The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/447116
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? win for Michigan. "That disturbed me. We still carry the scars from that. Those were great teams — 31-2-1, and we went to one bowl game." The '73 Ohio State-Michigan show - down pegged the an- ger meter into the red zone. Not so much be- cause of the 10-10 tie at Michigan Stadium, fea- turing the 10-0-1 Wol- verines battling back from a 10-0 halftime deficit and dominating the second half. No, the lit fuse re- sulted from the sub- sequent vote of Big Ten athletic directors — some swayed by Franklin breaking his collarbone late in the game — to send the Buckeyes to Pasadena. Schembechler seethed over the decision, while he and his play - ers never forgot it. "Unbeknownst to some athletic directors, our backup quarterback, Larry Cipa, who went on to play in the National Football League, was more than ade - quate, and was a great football player in his own right," Thornbladh said. "He ended up playing three or four years for the New Orleans Saints. "What I think happened was, the Ohio State people got on the phone and worked it pretty hard, and it ended up that we lost the vote. It was a great dis - appointment to us." Thornbladh still feels that punch in the gut, and bore witness to Schem- bechler's fury over it for years after. "It was tough," Thornbladh stressed. "He swore he would never forget it. He swore to us that those athletic directors at those schools that had voted against us would pay. That no team at Michigan, as long as he coached, would go into those games with - out understanding that those schools voted against us … and he kept that vow. "In fact, 10 years later, he would be tell - ing these kids, 'These guys voted against us! They screwed us! We're going to get them!' The kids looked at me like, 'What is he talking about?' "I said, 'They made the coach mad.' They'd say, 'Okay, then.' They d i d n ' t u n d e r s t a n d what it was about. But he never forgot that, and he kept that vow to the teams." Drafted in the 11th round by the Kan - sas City Chiefs, Thornbladh performed one season in the NFL under Hank Stram. Traded to the Detroit Lions the following season, he was cut in mid- September and put out a call to Schem- bechler. "Get back here," his former coach told him. Thornbladh coached at Michigan from 1976‑86, first as a graduate assistant then as a full‑time assis‑ tant, and worked as a color com‑ mentator for Wolverine football games in the mid‑to‑late 1980s. PHOTO COURTESY BOB THORNBLADH