The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 61 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? against Woody Hayes, that was pretty special for a small-town Ohio kid." It wasn't too bad walking out of the Rose Bowl, even after a gut- wrenching 17-10 loss to USC. "Talk about a wonderful experi- ence, to be a part of the Rose Bowl," Dickey said. "You watch it on TV growing up, and to be there on the field is incredible. "When the game was over, we're heading out to the bus. By that time it's dark — the security lights were on and the big lights were dark. I re- member walking around the stadium and looking out. "The fog was rolling in and the turf was all chewed up. What a cool scene. There was just a heck of a bat- tle that took place out there for three and a half hours." The scene grew even cooler for Dickey over the following few months. Locked in a battle with good friend (to this day) John Wangler, the option QB won out over the drop- back passer. Dickey, who labored two seasons behind Leach, finally got his shot. "It was probably a tough decision for Bo," Dickey admitted. "But I had some experience, and I ran the op- tion. I have to assume I fit it a little bit better at that point." Despite agonizing over a 12-10 home loss to Notre Dame, the Wol- verines ran off wins in eight of their first nine. For Dickey, none proved bigger than a trip to East Lansing. "Going into that game, we had lost to Michigan State the year before, Rick's senior year," Dickey said. "At that point, it was really unthinkable to lose two years in a row to the Spartans. They were obviously good. The year before, they'd shared the Big Ten title. "We're playing at Michigan State, in a nationally televised game, and both of us were in the top 10 in the country. Back then, there were only one or two nationally televised games." The beginning of the game proved inauspicious for the new starter. "I was nervous," Dickey acknowl- edged. "It was a big game. The first couple passes, I threw one up into the stands. Bo yells, 'Are you nervous?' and I yell, "Yes!' But we settled down and got the running game going." The Wolverines ran away from the Spartans 21-7, providing one of Dickey's most memorable moments as a starter. Another occurred three games later, at Homecoming ver- sus Indiana. Only this time, Dickey couldn't raise his arms in triumph. Everybody remembers Michigan 27, Indiana 21, Wangler to Anthony Carter on the last-second toss that set The Big House ablaze. But Wangler stood on the field to make that throw because Dickey's career as a starter came to a crushing end. "Unfortunately, I ran the ball and separated my shoulder," he recalled. "It was devastating, because you work so hard to be in that position. It's really difficult mentally, when you know you can't play. "It popped out. I heard it and felt it. At that point, it's like I want to go back in, but I know that I can't." Dickey sat out Michigan's break- through 1980 season, still nursing his shoulder. He stayed full engaged, rooting for teammates and U-M broadcasting icon Bob Ufer, who suc- cumbed to cancer the following year. "We presented him with a game ball that season, and he broke down and was pretty emotional in a full team meeting," Dickey noted. "He said that was the only time he'd been given a game ball. I get emotional now, thinking about it." Dickey came back as a fifth-year senior in 1981, seeing the field in six games while backing up Steve Smith. Dickey then packed his bags and went on to four decades in sales man- agement, from Pepsi to Proctor & Gamble to his present job with Mon- tage Furniture Services, handling the eastern third of the United States. He would do it all again, Dickey assured. "The folks I played with, the folks I still stay in touch with … what great athletes that you now know are just great people," he said. "What a privi- lege and a pleasure and a blessing to have been friends and still be friends with those guys." ❏ The B.J. Dickey File Michigan Accomplishments: Performed on two Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl squads … Threw for 788 yards and eight touchdowns as a U-M quar- terback, and rushed for 516 with seven scores … Started seven games in 1979, before injuring his shoulder. Professional Accomplishments: Has spent nearly 40 years in sales/sales man- agement/leadership/development for a host of companies. Michigan Memory: "The first time I ran into Michigan Stadium, the enormity of the place was overwhelming," Dickey said. "Having the opportunity to get to play in that large of a stadium was an incredible experience. "The education, the degree, the doors that U-M education is able to open, the people I've been able to meet through the years in business and personally, it just makes you realize what a wonderful experience it is and how lucky I am to have been able to go to Michigan." Education: Earned a B.A. in education in December 1981. Family: Dickey and wife, Karen, have three children, Alyssa, 30, (married to Matt Sierawski), Erika, 26, and Jason, 25. Dickey (with, from left to right, wife Karen, son Jason, and daughters Erika and Alyssa) has spent nearly 40 years in sales/sales management/leadership/development for several companies. PHOTO COURTESY B.J. DICKEY