RIP Bud VanDeWege - Moe Sports Shop Owner
Sad news.
Condolences to his friends and family.
http://www.annarbor.com/news/former-moe-sports-shop-owner-bud-vandewege-dies-at-age-83/
RIP
Thanks for all the great Michigan gear I've bought over the years that I couldn't find anywhere else for a reasonable price.
A Dutchman! Who knew? RIP.
I actually used to pass time in the store between classes now and again, and even had the opportunity to chat with him a few times as a result years ago when I was an undergraduate. Great conversationalist, and he seemed like a truly nice man. Indisputably, he was a presence around Ann Arbor and the University Of Michigan. Rest in peace.
It's really strange to find out that a family friend died on MGOBLOG. He was a really good guy and had the best michigan store by far. May he rest in peace
Bud was one of the kindest persons I ever met. He was a big man in the best sense of the word, one of incredibly generous spirit. He was a great story teller. A great listener. I loved him and I will miss him.
Craig Ross
That is what I have always associated with Moe's. When I would visit for games over the years, I might wander into a new location to check out the gear, but Moe's always had the highest quality product. You have to admire someone who delivers a quality product and succeeds at it for so many years when cheaper competition keeps popping up.
Moe's was always my favorite place to buy Michigan gear and Bud was a big reason why. Once they were sold out of some sweatshirts I wanted to buy for my family and he offered to ship them out of state to me for free. He already had a loyal customer, but that basically won me over for life. Great guy who will be missed by all of us who love Moe's.
Three of my housemates worked for Moe's and I never heard a bad word about the man. Very sad for his family's loss.
Bud was a great guy. He went to high school with my mother in Holland, MI, and played on the Holland High School state championship basketball team, I believe in 1947. We usually stopped at Moe's Sport Shop with my mother during the AA Art Fairs so she could visit with Bud.
the Moe's on State St. I always thought it fantastic, that they'd have two stores, about eight blocks from each other.
I'm guessing that the State Street Moe's was intended to pick up game-day foot traffic.
There was a time in the State Street store (I'm going to need some backup on this one, lest folks think I am crazy) when they made little cards that gave names to all of the t-shirts and sweatshirts that were high up on the tall shelves, way out of reach or even pointing. So instead of saying, "That blue Michigan t-shirt... no, the dark blue one... no, the one next to that one... the long-sleeve one...", you could just say, "Jake," or "Squiggy," or "Roscoe," or whatever names they happened to think of and post on the little signs.