Voice of Michigan’s Bob Ufer still resonates with fans
By Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The primary issue surrounding Brandon seems to be that he is too concerned with the business aspect of the job. It's a stunning evolution from nearly 50 years ago, when a Michigan representative went to the private sector to find a businessman, seeking to modernize the athletic department.
In early 1968, former U-M track All-America Bob Ufer knew a former teammate would be a perfect fit.
"As they say, we know the rest of the story,"
Canham gave Ufer many thanks over the years, from acknowledging it in his book, "From the Inside" to a letter recently discovered from Canham dated the day he took over as athletic director on
"What a sensation," Canham wrote. "One guy did it all. That was
Primarily an
He just loved Michigan enough to want to see the best.
Anything but ordinary
It's difficult to imagine a broadcaster having that pull these days, but Ufer was anything but ordinary.
On
Just steps from Fielding Yost's resting place -- as he desired -- Ufer was laid to rest 33 years ago. Yet his presence remains vibrant in the Michigan community.
Current U-M play-by-play man
Though more than three decades and hundreds of miles removed from Ufer's last broadcast, the Michigan broadcasting legend's audio signature remained vibrant. Brandstatter, who played at U-M and was a media member toward the final decade of Ufer's reign, later sent Gruden a Ufer DVD to let him bask in the legend.
From 1945 to 1976, Ufer was the grassroots voice of Michigan football. Starting at
So when WJR switched from Michigan State to Michigan in 1976, Ufer was the obvious choice for the 50,000-watt behemoth. The same year, Ufer was a central figure in helping President
"
Ufer became a sensation on the coattails of
(Ufer was also the first one to tell Canham to look at hiring Schembechler before the 1969 season, according to
"His style, his unique love of Michigan got to a much larger audience," Brandstatter said.
Still everywhere
More than three decades after his death, Ufer is still everywhere.
His family's tailgate at the
During Michigan football's bye weekends in the fall, Ufer's voice emerges with a classic game broadcast on
The fund-raising at the event -- now more than
And it's almost impossible to stroll through the
You can still hear his voice, from pre-Rose Bowl pep rally passion speeches to the wild shrill during
But Ufer was more than just a voice for U-M. He ran a 40-year thread through the U-M athletic department, from setting the world quarter-mile indoor record as a Michigan sprinter in 1942 to constant local promotion as a program ambassador with recruits (when that was still permitted) to his involvement in the Canham and Schembechler hires.
As Michigan football flounders on the field, fans become nostalgic for the legends of the glory days, and Ufer's memory ignites memories of a dominance long passed.
"People want positive,"
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