MZone Time Machine: September 16, 1978

Knowing my love of all things Michigan, a friend recently gave me some old game programs from his youth.  Among them was the program for Michigan's season opener against Illinois on September 16, 1978.

ABOUT THAT YEAR:

*  1978 was Bo's 10th year at the helm of the Wolverines and that November would be the last time Bo and Woody would face off against one another in "The Ten Year War."
* Bo's record at Michigan entering 1978 was 83-13-3, a winning percentage of .867.
* 1978 marked the senior campaign of Michigan QB Rick Leach who would finish 3rd in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind winner and future Detroit Lion, RB Billy Sims, and runner-up, Penn State QB Chuck Fusina.  In 4th place was future 1979 Heisman Trophy winner, USC RB Charles "Phantom Touchdown" White.
* Michigan would finish the 1978 season 10-2, losing to USC in the Rose Bowl, with said-Phantom Touchdown being the difference.
* Michigan finished 7-1 in the Big 10, tied for 1st, with their lone league setback being a 24-15 loss to MSU who shared the league title with U-M but, due to probation, was unable to go to a bowl game.
* Michigan was ranked #5 in both the final AP and UPI polls marking the 10th consecutive year Bo's teams finished the season ranked in the top 10.

THE STAFF:

Check out Bo's assistant coaches in '78:

* The defensive coordinator was Bill McCartney, architect of Bo's 1980 defense known as McCartney's Monsters which didn't allow a touchdown in the last 5 1/2 games and delivered Bo his first Rose Bowl victory against Washington. McCartney went on to coach at Colorado wear he won a share of the National Title in 1990.
* The offensive backs coach was future West Virginia head coach Don Nehlen, who was rumored to have advised Rich Rodriguez to take the Michigan job when it was offered to him.
* The defensive backs coach was Jack Harbaugh, father of former Michigan All-American QB and current Standford head coach, Jim Harbaugh.

INSIDE THE PROGRAM:

In the days before one could go to MDen.com and choose from thousands of Michigan-themed items, the ad shown below was only one of two in the entire 76 page program hawking Michigan merchandise (the other for The Wolverine Bucket, a winged helmet-shaped ice bucket).

My favorite item is the "University of Michigan Patron's Pass" for $25 which, according to the ad, "allows you and a guest to attend every Michigan Varsity Athletic Even (*Note exceptions) during the 1978-79 Season."

And just what were those exceptions you ask?  Well...

"NOT GOOD FOR football, basketball, hockey or Big 10 or NCAA Championship Events...All other Men and Women's events are included!"

No football, basketball or hockey?  Uh, just how much were women's tennis matches and men's track and field events in '78?

And apparently if you were a guy and wanted to model Michigan gear in '78, there was some kind of law that you had to have a pretty damn good sized mustache.

The most numerous ads in the program were for cars, with six auto ads in this program. Gotta love the one below. So just what "sporty features you'd pay extra for in many other cars" came standard with the '79 Oldsmobile Starfire?  Well, they list 8 of them below with #2 being the one that I'm sure sealed the deal for many a car buyer in the days of disco: AM radio.

"Alright, alright, alright."

ED. NOTE:  Might make this a regular feature here on the MZone.  So if you have any old programs with something you find amusing in them, please send us a jpeg of the cover and jpegs of the funny from inside.