There are...
...days until Brian Townsend (LB 1988-1991) watches the University of Michigan football team start its 144th season in the Big House on September 2nd!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Townsend_(American_football)
Go Blue, Beat East Carolina.
From #45 (now the Director of Student-Athlete Development)'s senior year, here are the Wolverines on their victorious trip to East Lansing!
As always, thanks WH. Enjoy.
Desmond Howard breaking Sparty ankles at 18:05 made me LOL.
JWG, thanks for doing this series of posts. I enjoy the trips thru history, and sometimes down memory lane.
My pleasure! Thank you for making it worth the time.
This game was standard fare when things were as they should be. Let’s pound those fuckers again and reinforce where this rivalry stands.
Today's charm was awarded to Michigan's 1931 Big Ten Champions:
Like BT, senior long snapper Greg Tarr and junior tight end Noah Howes wear #45 and stand in the NIL Spotlight today!
https://revelmoments.com/products/wolverine-plus
BUY THEIR JERSEYS: https://www.mden.com/customized-jerseys.html#1
For their (and their teammates') NIL offerings: https://valiantmanagementgroup.com/marketplace/
For business inquiries: https://dash.inflcr.com/exchange/university-of-michigan
COLLECTIVES: Champions Circle, MGoDAO, Ann Arbor NIL Club, Stadium & Main, Hail! Impact
FUTURE SUPPORT: MPower
Greg Tarr is our starting long snapper.
May they all be true.
when is the first day of fall camp?
Teams can start 4 weeks before the first game. For Michigan, it'll be August 3rd.
His wife, Rachael Townsend, was my high school gym teacher in Saline. She suddenly and tragically passed away as she was finishing the Chicago Marathon due to mitral valve prolapse when she was only 29. It really hit the community hard.
She was a very kind woman, coach, and teacher. Just wanted to drop a quick note of remembrance for anyone who knew her.
https://mgoblue.com/news/2013/10/3/Wolverines_Honor_Townsend_with_Community_Involvement
Got to give a shoutout to two Grand Rapids area, former City League members, who donned the #45 at LB for Michigan:
David Harris - Ottawa Hills
Obi Ezeh - Grand Rapids Catholic Central
The Grand Rapids City League also gave us All-Americans Gerald Ford, Terry Barr, Mike Keller, Reuben Riley, Joe Soboleski, Frank Steketee and numerous other great football players and Michigan Wolverines athletes (such as Boston Marathon winner Greg Meyer, a track teammate of mine in GR) over the storied history of the conference.
Due to many factors , especially the shifting demographics of Grand Rapids and closings, over the years, of three member schools (South High, Central High, and Creston High) , the City League disbanded in 2008, with the remaining schools (GR Catholic Central, GR Christian, Ottawa Hills, Union, and my alma mater West Catholic) being absorbed by the various leagues of the OK Conference.
WC class of 09 here!
Welcome to the MGoBoard, fellow Falcon. I'm class of '73, we just had our 50th reunion 6 weeks ago. Besides nearly 100 classmates who made it, we were fortunate enough to have 5 of our teachers attend: Coach Bob Misner (my track coach---he still assists the current coach a little bit on a voluntary basis; Coach Jim Schaak (my freshman track coach and still officially on the staff as an assistant football coach--- Coach Schaak also was just recently inducted into the MHSAA Football Coaches HOF.
Also attending were former head hoops coach Ed Wagner, Mr Bob Phillips, and Mr Joe Hesse. Had all 5 of them as teachers there over my 4 years, how many of them were still teaching and/or coaching while you attended?
That's awesome! Coach Wagner and Misner are good people. Coach Misner lives up the road from me, I see him from time to time. I'm friends with some of coach Wagner's grand sons. Bob Phillips was the Athletic Director when I was at school there, but I don't believe any of them were teachers when I was there (or I never had them as a teacher). Have you been back to campus lately? Lots of new, shiny facilities going up. Glad to see they are putting our parent's tuition money to good use!
I've made it to a half dozen football games and a few track meets in the last 5 years, including when they dedicated the track to Coach Misner, a very deserved honor for that wonderful man.
Yes, the academic campus and athletic complex have come along very nicely. Even though the school itself is basically the same building built back in the early 60s, a step inside reveals quite the transformation, especially over recent years.
They've also done a great job behind the school ---when I attended all we had back there was your basic baseball diamond and a huge bare practice area that was often more dirt & mud than grass. To see it transformed by volunteers into what's there now has been pretty awesome. Not just the football complex (most of it built from spare parts including the old bleachers donated from the Muskegon harness racing facility), but also the baseball and softball facility (we had no women's sports back then 🙁) and the track, of course.
Nice history lesson Rob. My Dad attended South High. I played basketball in Creston, Union and Ottawa Hills gyms back in my high school days.
This guy gets my vote.
https://twitter.com/UMichFootball/status/1603809990690492416?s=20
(Sorry in advance for ugly/messy link format)
KICKING MYSELF RIGHT NOW FOR FORGETTING ABOUT MEECHIE! Vowing in this instant that he will be my #45 next offseason.
Help on the way with the embed:
Honoring our friend. Meechie will always be with us. pic.twitter.com/aoPnc4umpX
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 16, 2022