Category: Featured

The second installment of the Michigan-Ohio State series takes us to 1960. Bump Elliott was in his second year as Michigan’s head coach, and a nicer guy you couldn’t find. Unfortunately, his teams often reflected that, and as we know from recent events, that isn’t always a good thing. It wasn’t very good in 1960, either.

Contrast that with Woody Hayes, who was in his 10th season as Ohio State’s head coach in 1960. Hayes had a tendency to ruffle some feathers from time to time, and he seemed to take pleasure in ruffling all things maize and blue. In 1960, it was the Ohio State defense that did most of the ruffling.

Still, the Wolverines weren’t in the habit of letting their rivals walk all over them, and for more than three quarters, their defense matched the Buckeyes, and with only minutes to go, there was still no score. That’s when Hayes turned to his fullback, Bob Ferguson. In the early ‘60s, fullbacks did more than just block, and Ferguson’s bulldozing style fit the Bucks’ offense perfectly. With a little more than two minutes left, Ferguson rumbled 17 yards for the only score of the game, and the Buckeyes went on to win, 7-0, the exact reverse of the score they lost by in the first game that Hayes coached against Michigan.

Oddly enough, it was the final game of the season for both teams. Michigan finished 5-4, with a record of 3-4 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State finished with a record of 7-2, and 5-2 in the Big Ten. The Big Ten champions? The Minnesota Golden Gophers, who finished the regular season with a record of 8-2, and a 6-1 mark in Big Ten play. The folks in Columbus might not be too happy with that, since Minnesota didn’t play Ohio State in 1960. Following the season, the Gophers made their way to Pasadena, where they were soundly defeated by Washington in the Rose Bowl, 17-7.

I’d like to thank the folks at the Bentley Historical Library for their capsule on the 1960 Michigan football team. As always, I own none of the material presented.

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1960fbt.htm

The first installment of this year’s series on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry takes us to 1951. The United States was leading UN forces in the Korean War, the national economy was enjoying stable growth, and Ohio State welcomed a new head coach, Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes. Woody went on to make quite an impact on The Game, but in ’51, the Maize & Blue welcomed him with an old-fashioned shutout, topping the Buckeyes, 7-0.

Michigan All-American Lowell Perry made his presence felt on defense, intercepting three passes and returning them for a combined total of 22 yards, and teammate Frank Howell intercepted still another pass and returned it 23 yards, giving the Wolverines four interceptions for the game, something that quite possibly left a lasting impression on Hayes, who despised the forward pass. In addition to being an outstanding defensive back, Perry was also an excellent receiver who caught 68 passes for 1,232 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career in Ann Arbor. 

Despite the presence of Perry, the offensive star for the Wolverines was fullback Don Peterson, who was named the team’s Most Valuable Player that season. Peterson gained 70 yards on 19 carries on the ground, but more important, he scored the only touchdown in the victory. 

The irony is that both Michigan finished with a record of four wins and five losses, a stark contrast to the previous season, when the Wolverines won the “Snow Bowl” against Ohio State and went on to win the Rose Bowl against Cal. Ohio State finished the 1951 season with a record of four wins, three losses, and a pair of ties, to Wisconsin and Illinois. 

It could certainly be argued that this was not one of the most exciting games in the history of the rivalry, but it illustrated one point that has been proven time and again in this rivalry: Beware of the team that seems like a wounded animal. This rivalry tends to inspire a lot of players to deliver banner performances.

Thanks to the Bentley Library for their historical information on the game, which can be examined below. 

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1951fbt.htm

http://www.umich.edu/~bhlumrec/athdept/fbstats/1951osu.pdf

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aaperryl.htm