A Maize & Blue Sparty? In 1967 there was
The dapper young student at the far right of the Ann Arbor news story is mGrowOld's even older brother Charlie (Michigan Dentist). In 1967 his fraternity stole Sparty before the game and returned it, painted with the correct colors, at halftime.
Unfortunately it didn't help much as Michigan lost 34-0. But for a day at least Sparty was Maize & Blue!
November 1st, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
I salute Charlie and his cohorts. That's the sort of thing that makes college football great - and so much more fun than pro football.
November 1st, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
I know - isnt that like the best fraternity prank ever? I am very proud that my brother was a part of such hijinks. Can you imagine that today?
November 1st, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
You would be charged with theft and jailed probably. Then the Freep would run 11 stories about it and you'd never be able to get a job anywhere.
November 1st, 2013 at 2:53 PM ^
Exactly right. In some ways (many ways, actually), I hate what this country is becoming.
November 1st, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
they have restored him to the school colors of green, white, black, bronze, grey, and silver.
November 1st, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
Best Corso pick ever.
November 1st, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
That was the first UM-MSU game I ever saw. It was such a pure, wonderful stunt. There have only been about 100 times since then that I'd like to have repeated it.
Huge props to the OP for returning to that story.
November 1st, 2013 at 2:55 PM ^
Thanks. He always talked about doing this but it wasnt until recently that he found the AA News article and the pictures somebody had taken at the stadium. Like everyone says - pics or it didnt happen. Well he found the pics so I could post it!
Remember when pictures had the little date on them to show when they were developed?
November 1st, 2013 at 4:00 PM ^
I remember that at first, there was just a kind of a murmur in the Stadium; people didn't know what they were seeing. Then there was a cheer, and then a weird kind of noise, that wasn't cheering, but 100,000 people just sort of laughing and talking as though one half of the Stadium was telling the other half of the Stadium "Hey, look at that; can you believe that?"
Your brother can correct me; but I think the way it went was that they guys brought the Sparty head into the Stadium all covered up, and then uncovered it in the northeast corner of the Stadium, which was actually where the State cheerleaders might have been.
November 1st, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^
That is a pretty humorous stunt really, and the sort of good-natured rivalry activity that seems to not happen as much anymore, it seems, possibly for fear of the repercussions today. Still, I applaud Charlie and his fraternity on this prank. Well done, sirs.
November 1st, 2013 at 2:35 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 2:35 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 2:38 PM ^
No, but it was fueled by beer.
November 1st, 2013 at 2:48 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^
That 1967 team wasn't bad, the roster was filled with young players who would go on to great careers under Bo. I vividly remember guys like Dan Dierdorf (who lived next door to me in the dorm) being around then.
One of my best friends was a tight end on the freshman team. Oh yeah, freshmen didn't play on the varsity squad in those days.
In the fall of 1967 I was a freshman. At the time, Michigan was (except for 1964) a meh program with a great history, solid but not world-beating.
I remember the leaders of our orientation group mocking MSU as a "football school," the implication being that we didn't care all that much about such trifles as football.
People liked going to the Big House, but it was hardly ever filled, except for the MSU game, when both fanbases filled the place. Even OSU games weren't full.
1967 was a different kind of era, down to the sports jackets most male students wore to games with their crew-necked sweaters and khaki trousers. It was a really nice atmosphere to see a football game, with far less fan boorishness than we see today.
November 2nd, 2013 at 4:57 AM ^
did anybody use the word "meh"?
(pause)
Didn't think so!
November 1st, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
several memorable ones, mostly on Fridays.
A fraternity, the ZBT's, I think, rented a helicopter and dropped maize and blue confetti on the Spartans as they practiced on their field.
Another year, UM students painted more appropriate colors on the Sparty statue right in the middle of a busy afternoon.
The pranks coming from EL were not so cute. The men in the dorms patroled campus all night before the game to prevent their fans (students??) from spray painting "MSU" and other graffiti on our buildings. That went on the whole time I was there.
November 1st, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
...I laughed harder than I should have at the line "Unfortunately it didn't help much as Michigan lost the game 34-0."
I've been watching Vines for a few hours and so lately I'm finding mundane things HILARIOUS.
November 1st, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^
It makes me feel better about the state of the current team. That was like a lost decade from 1958-1967.
November 1st, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
the last team to go to the Rosebowl and we got blown out in the 2nd half. I'm not sure we will be making it to the Rosebowl by 2015? Looks as if the team will still be too young on the OL, replacing their two NFL caliber tackles in 2014 and we'll have to play OSU on the road.
So, overall this current decade 2006-16 is not much better than the 1958-68 decade.
November 1st, 2013 at 4:19 PM ^
November 2nd, 2013 at 12:32 AM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^
filled with thousands and thousands of farts
November 1st, 2013 at 5:10 PM ^
November 1st, 2013 at 5:26 PM ^
Back then people did all kinds of stuff like that and it was considered a thing called "fun", not a criminal act.
November 1st, 2013 at 7:11 PM ^
You should see how hardcore the university is taking a frat party Facebook group with the theme "Ratchet."
November 1st, 2013 at 7:55 PM ^
I was living in South Quad at that time. We heard that something important was going to happen at the Sigma Chi house. (At that time it was the first house south of the Union.) As I joined a huge group of students, the Spartan headgear was brought out and displayed to great acclaim.
November 1st, 2013 at 10:49 PM ^
The AD Crisler stuck with his Michigan men through thick and thin. After his succesor Oosterbaan had some early success ('48 NC) as coach he really tailed off before he retired. Then Crisler selected Bump Elliot one of his former players as coach, he stuck with him through many losing seasons. '64 was Bump's best season with only 1 loss and a rosebowl win. '68 was not a bad season until the OSU thumping. Finally Crisler retired in '67 and Canaham shook things up after the big '68 OSU blowout by hiring an outsider, Bo!