Great Photos: The Way People Dressed Up For a Michigan Football Game in 1954
People got all dressed up for everything in the 1950s - including football games. Here are a bunch of incredibly cool photos of how people dressed for the Michigan-Minnesota game in 1954. It's also really interesting to see the way the outside areas of the stadium looked back then.
This is really, really cool. LINK.
February 13th, 2020 at 11:45 AM ^
what a badass you must be, to play goalie without a helmet
February 13th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
Who was the last NHL goalie to consistently play without a mask? Wasn't it Gump Worsley?
February 13th, 2020 at 4:45 PM ^
was the gumper. love the photo alton, a classic. rangers v. canadiens at the garden. oh man.
i have one of uncle gordie here in my office, on the ice with lindsey and sid abel, 'the production line'. i'm guessing the photo is from the '50's, but i never asked him. too late now.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:25 PM ^
Pretty sure that's Montreal goalie Jacques Plante in the net against the Rangers in the Garden. It was against the Rangers that Plante made hockey history by being the first goalie in the modern era to wear a mask.
He did it in a 1959 game against the Rangers, whose star right-winger Andy Bathgate opened up a horrific gash on Plante's face with a wicked wrist shot. Plante retired to the dressing room to get stitched up, and came back wearing the mask he'd been wearing only in practice. It was controversial back then, with many other players and fans questioning Plante's manhood.
Here's what longtime Red Wings goalie Terry Sawchuck looked like after LIFE magazine hired a makeup artist to simulate the huge number of stitches and gashes he'd suffered during his career:
https://time.com/3878486/terry-sawchuk-a-face-only-a-hockey-puck-could-love/#1
February 13th, 2020 at 12:32 PM ^
Sweet Jeebus. Leatherface and Frankenstein are horrified.
February 13th, 2020 at 11:44 AM ^
I love this photo of Tom Harmon in class from, I believe, 1939.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
Looks resplendent. But he did not come from a well-to-do family. His mom--I have told the story here before--cleaned my grandparents' house for a time. They were very proud of the fact, of course, in decades to come.
Kind of a hoochy story, but both of my grandparents had come off of farms and my grandfathers' people, especially, had struggled.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
Tom Harmon would never have taken online classes
February 13th, 2020 at 1:09 PM ^
oh man....those shoes. They were so cool back then.
February 13th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
I'm old enough that the way these people looked and dressed is like revisiting my early childhood.
Virtually everybody looks like they're 50 or older in those pics—didn't people between the ages of 18 and 35 go to Michigan games then?
George Romney wasn't governor yet in that bottom pic—it was taken in mid-October 1962 up in Spartan Stadium, and the election was still three weeks away. That's why wife Lenore was wearing the Romney campaign sash.
The 1962 season was miserable, and easily the worst of Bump Elliott's tenure. The Wolverines went 2-7, finishing last in the conference at 1-6. They earned that record, too—Michigan was shut out three straight games early in the season, losing 28-0 to Sparty, 37-0 to Purdue, and 17-0 to Minnesota for homecoming. They climaxed the season by losing 28-0 down in Columbus. Their only victories were against Army and Illinois, which was then coached by Bump's brother Pete. IMHO that season was every bit as bad, if not worse, than 2008. The main difference is that the pre-season expectations for the latter season were probably considerably higher than for 1962.
Typifying the up-and-down nature of Elliott's Michigan teams, just two years later the Wolverines went 9-1, won the Rose Bowl in a blowout over Oregon State, and was within a missed 2-point conversion against Bob Griese and Purdue of laying a legit claim to the national championship.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:04 PM ^
I have mentioned this idea before to my girlfriend about going to the homecoming game one year in 20’s game attire with the hat for me and the big fur coat for her and she isn’t having any of it.....
Of course, she also said she would not sleep on a Michigan bed when we got our place together and lo and behold.....she is.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:16 PM ^
I bought my wife and daughter fur coats a few years ago. They both swore up and down that they didn't want them, but now they wear them pretty much all winter.
Fur on a woman is sexy as fuck. PETA can suck it.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
It's not PETA that sucks it. It's animals getting anally electrocuted and others caught in steel jaw traps to die slowly and in agony.
So fuck you both.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:32 PM ^
Did your dinner last night die any easier?
Just sayin'...
I really don't have a dog in this hunt other than to point out the self-righteous hypocrisy of many behind this cause celebre.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:52 PM ^
Yeah, dinner did die easier. It was mostly plants and some fish, which didn't die in a trap over a two day period.
I didn't realize humane treatment of animals was a "cause celebre." How do you feel about human decency generally? Is that just for show? Just sayin...
February 13th, 2020 at 1:06 PM ^
I didn't realize humane treatment of animals was a "cause celebre." How do you feel about human decency generally? Is that just for show?
That's the problem with people like you...
Nowhere in my post did I say I didn't support animal or human rights but you went there anyway in a passive aggressive-like attack.
I had the same dinner as you for the record. The elk waiting for me in my freezer is pretty tasty too.
But PETA isn't a cause celebre?
They'll physically attack people, violate their rights, over things PETA disagrees with.
The internet is chock full of examples of celebs in PETA ads exhibiting un-PETA like behavior in their real lives. Since your computer is just as capable of going to google.com as mine is, you can do your own research.
Since you're having a hard time understanding these posts, here's what I'm for... treating all life on the planet with dignity and respect. FULL STOP.
Here's what I'm against. Extremists of any sort (right, left... conservative, liberal... it doesn't matter).
Since you haven't been paying attention, here's a hint: extremists do more harm to their causes overall than they help.
February 13th, 2020 at 2:47 PM ^
Mr. Stig, you are on a roll today. :-)
February 13th, 2020 at 6:46 PM ^
Slow day at work... that and keeping it real. Ha!
February 13th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
PETA SUCKS ! They are radical nuts who think animals are equal to humans. We got people like jauquim Phoenix (great at his job) who are chastising me for putting milk in my coffee.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Fur coats are for dealers, pimps, and Antonio Brown. Which one are you?
February 13th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
Don't be such a pussy.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
PETA does suck. Look up how many animals they kill each year just so they don't have to suffer the indignity of being someone's "pet".
I think animals should be killed as humanely as possible. But we are at the top of the food chain, so I'll continue to eat and wear them until the aliens come and start eating and wearing us.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:04 PM ^
Fur coats in the 21st century scream "Hi, I'm low class!" more or less like smoking nowadays. It depends on how hard you want to lean into the whole social leper thing.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:09 PM ^
Where the hell do you live that a women in a fur coat screams "low class"? Do you have any idea how much they cost new? The only people I see wearing them regularly are clearly very wealthy.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:31 PM ^
Fur on a woman, no thanks........like my ladies completely bald.
February 13th, 2020 at 9:27 PM ^
Speaking of, remember the chintzy show Detroiters. If you didn’t there were always about 10 cliche Detroit jokes. But this spoof on the Dittrich Furs commercial was pure genius. Devereux Wigs, “ Our wigs aren’t made from hair off dead bodies”. Ooooooh Devereux.
February 13th, 2020 at 10:41 PM ^
I thought this was a shaving company back in the 50s. The PC police would be out in full force if this ad ever was shown now.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
Anywhere I sleep is a Michigan bed, and I have always encouraged women, whatever their alma maters, to join me in the Victors afterward.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:10 PM ^
When your kids were born, did you put little "Go Blue M Club Supports You" banners up as they came out?
February 13th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
So basically it's the same way Section 23 dresses today.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
Oh, back to the days where hotdogs and coke were 10cents. Minorities would clean up AND get out of the way of the great shots!!!
February 13th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
Not thready worthy whatsoever, but if anyone wants to laugh, read the comments in this thread:
February 13th, 2020 at 12:29 PM ^
Great pics.
I'm an old school type; against the grain, I still wear a suit to preach. I like that kind of thing. So I'm tempted to say, "I wish we still dressed that way to games."
But I really don't. Wool or mixed fabrics on those benches for 3 hours? Trying to drink a soda or eat a hot dog and not get anything on a tie?
There are appropriate clothes for different occasions. I might agree with some that our culture is getting a bit slobby, but I'm not THAT crazy about it. Jeans, etc, make much more sense to wear to sporting events. We're there to have fun, why not be comfortable?
February 13th, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
"Let me put on my suit before we leave for the big game".......... don't think I could imagine being more uncomfortable watching a game.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:38 PM ^
Look how far we have progressed.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
I was wondering how mitt Romney didn’t age for 60 years. It’s his damn dad ! Damn these politicians seize power and hoard it forever !
February 13th, 2020 at 12:46 PM ^
It's ok to neg me, but I was shocked at how much more people dressed up for games in the SEC. I came dressed as a Michigan fan would and it felt like being dressed for a frat party but walking into your parents' cocktail party.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:57 PM ^
How do they dress? I heard at (I think Vandy and Ole Miss) the frats and sororities would dress like this for certain games.
While the tide inexorably goes towards casual, it would be good if all of us (myself included) wore better fitting casual clothes.
February 13th, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
blazer and tie and slacks (no suits) and cocktail dresses.
i felt like i landed on the moon
February 13th, 2020 at 1:51 PM ^
You mean like at Ole Miss?
February 13th, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
19th century birth control. By the time you get all those clothes off your dick has gone soft and you're too tired to screw.
February 13th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
Is that someone in blackface holding a confederate flag? The hands don't match the face color. HTF does Ole Miss and Mississippi State get recruits? You would have to pay me a crap ton of money to play there - at least a crap ton more that I could get.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:52 PM ^
Where are all the fat people ? It's almost like something happened in the way people eat. Go figure.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
SIMPLE ANSWER...
They ate differently, not necessarily better because butter and whole milk were the "IN" thing. However mostly because of their lifestyle... we have too much free time these days and sit on our fat assess in front of the TV too much.
February 13th, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
They also smoked a lot more, which affects the body's metabolic rate, helping to keep people's weight down (and later leading to lung cancer and heart disease). That, and high fructose corn syrup.
February 13th, 2020 at 3:41 PM ^
More people also had physically demanding jobs. Even office workers were more active during the day before computers.
This is also one of the reasons average male testosterone levels have fallen off a cliff compared to 30 years ago, and those levels were already lower than the WWII generation.
Explains the neck beards, skinny jeans, stay at home dads, and lack of ball room in pants.
February 13th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
New studies now show fertility has more to do with diet when boys are 10-13. If they eat a lot of doritos and drink pepsi, they will have a very low sperm count. If they ate chicken, peas and rice, they would have a very high fertility rate.
February 13th, 2020 at 4:55 PM ^
Two words about your answer.
1. Simple
2.Wrong
February 13th, 2020 at 4:28 PM ^
They may not be fat but they're sure ugly!