~ NOVEMBER 2010 MUSEUMON • MAINSIREET...... .... ............................. .• =-.!Iiiii. •_ •• ~ •• •• •!Iiiii. , m.... III iii dll 'III !III DD ; 111 !I! 'c=J :!I! E- 1:-- L DD I::u , . A Museum Of GXUlt)' Life WASHTENAW COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY The View from The Big House On Sunday, October 17th, about twenty­ five members of the Washtenaw County Historical Society met at the Junge Family Champions Center in Ann ArborforThe Big House Talk and Tour of Michigan Stadium. Dr. Robert Soderstrom, author of The Big House, Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium, gave us an enlightening, in-depth narrative and visual presentation. He described just how innovative Yost was in building the stadium and the significance ofthe Ohio State games. We learned the story behind college football's first trophy "The Little Brown Jug" (see page 6), how UM became "Champions ofthe West" Members of the Washtenaw County Historical Society Group talk about the tour and where the idea for the stadium near the 50 yard line. (L-R) Board president, Les Loomans, WCHS member Ann Edwards, tunnel came from. (Cont. on page 3) WCHS board member Ralph Beebe and WCHS member Lois Foyle. BIG ACCORDING TO MICHIGAN LEGEND, Yost was impatient HOUSE}o'II·;I.!JIl':"4 It. y~ q ..,,­ I'"'' /I" Ht rr.flrO'.'I., 'J,I WHAT'S INSIDE with slow players, he would say: "Hurry up! ... If you can't :'11(' l[ I (~Al': hurry, make way for someone who can!" Fielding "Hurry Up" !-i T '\ J) I -Y 1\1 President's Letter ............................... 2 Yost was a successful businessman, author, lawyer, coach and The book written by WCHS Updates ................................... 2 visionary leader in molding college football into a national Robert Soderstrom The Big House Tour ........................... 3 sports phenomenon. He won six national championships, begins with the season Fielding Yost: Hurry Up ................ 4-S 10 conference titles, the first Rose Bowl and invented the of1922 that laid the linebacker position in the early 1900s. As Athletic Director he cornerstone and concludes November Events .............................. 6 with the stadium dedica­ built Yost Ice Arena, UM golf course and Michigan Stadium, Liberty Awakes ................................... 7 tiongamein 7927that then the country's largest college stadium. Today, his pillar­ pit Michigan against its Women's Suffrage Program ........... 7 less, 109,901 seat stadium is the WORLD'S largest college infamous rival, Ohio State. stadium and 3rd largest in the world overall. (Cont. on page 4) It is a fascinating story. Our mission is to The President's Letter: The View from Our House educate and inspire our community to t's really quite easy to remember the years our house, the Museum on engage in the preservation Main Street, was constructed: the rear portion in 1835 and the front in 1839. and presentation of I Michigan, of course, became a state in 1837. In fact, President Andrew Jackson area history signed a bill making Michigan the twenty-sixth state on January 26, 1837. Actually, the citizens were ready for statehood as early as 1835, but the dispute over the BOARD OF DIRECTORS Toledo Strip delayed Congressional action. No less than two conventions were held right here in Ann Arbor, the second on December 14, 1836. President Leslie l. Loomans So our house (the original portion) was here as statehood was decided on. Vice President One wonders if the Kellogg family was aware of the happenings downtown at Karen l. Jania the County Courthouse. Treasurer Do stop in to see the current exhibit, but even Patricia W. Creal when there isn't an exhibit, stop to take a Recording Secretary close look at our house. Generally, someone Judith M. Chrisman is there most weekdays. Sections of the walls have been kept open to show split lath and Corresponding Secretary brick nogging construction. As a member you Pauline V. Walters may be able to peek. upstairs and be shown Ralph P. Beebe ceiling lath and names and heights of children Tom Freeman written on the inside of the attic door. It's a Dale Leslie Michelle Lee McClellan, PhD neat piece of history. Susan l. Nenadic . LESLIE LOOMANS M. Joanne Nesbit Jay Snyder Jan E. Tripp Susan Cee Wineberg Cynthia Yao Robert Yuhasz DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Hon. Julie Creal Mary Florida Wayne Florida Richard l. Galant, PhD November Updates (Immediate past President) Dean Greb Would you like to get your issues of Susan Kosky Impressions digitally? The Washtenaw Donald Cameron Smith, MD County Historical Society prints and ADMINISTRATOR mails our newsletter in black and white Bev Willis, Impressions Editor to be cost effective. If you would like to Washtenaw County Historical Society see your Impressions delivered to your P.O. Box 3336, Ann Arbor, MI481 06-3336 ADVISORS email address as a full color PDF, let us Phone: 734-662-9092 Ina Hanel Gerdenich know! You can email Pauline Walters at email: [email protected] David LaMoreaux [email protected]. Thomas F. Mich, PhD Museum on Main Street Louisa Pieper We want to hear your ideas and (at the corner of E. Kingsley & Beakes) opinion about Impressions. If you 500 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1027 Impressions is published seven have ideas for articles, stories you Museum Hours times a year September through have written or would like to write, Saturday & Sunday, 12 noon - 4:00 p.m. May by the Washtcnaw County contact Beverly Willis at the Museum Historical Society, a non profit and by appointment on Main Street: 734- 662-9092 501(c)(3) organization. e-mail: [email protected]. PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 2010 • WASHTENAW COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER The Big House Talk and Tour, continued They traveled by train, the largest percentage of Michigan students to Champions of the West this day that ever attended an away game. In 1923, the Wolverines were On January 11, 1895, the presidents undefeated National champions. of University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Construction on the Big House began University of Minnesota, University in 1926. Fashioned after the Yale Bowl of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern the stadium's original capacity was University, Purdue University and 72,000, but Yost made certain to install Lake Forest College met in Chicago footings that could allow for up to to discuss the regulation and rev­ 200,000 seats. The new stadium, with enue of intercollegiate athletics. a capacity of 84,401, was dedicated in 1927 when Michigan played Ohio In 1896, at the meeting that estab­ State. Michigan emerged from the lished the conference, Lake Forest tunnel to play and win 21-0. was not there and was replaced by Michigan. The organization was then The Coliseum in Ann Arbor called the Western Conference: Pur­ When planning Michigan Stadium, due, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Yost spent a lot of time visiting and . After the talk, we went to the locker Illinois, Chicago, and Northwestern. studying stadiums. He compiled a room, tried on helmets and pads and That's where the line "Champions of scrapbook of the stadiums he was took lots of pictures by favorite play­ the West" comes from in Michigan's inspired by and it is available for ers lockers. A trip through the treat­ song "Hail to the Victors" public viewing at Bentley Historical ment room led us back outside into Library on North Campus. In the the lobby of the Jack Roth Stadium The Big House and Ohio State middle of the scrapbook are 3-4 Club. We then took the elevators up to tour the club level and skybox Yost became Michigan's athletic pages of ancient Roman stadiums suites and see the Heisman Trophies. director in 1921 after a successful they have a tunnel from the outside The view of the field from the inside coaching career from 1901-1920. that goes onto the floor of the arena. is as impressive as the view of Ann In 1921 UM boasted the largest Yosts' idea for the UM tunnel came Arbor on the outside. college stadium in the country, but from the ancient Roman coliseums. lost the game to Ohio State that year. There's only one way to enter the playing field at In 1922, OSU built their new stadium. the Big House, and that's Skeptics thought the huge stadium through the tunnel at the would never be filled, but on Octo­ 50-yard line. Walking ber 21, 1922 over 70,000 fans came through, one cannot help out for the dedication game against butthinking of all of the Michigan. Michigan won 19-0 and great players and coaches won their first Big 10 title since 1904. over the past 83 years, Over 6,000 of those fans were from who have come down Ann Arbor, and UM only had 10,000 that tunnel and stepped students. onto the field. It was inspiring to learn about one of the greatest eras of college football history and experience the Big House In Ann Arbor for ourselves . •:. WASHTENAW COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER· NOVEMBER 2010 PAGE 3 53 Years Ago: Memories of Fielding H. Yost November 1957 This excerpt is from an article written in 1957 by Ernest J. Allmendinger ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anative of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the November Impressions. After seeing Michigan Stadium in October Ernest Allmendinger played right guard and right 2010, it seems appropriate to look back to October-November 1957 and find tackle at Ann Arbor High School for teams that lost one game in three seasons. Allmendinger played the guard stories written even then, 53 years ago, about Fielding Yost. You can find this position at the University of Michigan from 1911-1913 artcle and one by Fred Lawson (also about Yost) in their entirety on our web­ under Fielding Yost.