PAGE TWO

p.

THE MICMGAN DAILY

DNESDAY°, SEPTEMBER 2I,.1053

FilE MICHIGAN BATTY

WEDNESDA~flY. SEPTEMRPR fl. ThUN iV

AN ERA PASSES:
Michigan Sports Loses Friend in Gr

BY DON LINDMAN
On July 13, 1954, the sports
world lost a great personality and
Michigan lost a great friend.
The "dean of American sports
writers," Grantland Rice, died on
that warm July day while sitting
at his typewriter composing one
of the nationally syndicated "The
Sportlight" columns which he had
made into a sports byword.
The death of the man who
made "The Four Horsemen" and
"The Galloping Ghost" two of the
best-known nicknames in Ameri-
can sports history was a shock to
the Michigan athletic scene, since
Rice had long been a part of
Michigan sports activity and tra-
dition.
Everyone's Friend
A friend of nearly every prom-
inent sports figure of this cen-
tury, Rice was well acquainted
with Michigan's two most famous
coaches, Fielding H. Yost, the
"Hurr-up" man, and Herbert O.
"Fritz" Crisler, the former foot-
ball coach and present director of
Michigan's athletic fortunes.
Rice knew Yost intimately
through hunting trips and the
various social functions which the
somewhat anti-social Yost was
persuaded to attend. He charac-
terized the producer of the fam-
ous "point-a-minute" teams as
one of the "advance guard of the
football inventors," a man with
"fire in his gaunt system" which
he p:;sed .on to his nationally,
feared grid squads.
That fire was so strong, Rice
recalled in his autobiography, The
Tumult and the Shouting, that
Yost and Robert Zuppke, the great
Illinois coach, were found still on.

the field at 10:00 the night after
one Michigan-Illinois game, en-
gaged in a violent argument. The
man who made Michigan into a
national grid power would admit
to having no superior.
Rice on Crisler
Crisler, says Rice, was "one of
the ablest of them all - especially
as an offensive coach." The coach
of Michigan's 1947 powerhouse, the
"Mighty Magicians," made few
mistakes in his career; but Rice
recalled one of them which oc-
curred during the 1939 season -
the season of Tom Harmon and
Forest Evashevski.
With the game between a heav-
ily favored Michigan eleven and
Zuppke's inferior Illinois squad
only a week away, Crisler men-
tioned in an interview that Har-
mon was a better halfback than
the legendary "Red" Grange, Illi-
nois' "Galloping Ghost."
Zuppke found out about Cris-
ler's statement, and the battle cry
at the Illinois practice sessions
that week was "So Harmon is
better than Grange, is he." The
following Saturday afternoon Har-
mon saw nothing but the Illini
Orange and Blue uniforms - in
front of him, behind him, on top
of him - in fact, all around him.
Harmon was completely stymied
all afternoon, and Illinois carried
home a 16-7 victory.
Succeeds Walter Camp
Rice, the successor of Walter
Camp, who was the original All-
American selector, mentioned four
former Michigan football stars in
his list of the top men in college
football history. Two of these
men are listed on his all-time
All-America squad, giving Michi-

gan an honor accorde
other school.
Bennie Oosterbaan, th
Wolverine grid coach, is r
by Rice as one of the tw
ends ever to grace a colleg
iron. Germany Schultz
Yost's iron men, occupies
ter position on Rice's
eleven.
Not all of Rice's cont
Michigan has found the
ines dominating the se
winning the praise, howev
traveling to Champaign
1925, he watched Illini
"Red" Grange run wild
four touchdowns the f
times he handled the bal
Rice, inspired by Gran
formance, sat down at1
writter and penned thei
lines, "I saw a Galloping
coining a nickname whic]
associated with the Illi:
American.
Ten years later Rice;
the Western Conference
track meet at Ann Arbor.I
Michigan won the meet,1
the rest of the sports wo
away singing the praises
State's track wonder, Jess
Poetic Touch
Rice, in the tradition
of the old guard who m
sports page one of the m
ular parts of the moder
paper, was also an excell
He often decorated his
with poetry, some of w
lasted for years. Many,
poems are included in h
biography, but Michigan
will find one creation con
by its absence.
After three years in the



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"Block 'M
antland Rice
d to no doldrums, Michigan had assembled C on tests
a team in 1922 which went un-
e present defeated in conference play. The
ecognized following year Yost produced an-
o greatest other of his vaunted powerhouses, By LES SALANS
iate grid- which swept undefeated through chairman, Block 'M'
, one of an eight-game season, allowing its Within a few short weeks, the
the cen- goalline to be crossed only once. University of Michigan campus
mythical Yale also rose to national will again be humming, and the
heights in 1923, and Rice, inspired 1955-56 school year will be on its
act with by the triumphs of two of his fav- way.
Wolver- orite schools, penned the following Perhaps one thing which every-
:ene and lines, which have become a Michi- one looks forward to with the
rer. After gan tradition: greatest amount of enthusiasm is
Ill., in I remember the stand at the weekly Saturday afternoon at
halfback I rmopyerh nd the stadium, something which ev-
, scoring The Greek Guard made one ery freshman will thrill to for
irst four day, the first time, and which every
l. I remember the legions Caesar returning student has already ex-
ge's per- used perienced over and over again.
his type- To shatter the Gallic sway, The students at the University
immortal And I remember across the are proud of their football team,
g Ghost" years win or lose, and equally proud of
,h s sill Tw baner tht rowed he the famous Michigan Marching
nois sll Two banners that crowned the band and the Block 'M' section,
Whei llest skinofboth of which add to the color
When Yale was king of the and activity of the games, as do
attended conquered East, echredr
outdoor And Michigan ruled the West. the cheerleaders.
Although Main Purposes
Rice and At night in my humble don I One of the main purposes of the
)rld went dream Block 'M' section is to promote
of Ohio Of the glories that used to be school spirit and add to the pres-
4e Owens. Of Hannibal striking the tige and tradition of the Univer-
Alpine trail, sity. Block 'M' works with the
Of Drake on the open sea: backing of the Wolverine Club.
of many And then I wander the ancient In the last two years it has
nade the way grown in popularity as well as
ost pop- To the dream that I love best, activity, and with new flash cards,
n news- When Yale was king of the new capes, a public address sys-
ent poet. conquered East, tem, a host of hard workers and
column And Michigan ruled the West. every students' help - this year's
hich has Block 'M' promises to be "bigger
of these Today my dream is a living and better" than ever.
his auto- thing 1200 Seats
readers That dream that I love best, The 1200 seats of the card
spicuous For Yale is king of the section are located between the
conquered East 35 and 45 yard line, giving fresh-
football And Michigan rules the West. men the advantage of senior stat-
us seating.
This year, Block "M" will em-
 ploy new designs, using eight
O colors with flips and special mov-
ing stunts.
Special ones like those used
last year in conjunction with the
J0Q Try FOLLE
WEATERS U0USED I
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SOLID T
SOLID TO
ishmere-mane
d-fashioned by SOLID 1
his sweater is IVY-LEAGUE
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at Camelet's. IMPORTED I-
FLANNEL
0
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izes: 34-38 0
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a

BLOCK 'M' DESIGN

SALUTES U.S.A.

band and regular Michigan de-
signs, such as "U" of "M", Michi-
gan, Hi-Alumnus and the Ameri-
can Flag, will also be seen at the
Saturday games.
Mass Meeting
A mass meeting will be held on
Thursday of Orientation week in
Hill Auditorium at 7 p.m. for all
ETT'S First
BOOKS
3t
N PRICES
ITT'
NORTH UNIVERSITY

students who have signed up for
the Block 'M' section. At this time
identifying stubs will be distrib-
uted. In order to receive a ticket
for the section, students must
show these stubs when they pick
up their football tickets on Fri-
day.
It is imperative that those in-
tending to be in the section be
present at the Mass Meeting. The
meeting will take no longer than
one hour, during which time mov-
ies and slides of last year's stunts
will be shown. The cheerleaders
and the captain of the football
team will also be there.
Remember, no matter how our
team makes out in the score, it's
the spirit that counts and it's up
to every student to keep that
spirit alive at Michigan. By sup-
porting Block 'M' throughout the
football season you can make this
possible.

I' To Perform at Grid
; Spirit-Raising Attempt

U's e of Skull
Originated
Grid Games
The modern version of the
American football game had its
beginnings many centuries ago in
early England.
Although it was played first with
a human skull and later with an
inflated cow bladder, the 11th cen-
tury version was the origin of
the modern game.
Authentic history blames it all
on a poor Dane's skull found on
a battlefield by workmen, who had
fresh in their memories the Danish
imperialism in England from 1016
to 1042. The workmen abandoned
their jobs and played this game in
mockery of the "sweet" revenge
they would gain by kicking the t
skull back and forth.
Hard on Feet
This proved quite hard on their
feet, especially for some barefooted
workmen who took up the idea.
However, the principal was re-
tained when an inflated cow blad-
der replaced the skull.
The game caught on quickly
with the English after 1050. Teams
were formed with neighboring
towns participating in contests.
The play was somewhat similar to
the game now known as soccer.
There was one difference, how-
ever, in that the bladder was
dripped midway between the two
teams participating and had to be
kicked to the middle of the oppon-
ent's town before any score could
be gained for a team.
Heated Rivalry
The rivalry between the towns
was quite heated, needless to say,
with the play getting so wild that
most of the people who were not
playing and lived on the towns
main street had to move indoors
until the competition wascom-
pleted.
The authorities finally asked the
citizens to calm down while play-
ing and soon a standardization of
the game was begun. Contests were
restricted to a specific area which
was marked off for play with goal
lines. These goal markers had_,t
be penetrated before the opposing,
team could score any points.

4

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Rugged in appearance-yet light and smooth as C
Ii of the finest yarn from the Shetland Isles and han
1. A. Robertson-Scotland's most skilled knitter. T
0T
0 unequalled in quality and style and is an exClusive
0 $12.50
o In addition to our usual lie selection of I':en's Si
colors, we offer these new fall colors:
: BLACK;-BROWN Women's
tS
0 BLACK-GREY OLiVE
III

.il

I

New Styles First at Wilds

T 'TIL YOU GET TO WILD'S

hoose your wardrobe

that will gain

_,

st style respect on the Michigan

campus

L BE WILD ABOUT
Such as the new
ONE CHARCOAL GREY
)NE CHARCOAL BROWN
TONE CHARCOAL BLUE
E 3-BUTTON SPORT COATS
HARRIS TWEED TOP COATS
SLACKS (without pleats)

1
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.
a'
e

as well as our
BATES SHOES

N CREW NECK SWEATERS
ARROW SHIRTS


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