Legendary football coach Bo Schembechler dies

[Darth Drabek]

Ex-Michigan coach Schembechler dies at 77

(http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/140508,mich111706.article)

 

November 17, 2006

 

BY LARRY LAGE Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---- Bo Schembechler, who became one of college football's great coaches in two decades at Michigan, died Friday after taping a TV show on the eve of the Wolverines' No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with perennial rival Ohio State. He was 77.

 

Schembechler collapsed during the taping of a television show in Southfield and was taken by ambulance to an area hospital. His death at 11:42 a.m. was confirmed by Mike Dowd, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office in Oakland County.

 

The coaching legend fell ill at the studios at WXYZ-TV in Southfield, the station said. Schembechler also was hospitalized Oct. 20 after falling ill at the same location.

 

Police were sent to the station around 9:25 a.m. along with the city's fire department and escorted an ambulance to Providence Hospital, Southfield police spokesman John Harris said.

 

Schembechler met with the media earlier this week to discuss The Game.

 

During the news conference, the 77-year-old discussed the device that was implanted to regulate his heartbeat after he was hospitalized last month.

 

He said the device covered about half his chest and that doctors still were making adjustments to it.

 

Schembechler said he did not plan to attend the game in Columbus, Ohio, and that he didn't attend road games anymore.

 

Schembechler had a heart attack on the eve of his first Rose Bowl in 1970 and another one in 1987. He has had two quadruple heart bypass operations.

 

The seven-time Big Ten coach of the year compiled a 194-48-5 record at Michigan from 1969-89. Schembechler's record in 26 years of coaching was 234-64-8.

 

Schembechler's Wolverines were 11-9-1 against the Buckeyes. But fans in both states generally agree that the rivalry's prime years were 1969-78, when Schembechler opposed his friend and coaching guru, Woody Hayes. Ohio State prevailed in those meetings, going 5-4-1.

 

''It was a very personal rivalry,'' Earle Bruce, who succeeded Hayes as coach, once said. ''And for the first and only time, it was as much about the coaches as it was about the game.

 

''Bo and Woody were very close because Bo played for Woody at Miami of Ohio, then coached with him at Ohio State. But their friendship was put on hold when Bo took the Michigan job because it was the protege against mentor.''

 

Savoring the decade of drama in 2003, Schembechler said, ''It doesn't get any better than that, does it?''

 

Thirteen of Schembechler's Michigan teams either won or shared the Big Ten championship. Fifteen of them finished in The Associated Press Top 10, with the 1985 team finishing No. 2.

 

Seventeen of Schembechler's 21 Michigan teams earned bowl berths. Despite a .796 regular-season winning percentage, his record in bowls was a disappointing 5-12, including 2-8 in Rose Bowls.

 

The mythical national championship eluded Schembechler, but he said that never bothered him.

 

''If you think my career has been a failure because I have never won a national title, you have another think coming,'' Schembechler said a few weeks before coaching his final game. ''I have never played a game for the national title. Our goals always have been to win the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl. If we do that, then we consider it a successful season.''

 

While Schembechler loved coaching, he was less enamored with some other aspects of college football. In his 1989 book ''Bo,'' co-written with Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom, Schembechler decried drugs, sports agents and the pressures of recruiting.

 

''Recruiting is the worst part of college football,'' he wrote. ''I no longer look forward to it. I can't wait until it's over. It makes me feel like a pimp.''

 

Michigan's most valuable player award and the football building on campus are named for Schembechler. The office he maintained in the building after he retired prominently displayed a picture of him with Hayes.

 

Schembechler was inducted into the Miami University Hall of Fame in 1972, the State of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1992, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

 

Edited: It was even longer before.

Edited November 17, 2006 by Darth Drabek

[kumquatq3]

....this effects the Bears how?

[Darth Drabek]

....this effects the Bears how?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ha ha. In Ohio, we consider the Buckeyes more of a pro team than the Browns or the Ocho Cinco sideshow known as the Bengals.

 

I didn't go to OSU, but I grew up in Youngstown, where Jim Tressel led the Youngstown State University Penguins to a handful on national championships in the 90s. I remember when they played Alcorn State back in '94, maybe... the game was actually televised on ESPN because this QB from Alcorn State was breaking all sorts of records (bonus points to name him )).

 

Well, the Penguins handed them a pretty sound defeat that day and shut down that certain QB. Now Tressel's on a bigger stage at OSU, but he's got the whole state behind him. He's put together a good record in the biggest rivalry in college football, but the death of this legend could push the Wolverines' motivation level even higher.

[kumquatq3]

Having the majority of my family in Akron/Cleveland area, I know all about the Buckeye love.

 

That's why I'm routing for Michigan.

 

That will teach the Cavs to beat the Bulls.

 

 

Plus, good chance if Ohio losses that they still make the BCS championship

[Darth Drabek]

Some of the talking heads have been going on and on about how if either team loses and ends up with just the one loss (especially if it's OSU) that it would be possible for a rematch in the BCS championship.

 

I don't know... it would be interesting to see, because it's so hard to beat a team twice. But I think a strong team from another division should have a chance, too.

[Volourn]

So legendary.. that I never heard of him 'til now. <.

 

More seriously, it's always sad when some has died (unless they are beyond evil) so sad news indeed. May those who actually cared about him (his family and friends) remember him for his life.

[kumquatq3]

Some of the talking heads have been going on and on about how if either team loses and ends up with just the one loss (especially if it's OSU) that it would be possible for a rematch in the BCS championship.

 

I don't know... it would be interesting to see, because it's so hard to beat a team twice. But I think a strong team from another division should have a chance, too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This will be the only full college game I intend to watch all season.

 

Untill there is a playoff system, I have no interest in watching.

[kumquatq3]

So legendary.. that I never heard of him 'til now. <.

 

So someone can't be legendary if you don't know them?

 

I AM LEGEND!

[Darth Drabek]

Schembechler's death quiets game talk

 

By RUSTY MILLER

AP Sports Writer

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio

[kalimeeri]

Sad to hear that. I was at University of Michigan during the Schembechler/Hayes rivalry, and nobody could help being caught up in it. Woody Hayes eventually got fired from Ohio because of his temper, I think.

[Darth Drabek]

Well, IIRC, Woody punched a heckler on the sidelines. Or maybe it was a journalist, I can't remember.

 

What a coach!

 

Anyway, Buckeyes won it in a hell of a game. Those are definitely the two best teams in the country.

[thepixiesrock]

Hey, I'm from Michigan!

[metadigital]

Condolences!