octal9

August 25th, 2010 at 10:00 AM ^

There's a room in the Union named after the Pond brothers which includes some of the drafting plans for the building. Really nifty stuff to look at, if you happen to be there.

Unfortunately the room itself is not quite as ornate or decorated as the Ballroom or Pendleton and could use an overhaul.

kalamazoo

August 25th, 2010 at 10:19 AM ^

Who knew that the guy who built the Michigan Union and have the Pond room named after him had to jump out of the bleachers to score Michigan's first touchdown.  I guess we could say the game has changed quite a bit.

schmakj

August 25th, 2010 at 11:04 AM ^

One of the narratives about the first game notes that the students in attendance began chanting "Pond Forever" after I.K. Pond scored the first touchdown.

I firmly believe we should chant "Pond Forever" on the first TD of every game. Tradition coming full circle!

1464

August 25th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^

Wonder where Collins H. Johnson was for that game... not an academic qualifier?  What a great story.  I get an indelible image of this guy hopping over the 30 fans in attendance while eluding defenders.  Much better use of space than another The Game (or the game) post...

Blazefire

August 25th, 2010 at 11:56 AM ^

Ah, the things that used to fly.

"I feared reaching the endzone in the bleachers would not count."

Yeah, that might be an issue. I mean, the other day, I thought I hit a home run, but then it hit the outer wall and fell to the warning track as I was reaching second. I wasn't sure if I had time to make it all the way to third and home, so instead I cut directly over the mound to home.

oldcityblue

August 25th, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

and FLW disliked him so, why wouldn't he just call him an old frog, instead of a dried herring? C'mon Frank, keep it in the pond!

I love the quote about jumping over the heads of the defense and doing backflips in his 80's.

Great post - really great.

canadianblue

August 25th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^

I think the real story is how in the hell did Michigan tie the University of Toronto:

There is no excuse for tying this U of T team. Sure it was 130 years ago- but we Wolverine fans price ourselves on a rich history.

 

Via wiki:

"North American football traces its very origin to the University of Toronto, with the first documented football game played at University College on November 9, 1861.[138][139] The Blues played their first intercollegiate football match in 1877 against the University of Michigan, in a game that ended with a scorless draw.[136] However, the football team has hit a rough patch following its last championship in 1993.[140] From 2001 until 2008, the Blues suffered the longest losing streak in Canadian collegiate history, recording 49 consecutive winless games.[141] This was preceded by a single victory in 2001 that ended a run of 18 straight losses.[

 

Cosmic Blue

August 25th, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^

he seems to be holding onto the legs of the guys sitting above him. is that one of the things they did for pictures back then (like not smiling), or is he a goofball?

octal9

August 25th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^

The next time you're at the Union, check out the Northeastern-most entrance. It opens up to the ground floor, but if you take the stairs there up a flight, you'll find a number of different historical images from the Union through the past century plastered along the stairwell - including some of the swimming pool. And the bowling alley.

The Michigan Union 1904-2004: 100 Years of Student Life by Jeff Rowe has a lot more information on the Union; it's worth at least a perusal. I know it's available in the Michigan Union Bookstore (shocking), but I'm not sure where else you can get it.

Also http://www.michigandaily.com/node/20400

ckersh74

August 25th, 2010 at 8:35 PM ^

Great. Now Rosenberg is going to write a column saying our first touchdown should be taken away because Pond cheated by running through the bleachers.

 

(sorry, i couldn't help that one either)