Michigan's Helmet

Fritz Crisler and the played end at Chicago under famous innovator Amos Alonzo Stagg. His success as a coach, and influence as an administrator would take Crisler to the Hall of Fame, but his most eye-popping claim to fame is his helmet design for the University of Michigan. The Michigan helmet, with its winged front, has become one of the most recognizable icons in sports.

Crisler wanted a helmet that would make it easier for his quarterback to find receivers down field. To accomplish this, he painted the base of the helmet blue, the winged structural support and straps were painted maize. Michigan’s helmet design is simply the school colors, applied to the structural design of a leather helmet: the A.G. Spalding & Bros. model FH5.

Crisler did not create the Michigan design in Ann Arbor, he brought it with him when he took the job. He had introduced a similar helmet design at Princeton in 1935. Ironically, in 1938, the year Crisler forever changed Michigan's visual identity, his Princeton helmet was featured on the cover of Spalding's Official Football Guide.

Sooooo-ie Pig Razorback

Hugo Bezdek played fullback at Chicago, and was an important part of Chicago’s national championship team in 1905. As a coach he would lead three teams to the Rose Bowl and coach himself into the Hall of Fame. He is also responsible for thousands of Arkansas fans chanting “Sooooo-ie Pig.”

Arkansas teams were known as the Cardinals until the end of the 1909 season. That year, under the leadership of Hugo Bezdek, Arkansas went 7 - 0. At a rally celebrating their undefeated season coach Bezdek referred to his team as “a wild band of razorbacks.” The nickname stuck and Arkansas fans have been doing hog calls ever since.

This Ones For You Mom

Frank Hering’s leadership helped establish Notre Dame on its path to glory, but that was small potatoes compared to his other accomplishment. In 1896, Frank Hering, a former star quarterback at Chicago, went to Notre Dame to coach the football team, and study law. Herring gave the team stability, staying for 3 years. His schedules pitted Notre Dame against some of the best competition, Chicago, Indiana, and Purdue. An inspirational leader, he also played his first year and served the team as both captain and coach. However, Herring’s most notable achievement was not as an athlete. He is credited with originating the idea of Mothers Day.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Even in the good old days, it was a common practice to avoid teams that were good enough to beat you, if beating them did little to enhance your reputation. By 1903, Notre Dame had become a prudent team to avoid. As a result, their schedule was not as tough as in the preceding years, but it was a good one if concerned about injuries. Michigan, Indiana and Purdue were no longer on the schedule. They had been replaced by American Medical, Chicago Physicians & Surgeons, Missouri Osteopaths and Ohio Medical University.

Why the Clemson Tigers Won’t Fade Away

Clemson football teams did not wear their now familiar orange uniforms until the 1930s. Until then, Clemson’s colors had been pale purple and gold. The problem was that those colors faded too easily in the wash. To solve the problem, Jess Neely, Clemson’s coach made the change to burnt orange and Northwestern purple. Now all loyal Tiger fans wear orange.