‘Bo who?’
Coach Bo Schembechler and his first captain, tight end Jim Mandich. (Image courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)
By the end of the 1968 season, Michigan football had been on the ropes for some 20 years. The new athletic director, Don Canham, offered the job of head coach to Penn State’s Joe Paterno. He said no. So Canham hired his second choice, Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler, a little-known coach at Miami of Ohio and a former assistant to the renowned Woody Hayes of Ohio State.
People asked: “Bo who?”
At spring workouts in 1969, Schembechler unleashed volcanic intensity on his new charges. He told them their overarching aim was to beat Ohio State. And he hung a sign over the locker room door: “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.”
That seemed highly unlikely.
The year before, en route to the national championship, the Buckeyes had piled on to beat Michigan 50-14. Leading by 34 points with two minutes to go, they went for a two-point conversion just to ram the humiliation home.
In 1969, with no fewer than three Heisman Trophy contenders, they were called the “Team of the Century.” They won their first eight games by a cumulative score of 371-56.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, started the 1969 season slow, winning only three of their first five. Then they won every week. Standouts included quarterback Don Moorhead, offensive lineman Dan Dierdorf, and a powerful complement of sophomores — Thom Darden, Reggie McKenzie, Butch Carpenter, Mike Oldham, Glenn Doughty, and Billy Taylor — who shared a house they called the “Den of Mellow Men.”
“That was the time of the Black Action Movement and Vietnam protests,” Taylor said later, “but Bo wanted us to stay out of politics. And we vowed we were going to be part of a championship team together.”
The signs just said: 50
Halfback Billy Taylor advances toward a sea of red. (Image courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)
Still, the national press gave them no chance against OSU. ABC Sports scheduled its second-team announcers to call the play-by-play in Ann Arbor.
But the national press didn’t know Schembechler. He revered Hayes, his old boss. But he also knew Hayes’ tactics, and he had an ambitious student’s zeal to outdo his teacher.
The week before the game, to keep his players’ minds on their mortification in 1968, Bo posted signs all over that just said: “50.”
At last, the day came — Saturday, November 22. When the Wolverines emerged from the tunnel of Michigan Stadium, they saw the Buckeyes warming up on Michigan’s side of the field — a calculated move in Hayes’ mind game. Bo charged up to Hayes and ordered him to get his team where they belonged. His players took note.
OSU scored first but missed the extra point. U-M struck back to make it 7-6. The Buckeyes had not trailed an opponent since New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl.
‘One of the greatest performances’
Barry Pierson’s stunning punt return in the second quarter. (Image courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)
In the second quarter, Michigan exploded. An obscure defensive back named Barry Pierson raced a punt back to Ohio State’s three-yard line, the first act in a stunning performance that included three interceptions and a touchdown.
Pierson was “a small guy,” Bo said later. “All he had going for him was his heart and his toughness. He gave one of the greatest performances I have ever seen in a single game.”
But Pierson gave Bo the credit for what was happening on the field. All week, at practice, the Wolverines had heard him predict Ohio State’s tactics. As the game unfolded, they saw those predictions come true. Pierson said: “We were so confident because Bo had them down cold.”
By now, the Michigan crowd had departed the state of sanity. Thirty-three thousand Buckeye fans sat in near-silence, absorbing shock after shock.
When the half ended, it was Michigan 24, Ohio State 12.
In the Michigan locker room, defensive coach Jim Young, normally reserved, was diagramming plays when he began to pound the blackboard, his voice rising: “They … will … not … score… again!”
In fact, neither team scored again.
Michigan’s defense in the second half was invincible. In all, OSU committed six interceptions and a fumble.
At the end, the Michigan crowd sang at the top of its lungs: “Goodbye, Woody … goodbye, Woody … goodbye, Wood-eeee … we hate to see you go!” Fans swarmed the field in a mad jubilee.
‘It just changed everything’
The Wolverines sweep Coach Schembechler off the field. (Image courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)
“All that night,” Bo recalled, “people came by my house, strangers, people I had never met, just to say what a great win it had been. We watched the sun rise.”
Michigan Captain Jim Mandich said: “That game was the signature event of my life.”
Gary Moeller, assistant coach in 1969 and head coach from 1990-94, said: “It just changed everything.”
And Bo himself said: “That win ushered in a new era of Michigan football. . . You can trace it all back to November 22, 1969.”
Schembechler coached for 20 more years, compiling a record at U-M of 194-48-5, and served two years as athletic director. He retired as the most revered figure in Michigan athletics since Fielding Yost. He died in 2006 on the night before the Michigan-Ohio State game.
In the Hayes-Schembechler rivalry, eventually known as the Ten-Year War, the final tally was Michigan five, Ohio State four, and one tie.
“For one wonderful decade,” Bo wrote later, “I got to feel what deep, gut-twisting, all-you-got football was all about. Hey, if that was war, sign me up forever.”
Sources included Joel Pennington, “The Ten-Year War: Ten Classic Games Between Bo and Woody” (2005); Bo Schembechler and John U. Bacon, “Bo’s Lasting Lessons: The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership” (2008); and Bo Schembechler and Mitch Albom, “Bo: Life, Laughs and Lessons of a College Football Legend” (1989).
Tom Cushing - 1973
Thanks for this reminiscence.
I was in the freshmen section end zone seats with a foolish $5 bet-I-couldn’t-afford riding on the outcome. I hope the OSU partisan (he paid-up, to his credit) also paid dearly for the adjacent seat. The only tinge of regret I recall in the delirium was a suspicion that I would never, ever see a greater game. That has turned out to be correct – but with no further regrets.
Go BLUE – then, now, forever!
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Ann Bochnowski - 1974
Hi Tom! That was the year before I entered Michigan. My Ohio State memory is of my senior year, 1973, when we tied. No one left that stadium in a good mood. Go Blue!
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Tom Cushing - 1973 BGS
“Ah, yes – I remember you well!”
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David Behnke - 1976
That was the game Mike Landry missed 2 field goals at the end?
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Martha Gibiser Shea - 1973
It’s one of my most vivid, thrilling memories of Michigan. The NOISE – UM got penalized because nobody could hear on the field. Wild. And the singing to Woody!
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Jerry Kolins - 1968
On My Apology to the University of Michigan Football Team and Recommendations for Celebrating Their Championship Victory on November 30, 2024 and the effect of the 1969 Game.
See vineandvictorsvaliant.com
Why did I have no hope for a Michigan victory this year. I had “hope” in 1969 when Ohio State was favored by 17 points. One sportswriter declared that the 1969 Ohio State team could defeat the Minnesota Vikings! But Michigan won a decisive 24-12 victory! This year, Ohio State was favored by 21 points. My hope just wasn’t there.
I pride myself as a loyal Wolverine. I continue to support the education of students in the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the School of Music, Theater, and Dance and the University Music Society. Though I live in San Diego, California, I have held seasons tickets to Michigan Football since 1977. It may seem unusual for such a person not to have “hope” for a Michigan victory in 2024. I reasoned that “hope” can lead to major disappointment.
In the movie Shawshank Redemption, the character “Red” played by Morgan Freeman explains to the character Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins that “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” I may have been in the same state of mind as Red when he gave that advice to Andy.
I once asked a psychiatrist if I should consider my obsession with Michigan Football a disorder. She asked what I meant by that. So, I said that for weeks, and in 1973 for months, I felt saddened, if not depressed, when Michigan lost to Ohio State. The psychiatrist replied, several members of my family graduated from Michigan. In my experience, she said, your behavior is perfectly normal!
On November 30, 2024, Michigan beat Ohio State with a score of 13-10. As I noted in my November 17, 2024 article, the 2024 Ohio State Football Team is a powerful group that could win the College Football Playoffs (CFP). But they cannot win the National Championship. Michigan won that honor on November 30, 2024. Let me explain.
Those in the Midwest and followers of Big Ten Football understand that the winner of The Game, is the National Champion. Michigan has won the National Championship the last four years in a row. Ohio State will tell you that if they go on to win every game in the CFP this season, their 2024 season was a failure. They lost to Michigan. Michigan feels the same way. In 1986, Jim Harbaugh, quarterbacking the Michigan Wolverines said,” The last 10 games we played mean nothing to us right now. It’s down to a one-game season. If we win this game, then it’s a successful season. If not, then it’s not a successful season.”
Victorious Michigan can valiantly celebrate with a wine from Jura, France. Jura is famous for its Vin Jaune, i.e., yellow wine, though I prefer to describe it as maize in color. The wine is superb and unique-like Michigan. It is made from the white Savagnin grape not related to Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc. When maturing in barrel, a veil of yeast develops called Le Voile. The wine matures under veil for a minimum of 5 years and is not bottled until at least 6 years of barrel aging.
WSET teaches that with this winemaking one enjoys a dry, high alcohol wine with aromas of bread dough, ginger, green apple, and almond. If you cannot locate a bottle of this special experience, I highly recommend defaulting to my November 17, 2024 recommendation of Champagne, i.e., Salon S Le Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Brut 2002 at $1,200 a bottle.
The night before the game, I dreamt that a soothsayer told me Michigan would win the game with a last second 57 yard field goal. I replied this was not possible because with every 30F drop in temperature, a field goal kicker losses about 5 yards of distance. Cold air is thicker than warm air. A 57 yard field goal in November with temperatures below 32F would amount to a 62 yard equivalent in the warmth of September. How can that be accomplished, I asked. The reply from the soothsayer was simple. Yes, Jerry, there is a Santa Claus.
From the newspaper The Sun (New York, NY), September 21, 1897: Virginia O’Hanlon asked the editor of The Sun if there was a Santa Claus. Here is the 1897 reply.
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity exist, And you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”
Now that I had a little time to digest the events in Columbus on November 30, I conclude that Red was wrong about hope. Andy Dufresne’s position on hope is worth embracing.
“Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things. And good things never die.”
University of Michigan logo
Go Blue.
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Luann Davis - 1973
My first year of Michigan football!
Remember the game well. Have had season tickets and have never rooted for Ohio State since then.
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Edward Altman - 1969 - BS Engineering/Applied Math; MS - Math/Computer Science
I was at that game. Another VERY clear memory. At the end of the game, I remember looking around the stadium. I saw many, many men, just in their white shirts, short sleeves (no sweaters, no coats) dressed just as Woody dressed, and draped around them, now on the ground, wrapping their seats, were signs that read: “God is alive and well and coaching Ohio State”.
I graduated in ’69 with those two degrees and moved to LA and have been here ever since. Have not missed ANY UofM football games at all, since (yes, most on TV). Like UCLA (public school), dislike strongly USC (private – and it shows).
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Diana Troik
I was a grad student at Michigan in 1969 and enjoyed the football games where the whole town would walk to the stadium. The Ohio State fans came into town drunk and arrogant. It had snowed that week so there was slush all over the stadium. They were heavily favored BUT WE WON! Shortly after, we moved to Los Angeles and got to see them play in the Rose Bowl (lost to SC). We were able to see them play another amazing game on January 1, 2024 when they beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
I graduated in 1972 and have been in Southern California ever since. My second team is USC as my daughter is a Trojan, but nothing can compare to that cold day in November in 1969 when Michigan beat Ohio State in an upset.
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Bill Thompson - 1965
I graduated in 1965. The coach was Bump Elliott. The stadium was half empty on game days and there were no female cheerleaders and no females in the marching band. Michigan did win the Rose Bowl game my senior year. Fast forward to 1968. I got drafted in my third year of law school and ended up getting sent to Germany. I was older than most of the other draftees and they almost all seemed to be Buckeye fans. I forgot what the spread was but I told all who were interested that I would take Michigan and the points if a friendly wager had appeal. Needless to say when Michigan won outright I was ecstatic because of the win and happily collected my winnings. I still think that was the greatest college football upset ever and I remember the day well although I’m not sure what I did last week.
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Bill Acker - 72 & 75
Greatest game of my life. I have had M football season tickets 68 years. The Big House was sparking with electricity in the air! In the student section, our adrenaline rushed all game. The second half despite no scoring was most exciting! As a sophomore undergrad, I stayed optimistic but stood the entire second half, hands clenched with tension, as our M team intercepted 5 OSU passes and recovered their fumble. Scoring was not needed or missed!
This GAME remains the at pinnacle of all that are legendary.
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Bob Padzieski - BSE-70, MSE-72
So many memories of that game. It was the fall of my senior year, so finally seats around the 50 yard line. There was so much excitement that my girlfriend’s yellow mum lost all its petals from her jumping up and down. I remember Woody Hayes’ frustration and him breaking a yard maker over his knee. And it was the first time I’d ever seen steel goal posts torn down.
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Gil Sanborn - 1972
I was a sophomore at that game in the Big House. Never been one like it. The stadium announcer in those years had a distinct voice that made the hair on my neck stand on end and was memorialized in an album of all the games of that season I found in my attic recently.
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Marcey Terrien - 1972
It seems like only 5 years — not 55 — since I was there on that grey day for that glorious Michigan victory. The boys on the field are my classmates & my brothers, the Big House is my own, and even the coach bore an uncanny resemblance to my own father: a fiery football coach and a fine Michigan Man. The vision I will always remember is watching him that day as he stopped each and every Buckeye in the crowd outside The Stadium. He looked them in the eye and recited, “They Came To Bury Michigan” — finishing with a gleeful, “And when the game was over, it was someone else instead!” HA!
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Jerry Gonser - 1956, 1962
We were there & enjoyed beating Ohio State.
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Michael Peikert - ‘73
The first night game in the history of the Big House had just ended. An unbelievable comeback from a 17 point third quarter deficit to beat ND in the last seconds seemed like a miracle. My nearly 60 year old self turned to the 20 something fan sitting next to me who had told me during the game that this was his first UM game. I told him how lucky he was and that he would remember this for the rest of his life because I had seen almost 250 M games in the Big House and countless others on TV and this one was definitely on my list of top 5 games. He was incredulous. He asked how there could possibly be 4 greater games on my all time list. I immediately ran through the DVR in my brain and sorted through the games I had witnessed in the “Hole that Yost Dug” trying to come up with 4 games more memorable to me than the one we had just witnessed. Ron Johnson’s 347 yards and 5 TDs against Wisconsin in 1968? Anthony Carter’s last 6 second miracle catch against Indiana in 1979? Touchdown Billy Taylor!!! 21 yards in the last 2 minutes to beat OSU in 1971? The first two games of the 1971 season which were my first two dates with my future wife? We walked into the game carrying a gym bag full of ice and a 12 pack of Budweiser. How about an early Sept game in 1978 when my wife and I took our 5 month old son to his first game? No ticket necessary for a babe in arms. Desmond’s layout catch against Notre Dame in 1991? Maybe Lloyd Carr’s first head coaching game comeback from 17 down to beat Virginia on the last play in 1995? How about Tim Biakabatuka’s 313 yard game against OSU in 1995? Certainly not Desmond getting tripped in the end zone against MSU, the Cordell Stewart Hail Mary or the App State horror. The dropped punt snap against MSU was a few years into the future so luckily not on the DVR. Certainly these were all memorable games, but the 4 that quickly rose to the top of the list were: #4-The Braylon Edwards Fest in 2004 which included a 17 point fourth quarter comeback and a triple OT win against Sparty. Our seats were right on the NE goal line and we saw 45 points scored in the North end zone in about 30 minutes of real time. #3-Desmond’s “Hello Heisman” game against OSU in 1991. #2-Woodson’s Heisman clinching game against OSU in 1997 and at #1-Bo’s first win against Woody in 1969. My new friend had to shake my hand. He had never met anyone who had been at that game. For years I have been sure that no game would ever top that 1969 game. I still have my original ticket and I still rewatch the game yearly before every M/OSU battle. But fifty four years later something changed. Even though it wasn’t played in the Big House and I watched the game on my 77” big screen there may be a new #1 on my list. The WASHABAMA game…because you can’t have one without the other! Maybe it’s because time ravishes the cerebral cortex. Maybe it’s just relief after 10+ years of Rich Rod/Hoke, injured QBs, and horrible calls, but the first two weeks of January 2024 made up for all that agony. Three months later it’s hard for me to separate the two games. They blend together as one 8 quarter overtime extravaganza that was the pinnacle of two glorious months, no, make that 3 glorious years of Michigan football. As every true fan knows, it’s difficult to put into words the emotions that fill the soul after a stunning defeat or a joyous victory. But I think a picture worth 1,000 words can do the job. Who can forget the classic photo of the shocked M student following the dropped punt snap? Fortunately, I grabbed a screenshot that captures the joy of winning the National Championship better than my words could ever accomplish. Her smile and her tears say it all. I hope she remembers her #1 game as long as I have remembered mine.
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Joe Doyle - 1979
I was not at the1969 UM/osu game. At the time I was a sophomore at Central Michigan University and watched the game on TV. My two older Brothers attending Michigan were at the game. However, my wife ( Michigan Alum) and me were at the 2012 Michigan/ND first night game as Michael mentioned. It was one of the greatest Michigan comebacks of all time by QB Denard Robinson and the Wolverines! When ND scored their final TD to take a 5 point lead with 43 seconds left, many of the Michigan fans began to file out of the stadium. Perhaps 60,000+ remained to witness Michigan’s drive down the field to score the winning TD with 6 seconds remaining……the crowd went bonkers!!! I could only imagine the fans out in the parking lots, golf course, etc. only able to listen to the roar of the remaining faithful.
But what was really amazing, because of all the pandemonium and chaos on the field after the game, the Michigan Marching Band had to wait to take the field for the performance of the post game show. Finally the announcer came over the PA system and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in the history of Michigan football, the Michigan Marching Band post game show will take place on the next day”…..so much time had passed it was past midnight…it was Sunday!
I have season tickets since I graduated in 1979, have attended some incredible Michigan games over the years, but that game…that game was special.
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William Wilson - unknown
Michael such a great narrative review, you and I are the same age; I grew up in A2, UM FB and bkb were my life (I was a ballboy on the 64-66 teams), and tho I didn’t go to UM (where my dad had been on the faculty), I remain, still, here in Portland Me, a diehard UM loyalist. And what hits me now, as my cerebral cortex faces potential ravage, is the large notion, that UM FB (and bkb) have, for so long, had such profound impact upon their followers, not just because of the athletic excellence, but also because they are what Ivan Illich called ‘tools for conviviality: conviviality amongst those who attended together, and amongst those in A2 and Mich, and elsewhere, who followed closely. But also conviviality in daily life: here in the east, people don’t understand how that odd UM bond makes people always say hello on the street, or in an elevator. There’s some weird bond, which connects midwesterners, which I think is from things like UM sports.
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Stuart Pettitt - 1972
Fraternity brother Barry Pierson told me during the week before the game that Michigan was going to win. There was no doubt in his mind. I guess he knew the team preparation was great. Another fraternity brother Dennis Connell, who impersonated Ohio State quarterback Rex Kern on the scout team, received a game ball.
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Frank Langstaf - 1976
I wish it was 1969-1976 all over again when M was respectable university instead of today’s liberal/DEI crap.
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Clyde McKenzie - 1970, 1974
Such a thoughtful comment about a wonderful, encapsulated memory in my mind. Turn off Fox for a while. Read a book.
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Steven Vagnozzi - 1973
This comment is off topic. Society has changed since 1969.
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Ken Powell - 1973
I wasn’t at that OSU game, BUT – I was at the game and watched Thom Darden intercept the OSU pass at the end of the game to seal the deal for Michigan that day. Same way Rob Moore did in the 2023 OSU game. I will also never forget about Tim Biakabatuka’s never to forget performance in the 95 OSU/Michigan game. Memories for a lifetime! God, how I LOVE my Wolverines. The best of the best!!!
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James Laramy - 1972
I saved my ticket stub. 50 years later I had it framed and gave it to my nephew, a big Michigan fan. Then as now, everyone knew it was a big game. The wildest crowd I have ever been in. There was a guy in a blue Michigan blazer dancing on the roof of the press box as the game ended.
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Steve Rauworth - 1970
I was then a junior at UM, am now 75, and have always been a sports nut, attending innumerable live games in many different sports. This game is still the craziest, most fun. most gratifying time I’ve ever had. I, my friends, and everyone around us were going berserk with joy the entire game. OSU’s hallmark is insufferable arrogance, and it’s always heart warming to see it deflated, never more than in Michigan Stadium in 1969.
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Tom Gardner - 71 and 74
As Billy Taylor said it was the time of the Black Action Movement and Vietnam War protests, and the game was shortly after the riots during the Democratic Convention in Chicago. It was also the time of chants like “free the Chicago 7.” My favorite graffiti after the game was “free the Chicago 7, the Jackson 5, the Heinz 57, the Phillips 66, and the Michigan 24 and the Ohio State 12.” Even the “radicals” of the day were celebrating the victory.
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Paul Milgrom - 1970
My best friend then, Don Shaw, was an offensive lineman on the Michigan football team. During the week before the game, my housemates and I asked him whether coach Schembechler had installed many trick plays to help the team compete. Don insisted that no trick plays were needed: they believed they would beat Ohio State with tough play. We were unconvinced… until the game was played!
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Michael Julien - 1973
Freshman attending first M-osu game in 1969. Still brings chills reading an account of it. With my 55 years of season tickets and some away games too, I have seen in person 400 M games. 1969 still in my top 5.
GO BLUE !
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Louise Patrick - 1971
I was a sophomore and in the end zone with my fellow Bursley Hall gal friends (as the guys I knew were mostly in the Michigan Marching Band and down on the field). We knew the names of the ‘star’ OSU players and talk was that Michigan was going to get creamed. Not so!! With each series, with us going ahead (and staying ahead), we never sat down, screamed ourselves hoarse, and, at the end of the game, we, too sang “Goodbye, Woody”, and waved. On the bus ride up to North Campus, we sang out the windows and waved to every car, cyclist and person on the way. Our dorm never knew what hit it but we celebrated well into the night. A memory that will be with me FOREVER. Go Blue.
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Tim Bartholow - 1973, 1974, 1979
Hi Louise. I don’t know you, but your comment struck home since both my roommate and I lived in Bursley and we were the two bass drummers in the Marching Band that year! Go Blue!!
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Rick Lutowski - 1970
I had a ticket to the ’69 OSU game but did not go because a young lady in our dorm who said she would go with me decided at the last minute to go with her girlfriends instead. So I listened to the game on the radio in my room in Bursley Hall on North Campus. We all know how sports announcers start yelling into the mic on big plays. Well, it didn’t take long for the radio announcer to start yelling into the mic on every play of this game — every play was a “big play”! At half time I seriously considered taking the bus from North Campus to Central Campus, then jogging to the stadium for the second half. Finally decided against it because I did not want to miss any plays of the third quarter, and continued to follow the rest of the game on the radio. As a result, I still have my unused ticket to the game — Section 16, Row 59, Seat 1. It may well be the only unused ticket to this game in existence. It looks exactly like the picture above this article except on my ticket the row and seat numbers appear on both ends of the ticket as the stub was never ripped off.
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John Stinson - 1975
My brother Bob called me on the Thursday before the game and asked if I could escort one of his clients to the sidelines of the Michigan football game on Saturday. Bob was a rehabilitation counselor and worked part time in the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s auxiliary unit. He helped with security at football games. I was just a high school junior in Birmingham, trying to figure out where I wanted to go to college, thinking about maybe Michigan Tech.
It sounded interesting, so on Saturday, I drove the 50 miles to Ann Arbor and met my brother at the gate near the tunnel entrance. I was introduced to Chuck, the man in the wheelchair, and wheeled him through the tunnel, around the south end zone, and up to the 30-yardline, where I was given a folding chair to sit on the sideline with Chuck to watch the game.
The pandemonium on the field after the game was exhilarating. It took about 40 minutes to get Chuck back out the tunnel and to the street where a van was waiting for him. I was about to head for my car when I noticed that the goal post which had been torn down in the celebration, had somehow made it out of the stadium and was being carried down the street, Main Street, I believe. It looked heavy and they needed a little help, so I got under it and headed to town. I didn’t get very far before two young ladies joined us, one with a picture of beer the other with cups. I was poured a half a cup of beer and given a hug and a kiss… and I thought to myself,
“THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!” – U of M Engineering class of ‘75
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George Person - 1970, 1971, 1979
I was there. Waited outside tunnel where OSU busses were parked. Woody came out by himself much before the team. He sat on the front seat of a bus with a scowl on his face while we sang “bye bye Woody.” Those were great times.
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Mike Bailey - 1973
One of my top memories. I was a freshman, it was my first in person UM vs OSU game. I still have my ticket and look at it often as the memories overwhelm me. I will always remember the Pierson punt return, Jim Mandich being carried off the field, the goal posts coming down and the overwhelming feeling that nothing will ever match this feeling. It took until 1997 and then once again in 2023 before I felt anywhere near that kind of a feeling. God I love U of M.
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Bob Hartzler - 73
Mike Bailey. I think we were in dining 3 in West Quad together in 1969. I sold my ticket to that game to cover some partying expenses, figuring we were going to lose anyway. I think I more than covered the cost of my student tickets, too. I live in Minnesota now, but I’m still in touch with others from Stalag 3. And I still follow Michigan football.
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Michael Heroy - BA 71. MBA 73
I was a junior in the Marching Band for the game. We had been humiliated in Columbus the year before, and, although Revelli was high on Bo, finding him a kindred spirit, no one but the team anticipated the upset. One article wrote that the only legitimate competition for the Bucks was in the NFL! As the fourth quarter wound down, I remember one of the most cynical members of our euphonium section pounding on my shoulders, screaming, and the crowd singing “Goodbye, Woody.” There have ben many highlights since, as others have commented, but the 69 OSU game is still at the top of the list.
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Tim Bartholow - 1973, 1974, 1979
Hey Heroy! Long time no see. Those were the days for us, weren’t they? For the rest of the world, I was a bass drummer in the Band that year along with Mike.
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Marjorie Savage - 69
I still have two ticket stubs from that game. Section 25, Row 31, seats 19 and 20
Thanks for the memory.
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Tim Bartholow - 1973, 1974, 1979
I had my ticket stub for years, and finally sold it on eBay a few years ago. It lives on out there somewhere!
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Wally Strong - LS&A, 1971, Law 1974
After the goal post was torn down following the game, someone came into my fraternity house (Theta Delta Chi) and said that the goal post was being taken up to the Diag. Several guys went up to get a piece of it for the house. When they came back, they said that only two groups had shown up, and they came back with the entire crossbar. Our plan was to cut it up for souvenir pieces for each brother, but the steel in that tube was so thick that we couldn’t find anything to cut it. So, the entire crossbar (over 20 feet long) stayed in our house.
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Bob Nusbaum - 1970
Since seniors got first crack at season tickets, my friends and I had camped out all night in front of the athletic ticket office before the 1969 football tickets went on sale. As a result, we were halfway up right on the 50 yard line all season – including for the Ohio State game.
55 years later, it remains one of the highlights of my life!
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George Haley - 1970 BSE
I attended every Michigan Football home game from 1963 when my brother was old enough to drive us to the games until I graduated in 1970. So I was (and still am) a huge fan of Michigan Football. Prior to Bo, we could walk up to a ticket both right before a game and buy tickets for a nominal price. The only game that sold out was the Michigan State game. I expect that the Ohio State games did not sell out because the probability of Michigan winning was so low prior to Bo. I recall two things from the 1969 Ohio State game. First, by half time I was completely exhausted from cheering so much. I sat there during half time thinking that if the football team was as exhausted as I was, I didn’t know how they were going to play the second half. Second, as I was walking home after the game, I walked past a drive through car wash close to the stadium. Some Michigan fans were celebrating so much that they had just gone through the car wash in a convertible with the top down.
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James Cooper - 1972
As a sophomore it was very exciting to be in the Michigan Marching Band and we definitely all enjoyed watching and performing at that game. We also knew that if we won we’d go to the Rose Bowl that New Years.
On Friday before the game my girlfriend (later my wife) were knocked down in the street as OSU fans drove down and sprayed us with a fire extinguisher. The Michigan victory on Saturday was great revenge.
I’ve returned over twenty times to play in the MMB alumni band at homecoming and still get excited.
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Bruce Flynn - BA, 1972
Hey, Jim – how are ya, man? What a game, eh?! Best ever. And the Michigan Marching Band “won” that day, too, performing our Peace Show, forming a peace symbol on the field at halftime. I still have a picture of my father (a 1949 MI Alum) and I beaming outside West Quad after I finally got back after a post-game show consisting of multiple encores of The Victors. I am still wearing my band uniform with hat backwards signifying victory and holding a rose someone handed me on the way out of the stadium.
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Gay Rosenwald - 1962
On November 22, 1969, I lived in AA and had an 11 month old baby girl with a miserable feverish flu. Only happy being carried, I walked around the house with her in my arms, listening to THE GAME. In the late 50s the team was nothing special though going to a few games was fun. But this game turned me into a passionate fan forever.
Never miss a game on radio, then TV, and at the Big House now and then. Now baby girl is 55 and also a huge fan, and we all still live in wonderful Ann Arbor and went crazy with the Championship games. GO BLUE
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Doug Bock - 1973
I was at the game as a Freshman. The left upright goal post on student end ended up at Michigan House in West Quad and we got a hacksaw and sawed up 1 inch rings of it for each guy on the floor/house. I still have my goalpost section and my student ticket. We took a six foot section of it and had an art major paint a picture and the score and put it in the lounge on the third floor. I always wondered what happened to it after that area was turned into offices.
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Chris Jones - 1972
I was a sophomore at the game. We had strong Ohio ties as I was born in Ohio, but lived in Michigan during high school and college. My uncle was an OSU grad and had been Lefty Bruce’s roomate and best friend. He got game tickets for himself and my parents. At breakfast he was clearly confident re the outcome. As the game ended I was on the field as the goal post came down. When finally done celebrating I met my family where they were parked, my uncle handed me his flask of brandy saying, “Don’t say a word till you take a drink!” I really enjoyed gloating at dinner, he had been so confident……. Will never forget that day!! Currently live in LA, married to a Michigan man whose father and grandfather were UM grads. Both our sons (4th generation) are UM grads as well. We have been to many games in the Big House, 17 Rose Bowls (including 1998 National Championship & 2024 Alabama playoff win), celebrated sons 50th by attending UM vs. UW in Seatle this fall, and looking forward to more local games vs. UCLA and USC at the Rose Bowl and Coliseum. Thanks for the memories.
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Stephen Kay - 1970
The evening of the game I attended a joint UM/OSU Glee Club concert at Hill Auditorium. The head of the OSU Glee Club came out, took a speech from his tuxedo pocket, looked at it, and tore it up. The crowd went wild!
After the concert I went to a massive party. Soon I ran out of alcohol, and ran to the store to get more–but they had NONE!. No beer, no wine, and spirits–nothing. That was some night!
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James Wolpert - 1966 BSME
After suffering through the losses to both MSU and OSU in my years at Michigan, this game was like a redemption for those years! A truly great game!! Go Blue always!
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Bill Beckley - 1973
I was a sophomore who had lived in west quad Adam’s house with many of those players who would become stars. We had the 1968 game on a set in the dorm and those then freshmen vowed that day to get that SOB Woody after they went for two. It was so sweet in 69 when they did just that. Also would add- greatest game I ever saw.
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Larry Steigelman - 1972, 1976
Sounds familiar 😊 Would rate it (69 victory) second greatest game ever (after Super Bowl LI 28-3 comeback for Brady’s Patriots.But that’s just that I’ve been a Pats fan since TB12 became QB1. And maybe sneak the 2023 Natty win in there tied for second.
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Gary Mcclelland - 1974
My wife and I were poor graduate students so lived far from campus and the stadium. Just before the game there was snow that made the usual parking on the golf courses unusable. So shuttle buses were arranged in ouitlying areas. One was near us and our shuttle bus was mostly Ohio State fans. They were pleasant. In those days the Big 10 had a rule that no team could go to back-to-back Rose Bowls. So the game didn’t mean much. The Ohio State fans were sad that the “Team of the Century” wouldn’t be allowed to go to the Rose Bowl. It would be Michigan no matter the outcome of the game. We and the few other Michigan fans on our bus thought we were going to have the pleasure of seeing the Team of the Century as well as the Michigan team that would be going to the Rose Bowl. Michigan scored first and there was a little titter from the Michigan fans knowing that it probably wasn’t going to be an Ohio State blowout. Then they scored but missed the extra point. As halftime approached with Michigan leading 24-12, you could feel the mood in the stadium change as Wolverine fans began to realize that Michigan could win the game. The scoreless seance half was excruciating. On the shuttle bus ride going home with the sad Ohio State fans, I realized that this might have been the most exciting football game I would ever see. More than 50 years later it remains The Game for me. Go Blue.
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Deborah Dubois - 1977 AMLS
I was at that game, even though I hadn’t started college yet. My mom had season tickets to the Michigan games and I had been going since elementary school. It was cold and snowy, but the stadium really heated up as the game went on. I remember the crowd streaming onto the field and taking down the goal posts at the end of the game. It was one of the most exciting games ever.
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Don Schiemann - 1968 and 1971
The 1964 Michigan football team was “on the ropes” to the Big Ten Championship with a 10-0 win over OSU and a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon State sparked by an 80+ yard run by Mel Anthony. A student paid $12 total for the six games in Ann Arbor. What a return on investment!
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Doris Rubenstein - 1971
I was there. That says it all.
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Jim Thompson - B.A.1969, M.A. 1971
I attended every home game we played plus two away games (Ohio State, 1968, disaster 50-14; Duke, 1968.) In his presser after the game, Woody was asked he went for two-point conversion. Woody typically said, “Because I couldn’t go for three.”
The next year at Michigan Stadium we countered every Ohio State score leading at the half 24-12. Neither OSU nor we scored in the second half. In that half there was a sense of ‘Do You Believe This??? and the incredible play by Barry Pierson. As the time wound down the mood was now ‘OMG, we are going to beat Woody. And, amazement at Pierson’s play: three interceptions I believe.
As a final thought in the 1968 game, OSU scored that last touchdown with two minutes left. This season we hosted Oregon. They were inside the 10 with 25 seconds left in the game. Oregon did not take the Victory knee. They scored and tacked on an extra point. Woody was not above rubbing our noses in it. But this year Oregon’s coaches were even further lacking in class.
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David Carey - 1972 (Dec)
Wow – this brought back memories. What an incredible experience for all the Michigan fans there. I remember the delight of watching Woody Hayes’ temper tantrum as he tore up a yard marker and everyone singing “Goodbye Woody!”
Also memorable at those Michigan games – the half-time dog “scoring” down the field with a soccer ball, the sea of empty green Boone’s Farm bottles being passed up the stands, and the customary announcement of the Slippery Rock football score!
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Mike Donahue - 1977, 1978, 1986
I was present at the night game against Notre Dame as well. Incredibly exciting! The only thing better was taking out the Ohio State Schmuk-eyes last year on the way to an undefeated season and national championship. I will remember that forever.
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Mike Bailey - 1973
Bob Hartzler. Great to hear from you. Not sure this will get to you but please email your contact information to Baileym3@hotmail.com. Go West Quad Stalag 3.
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Mike Bailey - 1973
Bob Hartzler. Great to hear from you. Not sure this will get to you but please email your contact information to Baileym3@hotmail.com. Go West Quad Stalag
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bob cooper - 1966 and 1971
I had the privilege of attending 37 consecutive Michigan vs, Ohio State football games from 1971 thru 2007. But none of them had the drama and excitement of the 1969 game which I was really lucky to attend. For a week, I had been child-sitting three young boys at their home over in Howell. (My compensation, by the way, was free room and board which meant a lot at the time.) The Saturday morning of the game, my brother, Kent, who was a senior at UofM, called with an extra ticket for the game. Would I be interested in going? Are you kidding me! I had a child-sitting issue to deal with but I immediately rationalized that I’d only be gone for a few hours (all daylight) and one of the boys was already a teenager, So off I went! As we all know, what transpired that afternoon was arguably the greatest 60 minutes in Michigan football history. When the game concluded, I was one of thousands of fans storming the field and I remember slapping Jim Mandich’s shoulder pads. In conclusion, I want to publicly thank the three boys for not destroying the house that day and a special thanks to me brother Kent. Go Blue!
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David Thoits - 1971
Great article, Jim.
I was a junior in ’69 and ended up having a front row seat for that magical season.
Was lucky enough to have a part-time gig working for our Sports Information Director, the late, great Will Perry. On home football Saturdays, I was in the press box typing up side-bar stuff for the sports writers in attendance.
After the game, I went down to the locker room where I wrote down everything Bo said in his press conference. Memorable times.
It’s fun to read hear what it was like on the field after the game. I missed all that. I was in the locker room.
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Dennis Allingham - 1972
Brings back a lot of memories!!!
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David Skala - 1975
Paterno recommended Bo to Canham….
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Gayle Hargrove - 1979
I was 12 years old in 1969 and this was my first year as a Wolverine. It was crazy! I didn’t miss a home game until I graduated from the U and left Ann Arbor. I remember everything about that first season and the many that followed. I tell people I spent the best and the worse Saturday’s of my life in that stadium, eating years-old hotdogs and with my feet frozen solid! But great football!!!
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