The Wolverine

she called me. I said, 'I don't want this book to be about me.' She said, 'Well, you know, Jon, if you really look, it's about a character named Jon Falk. This char- acter goes through 40 years and he describes how he got here, the things that happened, the people he knew and the people he influenced along the way.'" The Wolverine: Can you talk about a favorite story from the book? Falk: "I tell the story in the book about [former U-M running back] Butch Wool- folk. Butch hurt his ribs, so Bo called me in and he says, 'Now, Falk, Woolfolk has hurt his ribs, and we need to have him this Saturday. What are we going to do about it?' "I said, 'Well, Bo, I can go out and buy a pair of rib pads. They just came on the market, and they say that you can take a baseball bat and hit a man's ribs, and he won't feel a thing.' He said, 'Get those rib pads.' "So I went out and I bought the rib pads. They flew them in here the next day, and we had them for practice. I went in, in the morning, and the whole staff was in there. I put these rib pads on, and I had a baseball bat. "And I said, 'Here, Bo. I want you to try these rib pads.' The first two times, Bo was pretty good. He took the bat and he tapped my ribs a couple of times, here and there. And then all of a sudden, he hauls off and takes a full swing. "He hits me, and I bounce back about two feet. All the coaches are looking at me, and Bo looks at me, and I said, 'Bo, my ribs don't hurt, but I think I chipped about every tooth in my mouth.' Everybody just laughed. "But Butch wore those rib pads for the rest of the year. Those are the things I always like to do with the football coaches. It was one of two things. One, I've got a solution for you. Or number two, I already did it." The Wolverine: You never run out of Schembechler stories, do you? Falk: "He and [wife] Cathy went down to visit the Ohio State football team reunion in 2006. Monday morning, I went in to see Bo, and Bo said, 'Falk, you're not going to believe this. I was down in Columbus over the weekend, and those football players down at Ohio State came up and hugged me, put their arms around me. I was the football coach at the University of Michigan, but they treated me like a king …' "I said, 'Bo, don't you know? You're the last link to Woody [Hayes], and every- body wants to talk to you about Woody.' All of a sudden Bo stopped and said, 'you're right …' "Some of the guys who played for Bo down at Miami of Ohio called me up, and they want me to come down to a reunion in September. I told my wife, 'You know what? I'm going to do that. When I go down there, all those guys are going to talk to me about Bo. They're going to be able to relive their college days, through me, with Bo.' "I think that's good. You can't forget the past." — John Borton Falk's book is presently available on Amazon.com.

• Cover