A Celebration of Bo -- streaming video

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

The best thing about this, Bo and Woody get to watch tomorrow's game together. I'm sure those two will have more fun together than all of us combined.

RIP

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Bo Schembechler dead at 77
Friday, November 17, 2006

From The Ann Arbor News

Legendary University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler died today at age 77 from an apparent heart attack while taping a weekly television show.

Schembechler was rushed from the Channel 7 studio where he was taping "Big Ten Ticket'' to Providence Hospital in Southfield at 9:17 a.m.

Schembechler collapsed on Oct. 20, also while taping the program.

Michigan executive associate athletic director Mike Stevenson confirmed just after noon that Schembechler had died.

"You only meet someone like that once in a lifetime,'' Stevenson said. "In the history of Michigan athletics, nobody had a bigger impact. He was passionate, bright, and an unbelievable leader.

"He loved Michigan.''

The Barberton, Ohio, native took over a struggling program and half -empty stadium in 1969 and almost immediately restored Michigan to the nation's college football elite, upsetting top-ranked Ohio State later that fall and going on to 13 Big Ten titles, 17 bowl games, and 194 victories before retiring following the 1989 season because of heath concerns.

He never had a losing season at Michigan, served as athletic director from 1988 to 1990, and retired with a 194-48-5 overall record and a 143-24-3 record in Big Ten play that remains the best career coaching mark in the conference's 111-year history.

Perhaps more important to him than the record, however, was the program's reputation as one of the cleanest in college football.

"In a sport such as college football, where success, too often, is measured simply by the number of wins and losses, Bo's accomplishments elevate him to the highest rung of coaching excellence,'' former president Gerald R. Ford wrote in the forward to Schembechler's 2003 book, "Tradition.'' "The essence of Bo's legacy to the University of Michigan and beyond, however, transcends all the numbers of individual honors that fill all the record books. That's because it's impossible to attach numerical significance to the values of honesty dignity and integrity that have served as the hallmarks in Bo's life, both on and off the field.''

Schembechler, who had a pair of serious heart attacks and two open heart surgeries prior to his retirement, frankly addressed his history of cardiac trouble "Bo,'' a book he co-authored.

"Will I die from a heart attack? I've pretty much accepted that,'' Schembechler wrote. "I'll probably go through another episode before I'm finished here on earth.''

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

RIP.

No disrespect to Bo, his family, his fans, colleagues, etc.

But, is it me or is ESPN overplaying this story BIG time because it's the eve of the big game? What if he had passed away last week? Would ESPN News, ESPN, and ESPNU be covering this story the same way?

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Good question.

Answer: Yes, and no.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Schembechler, 77, collapses while taping TV show

Detroit News staff reports / The Detroit News

Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News

Former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler died Friday at Providence Hospital in Southfield. He was 77.
Schembechler was taping a television show at WXYZ-TV and was taken by ambulance to Providence.
The coaching legend fell ill at the studios, station officials said. Schembechler also was hospitalized Oct. 20 after becoming 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.
Lou Martin, a hospital spokesman, said Schembechler died at 11:42 p.m.
Dr. Robert Edwards, an emergency room physician, and Dr. Shukri David, the hospital's chief of cardiology, worked on the stricken Schembechler, according to hospital officials.
The hospital said it was planning a press conference at 2:15 p.m. that would be attended by the doctors, along with Dr. Kim Eagle, chief of cardiology for the university, and former U-M football players.
The news of the legendary coach's death spread quickly on the Ann Arbor campus, were some students were in tears.
A group of about 50 people watched as Coach Lloyd Carr and the football team solemnly boarded buses at Schembechler Hall for the trip to Columbus and Saturday's Big 10 game with rival Ohio State. There was a smattering of applause for the team.
Gary Boltman, an Ann Arbor resident who retired from General Motors, was among those who watched the team depart.
"It was hard watching the players. They were so sad-faced when they left here. The game is going to be hard to watch," he said.
Schembechler met with the media earlier this week to discuss Saturday's game between the second-ranked Wolverines and No. 1 Ohio State.
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 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.
Former Michigan coach Gary Moeller showed up at the hospital this morning shortly after hearing that Schembechler had collapsed. The grim-looking Moeller approached security guards at the hospital and said he wanted to talk to Schembechler's wife. "I just want to see Kathy," he said.
Former U-M player Jim Brandstatter also was among those who rushed to the hospital after hearing news reports.
Schembechler, a seven-time Big Ten coach of the year, compiled a 194-48-5 record at Michigan from 1969-89. His record in 26 years of coaching was 234-64-8.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

True story that shows you all at once Bo's class, charm, cantankerousness and humor.

I joined the AA News in December of 1996, so I missed that football season, meaning my first was the national championship season. During the 10 months between my arrival and the start of the season, I tried in vain to meet with Bo, introduce myself, etc. No go. Nada.

So, one night, midway through the season, I'm at a cocktail party with my wife, and Bo and his wife Cathy are there. My wife saunters up and introduces herself to Bo while I'm somewhere else. The two of them chat it up for like 15-20 minutes. Finally, she says (in her best Brooklyn forwardness), "So, Bo, what's the deal? You've talked to me for the last 20 minutes and my husband can't even get you on the phone."

Bo: "Well, my dear, because A) you're prettier than your husband and, B), more importantly, in 20 minutes I've come to realize you know more about football than your husband."

Gotta love him.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Hail to the victors, valiant...

RIP, Bo.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

I was just about to ask the same thing. It's July 9 and Bo Schembechler dies. How much play does this story get?

So what's the story -- Bo Schembechler's death, or BO SCHEMBECHLER'S DEATH ON THE EVE OF THE BIGGEST GAME IN OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN HISTORY??

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Those are good questions every page designer, editor, writer and columnist today has to ask his or her self.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Knowing you and your wife, Bo was right

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

I think it's an appropriate question, but I do think they'd play it the same way. He was a larger-than-life sports figure.

 

Re: Bo Schembechler dead....

Well, there's no denying the man was a genius, was perceptive and knew people quite well !