
as the final game of the 1950 Big
Ten race began, the Wolverine
eleven rose out of the snow to
stun first-place Ohio State 9-3
and capture their last conference
championship. Michigan had en-
tered the contest with a 4-3-1
overall record, 3-1-1 in Big Ten
play. Ohio State was 5-1 while
Illinois was second with a 4-1
mark. *The Illini stood to make
the trip to Pasedena because the
previous year Michigan had tied
OSU for first but the Bucks had
gone to the Rose Bowl.
'Snow Bowl'
To this date that game is known
as the "Blizzard Bowl," although
Bennie Osterbaan, who coached
that 1950 squad, refers to it as
the "Snow Bowl."
"The worst playing conditions
I've ever seen," reminisced Ooster-
baan, Michigan's only three-time
All-American. The facts support
Oosterbaan's judgment. It was late
November. The temperature in
Columbus as the game began
was 10 degrees above zero. Nine
inches of snow lay on the field
and much more was blowing
around in a wind of gale force.
Oosterbaan pointed out that so
many people stayed home from
the game that the gates were
thrown open, and anyone was al-
lowed to enter, ticket or no.
Statistically the game was a
football iconoclasm. Michigan won
without the aid of so much as a
single first down. The Wolverines
garnered exactly 27 yards in the
entire game, all of them on the
ground. Michigan's longest gain
of the day was a six-yard run by
halfback Chuck Ortmann. Ohio
State had three first downs, and
picked up 41 yards total, throw-
ing 18 passes and completing
three. OSU's Heiseman trophy
winner Vic Janowicz picked up -9
yards in 25 carries.
45 Punts
Equally unbelievable was the
punting in the game. It was foot-
bail in the literal sense. No fewerI
than 45 punts were made, 24 by
Ortmann and 21 by Janowicz.
Logically enough, both kickers
wore gloves during the game. "One
of our assistant coaches donated
his gloves to Ortmann,' com-
mented Oosterbaan. "Under pres-
ent rules this would be illegal," he
added. Janowicz wore fur lined
mittens. Ortmann's average of 30
yards per kick for a total of 720
yards was termed "remarkable" by
Oosterbaan.
Many times the teams kicked on
first or second down. The players
could not see each other or the
ball, and pass receivers were more
often than not, tripped ip by
masses of drifting snow. Thus
the strategy was to keep the ball
as far from your own goal as
possible and punting was the only
way to accomplish this.
OSU Field Goal
All of the scoring took place in
the first half of the game. Ohio
State tallied their three on a 40-
yard field goal by Janowicz. "It
Iwas fairly early in the ball game.
I could still see the goal posts,"
said Janowicz recently.
Michigan came back to make it
a 3-2 game on a safety after a
blocked punt. According to Ooster-
baan, that it actually was a safety
"couldn't be determined. The ball
was lost in the snow."
The key play of the game, in-
B. Robinson
Named MYP
BOSTON (P) -- Baltimore third
baseman Brooks Robinson, main
driving force behind an Orioles'
pennant bid which just missed,
was named yesterday the 1964
American League Most Valuable
Player.
Robinson drew 269 out of a
possible 280 points, with 18 first
place ballots.
Mickey Mantle, who sparked the
late New York Yankee spurt to
another flag on aching legs, re-
ceivedathe other two first place,
votes and 171 points.
Yankee catcher Elston Howard,
last year's winner, was third with
124 points, followed by rookie Tony
Olive of Minnesota, the league
batting champion, with 99 and
Dean Chance of Los Angeles, the
Cy Young Award winner as the
deed of the season, came with
47 seconds left in the first half
when OSU coach Wes Fesler de-
cided to have Janowicz kick on
third down. Junior Tony Momsen
blocked the punt and fell on it
inches across the goal line for the
winning touchdown. "It's a stan-
dard play," said Oosterbaan. "We
drove their two blockers apart
and Momsen dived through."
Harry Ellis converted on the extra
point to make it 9-3.
Elated by the lead, and fortified
with alcohol, Michigan's marching
band performed at halftime, in
defiance of the elements.
Four'h Straight
The second half, a scoreless
battle of snowmen, was highlight-
ed when, with 2:47 to go in the
game, it was announced that
Northwestern had come from be-
hind to upset Illinois 14-7. Michi-
gan, with only four conference BY GARY WYNER
victories all season, had taken an
unprecedented fourth straight
championship. The seniors on that A pep rally on the Diag here and the alumni chant "We're with
1950 team, including All American you Woody, win or draw" at Columbus mark the fervor prior to
Al Wahl and present Michigani Saturday's encounter between Michigan and Ohio State, which marks
defensive'backfield coach Dan Du- the seventh time since the 1920's that the victor of this game emerges
fek as well as Ortmann and six as the Big Ten champion.
other boys, never played on less Michigan and Ohio State will be meeting for the 61st time with
than a first place team. From the Wolverines holding a series edge of 35 wins, 21 losses and four ties.
Columbus, the Wolverine trail led Traditionally these have been the hardest fought games for both
to Pasedena and a 14-6 win over teams in the course.of the season-this year it's no different as each
the University of California, the
last appearance by a Michgan squad boasts strong defensive units and explosive offensive attacks.
team in the Rose Bowl. That's been the formula for all Michigan-Ohio State en-
Coach Oosterbaan summed up
the reaction to the historic "Snow
Bowl" game: "I wasn't surprised
. . . under those conditions, any-
thing can happen." Again this
Saturday, a Rose Bowl bid will be
decided in Columbus. Anythingj
can happen. The weather forecast
'calls for snow.
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122 E. Washington
majors' top pitcher, with 97.
Mantle and Howard each were
left off one ballot as Robinson
broke a four-year Yankee monop-
oly on the award.k
Bill Freehan, Detroit and for-
mer Michigan catcher, finished
in a tie for seventh place in the
balloting with 44 points.
Scores
NHL
Chicago 3, Detroit 1
Toronto 3, Montreal 1
NBAj
Detroit 124, Philadelphia 111
Boston 104, St. Louis 97
Cincinnati at Los Angeles (inc)
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KLEEN KING
'The Roses That
Bloomed in the Snow'
The place was Columbus, Ohio, the time, 1950 A.D.
With Michigan playing the Buckeyes, O bring back that,
memory to me!
Right there, in a wild swirling ice storm, with temperatures
hovering low
A miracle happened . . . we saw it ... the Roses That Bloomed
in the Snow.
The Rose Bowl depended on this one, this game on the ice rink
out there.
Our hopes for a victory seemed shattered, then happened a punt
and a prayer.
Ohio's Vic Janowicz punted, with less than a 'minute to go,
The prayer-a blocked kick for a touchdown-and Roses That
Bloomed in the Snow.
All credit to our Tony Momsen, who fell on that snow-covered
ball.
All hail to our sleet-covered warriors, to Bennie and Crisler and
all.
But don't forget freezing alumni, whose wild shivering voices
we know
Were joined in the prayer that planted the Roses That
Bloomed in the Snow.
-J. Fred Lawton '11
Copyright, 1959, by J. Fred Lawton
ass imassaas g
counters. In recent years, the 1955 and 1961 contests stand out as
being examples of real Wolverine-Buckeye clashes.
It had snowed quite a bit the Friday evening prior to the Ohio
State game at Ann Arbor in November, 1955. The forecast mentioned
rain, wind, and low temperatures for the next afternoon, but the
97,000 plus fans who were to jam Michigan Stadium the next day had
begun to stream into Ann Arbor, almost completely oblivious of the
cold.
The Maize and Blue were nationally ranked with a 7-1 record
while Ohio State was 6-2 overall. The tragic difference however was
that the Wolverines' lone loss had been to conference foe Illinois,
2-5-6, while Ohio State had absorbed two unimportant losses at the
hands of Stanford and Duke
Whichever team won that afternoon would gain the Big Ten
crown or at least a share of it. Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl
jthe previous year, so they were ineligible for the Pasadena trip, but for
Michigan, a victory would send them West for the first time since 1950.
Another small record was at stake, too. Ohio State had last
beaten Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1937, 21-0. There were many
partisan Buckeye fans in the crowd and a huge banner reading
BEAT ANN ARBOR TECH was prominent in the north end-zone
stands.
It never did rain, but it was cold for the Michigan fans and hot
for the Michigan players as Ohio State completely and efficiently end-
ed Michigan's Rose Bowl hopes with a 17-0 Victory.
Labelled as the "greatest back Ohio State has ever had" All-
America and Heisman Trophy winner halfback Howard (Hopalong)
Cassady closed out his collegiate career with 146 yards rushing in 28
carries and one touchdown. The fleet halfback was unstoppable and
some of his more ardent rooters were supporting him for governor of
Ohio as the game culminated.
The talents of Michigan notables Ron Kramer, Terry Barr, and
Lou Baldacci fell short of expectations in the hard fought encounter.
The Buckeyes held a slim 3-0 lead at halftime on a second
period field goal, but in the fourth quarter Cassady smashed off
right guard, for one yard and the first touchdown of the afternoon
for either side.
But did he really score? That was the big question as the Wolver-
ine players protested vehemently and fans like myself sitting in the
end zone stands tended to note that the halfback never had quite
made it to the goal line. The referees ruled it as a tally, though.
The game continued to get rougher. Finally, with only a few
minutes remaining, Michigan was penalized for a personal foul. The
Wolverines objected, the referee marked off another 15 yards, Kramer
protested (to put it mildly), the referee gave Ohio State another 15-
yard advance, and Coach Bennie Oosterbaan removed Kramer from
the contest. The Buckeyes then continued play with the ball on the
Michigan 18-inch line from where they smashed in for another touch-
down.
By now the partisan Buckeyes in the crowd were swarming the
field. The fact that there were two minutes remaining to be played
'made little difference, and the game finally ended with Michigan
attempting to run a few plays through the crowd, hails of snowballs,
and fists flying from both teams.
Finishing touches were added as the north-end goal posts
were torn down and carted off, and some Ohio State fans re-
ported that the Buckeye line had been singing "Good Bye Roses"
throughout part of the contest. And as reporters filed from the
Ohio State locker room, the strains of "We don't give a damn
for the whole state of Michigan" could vividly be heard.
But how can I ever forget the humiliating 50-20 downing here of
the Wolverines in 1961.
Ohio State had to win that game to claim the Big Ten title again.
It had a 7-0-1 record while Michigan was 6-2 and out of the con-
ference race.
The Buckeyes caught Michigan with some key injuries and simply
overpowered the hosts in the later stages of the encounter.
The OSU hero of the day was All-America Bob Ferguson who
ground out 152 yards and four touchdowns. The Bucks had a
total offenseof 512 yards.
Ohio State held a 21-12 halftime lead and from there just pulled
away. It was obvious later in the game that Hayes was out for one
thing-the biggest score he could accumulate.
Michigan was tired physically and mentally in that final quarter
but it fought as best it could. With the score 42-20 and only a few
minutes left in the game, Hayes pulled out Ferguson, who received
a tremendous ovation from the fans.
Buckeye quarterback Joe Sparma on the next play calmly stepped
back and tossed a sideline pass to halfback Paul Warfield, who went
70 yards to the Michigan 10-yard line where he was tackled.
Ferguson apparently had been removed for good, but Hayes
decided he wanted another tally, so the big fullback re-entered
the game and smashed through the Michigan line some more. On
a fourth down play, Sparma tossed for the score and then tossed
again for the insulting two-point conversion. There were only 34
seconds remaining on the clock when Hayes "clinched" the win.
It's a different year with different players, but the Michigan-
Ohio State game this Saturday will be a typical encounter between
these schools-rough.
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