The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2007

Glenn "Bo" Schembechler
1929 - 2006

Gerald Ford
1913-2006

By ANDREW GROSSMAN
and MATT SINGER
Daily StaffReporters
Nov. 17, 2006 - Bo Schembechler, the football
coach who grew to embody the ideal of the
Michigan man, died yesterday. He was 77.
Before retiring in 1989, he became the all-
time winningest coach in Michigan football
history. In 21 years as head coach, Schem-
bechler won 13 Big Ten titles, went to 10 Rose
Bowls and compiled a 194-48-5 record.
He collapsed yesterday morning in the
studio of WXYZ-TV in Southfield while
taping a show. He was pronounced dead
from heart failure at Providence Hospital at
11:42 a.m.
In the 10 years before he became head
coach in 1969, Michigan's football team had
won barely half of its games.
From the beginning, Schembechler
brought a new fire to the team.
Those who knew him consistently
described him with one word: gruff.
-Below that prickly exterior, they said, was
one of the most compassionate men they had
ever met.
"For bein so gruff, the guy loved people
and he always saw their potential," said
aIu tmr John Bacon, a prifes.s o nAmerican
cltr -anidt history who h n ivcicollaborat-
I w aitth Sehehler on a book.
Glenn E. Shembechlerwa'slbr nApi
1, 1929 1i ' areiton, Ohio. Ht g:t tin am
B frot Is sister, who coild't pronounce
tie word '"trothr"
S rlinmlfrler played collg fotbt I
Mliami (io), where he stiated at offeisis -
iv l.air illTn his career, he played under
Widly Hlays, then Miami's coach. HMayes
a nt on to viach at Ohio State.
Schembechler was hired as Miami's head
football coach in 1963, but soon received job

offers from Tulane, Vanderbilt and Pitts-
burgh, Bacon said. Schembechler turned
them all down. His sights were set on
another job.
"He was utterly passionate about Michi-
gan," Bacon said. "He knew asa kid growing
up in Ohio about Michigan's great tradition."
In 1969, Michigan Athletic Director Don
Canham needed someone to rebuild a pro-
gram that had floundered during Bump
Elliott's 10-year tenure.
After interviewing Schembechler, Can-
ham knew he had found the right man to
return Michigan to its former glory.
"His personality just struck me right
away," Canham told The Michigan Daily in
2004. "I hired him 15 minutes after we began
to talk. That was the turning point in my
career as athletic director."
"He knew which guys to kick in the pants
and which guys to-pat on the head," Bacon
said. "He was the single best motivator col-
lege football has ever seen."
"If you were in his office delivering water
jugs or sandwiches, he would motivate you
before you left," he said.
Over his coaching career, Schembechler
continued to build his legacy as a Michigan
icon.t le fscered a sense ofV Michigan pride
in list. He focused o-i de'veloping his
layvrs as imore than just lin e iien or quar-
terbicks.
"Wh 'you look around the country todat
at iii guys vwho played f hmtI t smie-
Svry, very special ibout them," siii
Betts, who played quatrakan aey
under Scheb'viler in 1969 and 1970.
Unt his th ittSchembechler remined a
const a psence on Michigan's campus. An
haiio.ay eitoiir of the senior socity Mlich-
igaiiii, he maintained an office in Schem-
bechler Hall, which was named for him, and
frequently spoke to Michigan's athletes.

By ANDREW GROSSMAN
DailyStaffReporter
Dec. 27, 2006 - University alum and former
President Gerald Ford, who sought to restore
trustinthe presidencyinthe aftermathofone
of the most scandal-ridden administrations in
American history, died at his home in Rancho
Mirage, Calif. on Tuesday. He was 93.
When asked in 1995 what his greatest
accomplishment was as president, Ford said
it was "healing America."
And heal America he did. Ford's decent,
honest Midwestern demeanor calmed a
nation beset by a deep unease after the trau-
mas of Vietnam and Watergate.
Ford was never elected to the presidency
orvice presidency. In1973, Nixon appointed
then-Congressman Ford to take the place of
Vice President Spiro Agnew after bribery
charges forced Agnew to resign.
His presidency will be remembered most
for a single act - the decision to grant Nixon
an unconditional pardon for all crimes he
committed while president. The pardon
sparked a national outcry and sent Ford's
approval ratings plummeting. It likely cost
him the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter
Now, the pardon has become widely
viewed as a necessary step to prevent the
nation from having to see a former president
in court for years.
Ford received a John F. Kennedy Profile
in Courage award for the decision in 2001.
Ford graduated from the University in
1935 with a double major in economics and
political science. He played center on a foot-
ball team that won two national champi-
onships. Ford was named the team's most
valuable player in 1934. The University
retired his jersey, number 48, in 1994.
He came to Ann Arbor in the middle ofthe
Great Depression from his boyhood home in

Grand Rapids with just $200 in hand. Half
of that was for tuition. His football coach
helped him find jobs washing dishes and
waiting tables.
One of the places where Ford washed
dishes washis fraternityhouse,DeltaKappa
Epsilon. Ford was also a member of Mich-
igamua, the elite senior society.
Ford turned down offers to play for the
Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions
after graduation. Instead, he headed east to
Yale University, where he was an assistant
football coach and law student.
After serving in the Navy during World
War II, Ford returned to Grand Rapids and
opened a law firm.He was elected to Congress
from Michigan's 5th District in1948, a seat he
held until assumingthe vice presidency.
Ford remained close to the University
throughout his life.
Since 1977, Ford has held the title of
adjunct political science professor. Ford's
presidential library is located on North
Campus, and the Gerald R. Ford School of
Public Policy is named for him. The Ford
Presidential Museum is in Grand Rapids.
University President Mary Sue Coleman
said Ford was a strong contributor to the
University community.
"I am deeply saddened by his death but
grateful for his many years of inspiration to
his University," Coleman said in a written
statement. "I have had the great privilege of
knowing both President Ford and Mrs. Ford.
An ardent Michigan football fan, President
Ford was equally passionate about interact-
ing with students on issues of public policy
and world affairs."
It was Ford who presided over the remov-
al of the lastiAmerican troops from Vietnam
in April 1975. After the fall of Saigon, Ford
called on Americans to put the nation's first
real military defeat behind them.

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