A Maize & Blue Sparty mascot? In 1967 there was - thanks to my brother Charlie
The MgoBlog old timers with good memories might recall I posted this back in 2013 but thought maybe some of the "newbies" might enjoy reading it.
The dapper young student at the far right of the Ann Arbor news story is mGrowOld's even older brother Charlie (UM undergrad at the time, eventual graduate UM Dental School class of 1972). In 1967 his fraternity brothers went to East Lansing and stole Sparty before the game and returned it, painted with the correct, and as all would agree, much better colors, at halftime during the game itself.
Unfortunately it didn't help much as Michigan lost 34-0. But for a day at least Sparty was Maize & Blue!
October 28th, 2020 at 10:12 PM ^
That story is legendary.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:23 PM ^
Thanks. The clipping from the AA News and the photos are from my brother too. I was only 8 when he and his fraternity brothers did this so I had no recollection of the event itself. Much later when I was at Michigan (class of 81 here) he told me about what they did and gave me copies of the story and the pics. He's in the Sparty head in the last picture they took FWIW.
I'm proud of my brother. Pretty bad-ass prank if you ask me.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:51 PM ^
Those crazy Michigan dentists!
October 28th, 2020 at 10:13 PM ^
That’s so cool!
October 28th, 2020 at 10:14 PM ^
The story mentions no upper-decker. Please tell us there was an upper-decker before it was returned...
October 28th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
I never noticed how much sigma looked like a sideways block M until now. Neat.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
Back when hijinks were relatively acceptable.
Thanks for reposting.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:32 PM ^
Pretty dang good paint job, although the maize and blue is much too good for the Sparty
October 28th, 2020 at 10:36 PM ^
I dunno. Maybe I'm biased but I always think when it comes to colors:
Maize & Blue > Green & White AND Scarlet & Gray
But i understand what you mean. You have to admit though it would be pretty damn funny if we were to somehow kidnap Sparty today and paint him Maize n Blue before returning him. Especially at halftime on Saturday!
October 28th, 2020 at 10:46 PM ^
a.) i might be missing a link? no picture, which i would love to see. giant kudos to mgrowoldest
b.) there is a reason that there is red(scarlet)/green blindness - God hates those colors but occasionally blesses people so they don't have to ever see those colors their whole lives. it's like if you never had to smell a skunk, or taste sauerkraut or moldy bread. our two rivals have those as their main colors. QED.
October 28th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^
Not sure what browser you're using but via Chrome there is a AA News clipping from 1967 and then a bunch of pics my brother saved from back in the day.
You would definitely appreciate ALL of them.
October 28th, 2020 at 11:18 PM ^
you were right about that, thank you. mama has big-time filters for our home computers b/c of all the kids. so i switched off the wifi on my phone and lo and behold, glorious photos of the prank. great work. nowadays of course someone would probably be charged with a raft of felonies for stealing and 'vandalizing' that sparty bobble head, but back then it was all fun and games like it should be.
October 29th, 2020 at 12:07 AM ^
OT, but do you guys use Covenant Eyes? Or some other filter? Getting near to needing that...
October 29th, 2020 at 5:43 AM ^
will ask. check back here later today. i know i have heard her mention the one, but i think there are layers.
would actually be a good OT topic but it'll have to wait until OT season comes back around. hopefully no OT season until spring.
EDIT: dear wife says go to 'protectyoungeyes.com' for many suggestions. also 'clean browsing' at the router level and mobisil. should be on kids' phones, too.
October 29th, 2020 at 12:38 AM ^
I am picturing XM's computer made of wood.
October 29th, 2020 at 5:40 AM ^
pfff. our technology is much more modern than that....
October 29th, 2020 at 9:24 AM ^
Or (in the above comments re- avoidance of color schematics) XM—In your cowardly case—
Toast a Michigan Win with a chilled glass of Kahlua and Tomato ? Juice
? (shaken not stirred).
October 29th, 2020 at 9:43 AM ^
coward i may be, but i'm on to your game M&M. you confessed years ago that you don't actually drink those two substances while mixed together. you have also pledged to meet me at the next (lawfully assembled) michigan game that we both attend and show me the excellencies of drink which you tout so frequently. for now, i'd accept a video of you drinking those, much like the awesome lemon eating videos some of our fellow mgobloggers posted a few years back.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
Kudos to mGrowOld, and to mGrowOlder
October 29th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
Current picture of MGrowOldest.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:35 PM ^
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing again!
October 28th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
I never want to live at a time when Ms. beats Michigan 34-0.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:44 PM ^
Nice! This is the second best thing I've seen you post about in here
October 28th, 2020 at 10:45 PM ^
I like how you're able to present some awesomely obscure history without being condescending and or trying to act like you're superior in your knowledge, unlike some other devoted poster from the past.
Awesome read.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:48 PM ^
Jesus hes gone let him rest in peace.
RIP WD, I didn't really like you but you got banned for some bullshit
October 28th, 2020 at 11:21 PM ^
I'm guessing you responded to WD's alt that was expressing some passive-aggressive displeasure with the ban and the board's overall treatment. I'll know once he starts posting apparel threads.
October 29th, 2020 at 1:05 AM ^
Is anyone allowed to say that word again?
October 28th, 2020 at 10:47 PM ^
I was here for the first post but sure don’t remember it. Perhaps due to the fact that I’m in your demographic? Post it again next year and I’ll upvote it again and say, “What a great story!”
October 29th, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^
Same here on the old perspective. It's my short term memory that is shot. I won't remember this story next year, but I will 5 years from now.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:49 PM ^
This is an all time prank
Thanks for sharing MGrowOld, hope all is well in Ohio.
October 28th, 2020 at 10:58 PM ^
It's good down here (all things considered)
Hey, if you ever need or want to talk again I'm still here and still available 24x7. [email protected] is my personal account if you dont have it anymore (I still have yours )
October 28th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
My oldest brother was an undergrad back then, too. He told the story to me years ago. M football was not that good at the time, so it was something to cheer about. He graduated in 1968 and missed Bo’s arrival as head coach.
October 28th, 2020 at 11:47 PM ^
mGrowOlder was some kind of hero
October 29th, 2020 at 12:11 AM ^
If we win a lot of games, are they going to let WD back?
October 29th, 2020 at 5:24 AM ^
I think he just needs to fork over the $5 entry fee and behave himself for awhile and I'd bet he'd be allowed to be.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:54 AM ^
He is allowed to return anytime he wants after paying the $5.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:02 AM ^
Holy crap, time flies. You last posted this in 2013? I would have guessed just 2 years ago. I sneeze and a week goes by. I blink and a month goes by. Cool story though.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:27 AM ^
Maybe I did (I kinda thought I had relatively recently too) but the 2013 version was the one I found when I searched.
On the other hand like you said, time is accelerating these days.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:33 AM ^
Mr. Dunesman!
What if we're living in a weird science fiction world, where YOU control time? You sneeze and a week goes by! You blink and a month goes by!
If you stop sneeze more, will time go faster? If you stop sneezing or blinking, will time stop?!
October 29th, 2020 at 7:39 AM ^
if he wipes his nose, can he make those losses to ohio go away?
October 29th, 2020 at 7:55 AM ^
I think that would require a massive gassive.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:45 AM ^
I do remember this story, and even then, I wanted to say, "Well done, sir!" to your brother.
October 29th, 2020 at 7:57 AM ^
Folks wearing suits and or sport jackets and ties to a football game. I love it.
October 29th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
Beats "Wolvy" the wolverine...
October 29th, 2020 at 10:42 AM ^
Ah, the good old day, when pranks were pranks and not precursors to lawsuits. That's almost as good as the time when Greg Brady stole the Coolidge High mascot goat and kept it in the attic of his parents' house.