The History: 1987 The "Headband Game"
On Monday before the 1987 game, Ohio State president Ed Jennings fired coach Earle Bruce, a successful coach who was devoted to his alma mater but had never been truly embraced by the Buckeyes faithful.
The untimely firing shifted sentiment to Bruce, and Jennings was vilified for the decision.
In Ann Arbor that Saturday, Bruce was standing on the sidelines when he turned to say something to an assistant and noticed out of the corner of his eye his players were all wearing headbands.
"œI was going to tell them to get those headbands off," Bruce recalled. "œWhen I looked at them, I saw that they said "˜EARLE' and then I thought I can't very well tell them to take them off."
The Buckeyes won 23-20 and after the game Bruce went to the Michigan locker room to say good-bye to his friend and peer, Schembechler.
Schembechler looked up and said, "œYou know how I don't like losing. But, somehow, today I don't mind."
Know Thy Enemy: Michigan's football helmet is surely one of the most instantly recognizable icons in college sports. The famous "winged" design dates from 1938 when Coach Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler arrived from Princeton to begin a new era in Michigan football. Even as the design and composition of helmets evolved from stitched cowhide to high-tech, molded plastic, the winged design has remained the pre-eminent symbol of Michigan football. Other Michigan athletic teams have adopted the winged design for their own headgear as well.
Michigan Joke of the Day!
Did you hear about the fire in University of Michigan's football dorm that destroyed 20 books?
The real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet.
Only 1 day, 23 hours, 421minutes, and 30 seconds until the Big Game!
So I ask, fellow Buckeyes, what have YOU done, to beat the U of M today?
On Monday before the 1987 game, Ohio State president Ed Jennings fired coach Earle Bruce, a successful coach who was devoted to his alma mater but had never been truly embraced by the Buckeyes faithful.
The untimely firing shifted sentiment to Bruce, and Jennings was vilified for the decision.
In Ann Arbor that Saturday, Bruce was standing on the sidelines when he turned to say something to an assistant and noticed out of the corner of his eye his players were all wearing headbands.
"œI was going to tell them to get those headbands off," Bruce recalled. "œWhen I looked at them, I saw that they said "˜EARLE' and then I thought I can't very well tell them to take them off."
The Buckeyes won 23-20 and after the game Bruce went to the Michigan locker room to say good-bye to his friend and peer, Schembechler.
Schembechler looked up and said, "œYou know how I don't like losing. But, somehow, today I don't mind."
Know Thy Enemy: Michigan's football helmet is surely one of the most instantly recognizable icons in college sports. The famous "winged" design dates from 1938 when Coach Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler arrived from Princeton to begin a new era in Michigan football. Even as the design and composition of helmets evolved from stitched cowhide to high-tech, molded plastic, the winged design has remained the pre-eminent symbol of Michigan football. Other Michigan athletic teams have adopted the winged design for their own headgear as well.
Michigan Joke of the Day!
Did you hear about the fire in University of Michigan's football dorm that destroyed 20 books?
The real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet.
Only 1 day, 23 hours, 421minutes, and 30 seconds until the Big Game!
So I ask, fellow Buckeyes, what have YOU done, to beat the U of M today?
