The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70129
New Book Focuses On Michigan's Heisman Winners INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS construction project manager out of Ra- leigh, N.C., has self-published a book of interest to those attuned to the Maize and Blue. It's entitled: 98-21-2: The Story of the Heisman and the Michigan Man. The numbers, of course, adorned Michi- Martin Gallagher, a Michigan fan and gan's three Heisman winners: Tom Har- mon, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson. Gallagher provided some in- sight into his labor of love. The Wolverine: What inspired you to Packard Road, and my dad invested in some season tickets. "We were walking to The Big House through the golf course. It's just some- thing that always stuck with me. self-publishing a book. Gallagher: "It's a lot of hard work. I The Wolverine: Describe the process of " pursue a book like this? Gallagher: "My dad and I are pretty big Michigan fans. He lives in Chicago, and I live down here in North Carolina. We're always talking Wolverines back and forth, in addition to everything else in life. "I've always been that guy that had the fact that nobody else could figure out. My dad finally just challenged me: 'Hey son, you need to write a book. wanted to have a pro-Michigan book out there. When I embarked on this journey, it was before the season last year, in Feb- ruary. "Brady Hoke had just been hired, and of the book? Gallagher: "The biggest thing was, I The Wolverine: What's the main thrust '" learned it's going to take a ton of time, no matter how you do it. CreateSpace is who I went through, with Amazon. You can pay for as much as you want, or do as much as you want yourself. I did as much as I could myself. "I learned a lot in the process. Each ren- there can ever know what that means, but there are obviously some great mem- ories, plays, facts. A lot of people know about those, but I tried to take it a step farther and looked up what these guys do after football. "At the end of the day, it lets you know dition of the book looked a lot better. I got some tips from some friends who actually work in print. But if there is a will there is a way. "What I learned through the process is, that the Michigan Man means a lot more than being in the NFL. You look at Charles Woodson and Braylon Edwards and all the charity stuff they do. You go back to Tom Harmon and Bob Westfall and Bob Chappuis — they were all war heroes. So the Michigan Man gets defined in a way it's never been defined. "As a former Army officer, I started read- there is never a good time to do anything. I was very busy at work, but if you put your mind to something you'll make the time, you'll stay up late, 5-Hour Energy, whatever. aspect of the book? Gallagher: "I tied in the Michigan Man aspect, and only guys who have played I wanted to point out some of the great moments in Michigan history. I wanted to keep it true to Michigan. It all starts with Bo's message about the team, and I make it very clear that the Heisman Trophy is never the goal, but along the way, there is this great story where 21 guys have competed for the Heisman Trophy. "I found some percentages that were interested in the more obscure facts re- garding Michigan football? Gallagher: "Yes. It's a curiosity, and I just pretty amazing. Michigan has won 72 percent of their games all time, and with Heisman contenders playing on the team, they've won 79 percent of the time. The Wolverine: Have you always been " The Wolverine: What is your favorite " ing about Tom Harmon and Bob Chap- puis, and it was just amazing. Both these guys were shot out of planes in combat, and survived. Even though they were football superstars, they've been through more outside of football than most of us can imagine. through Amazon.com, CreateSpace, Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, and others. It is also in the M-Den online and in stores as well). (Gallagher's book is available online " — John Borton THE STORY OF THE HEISMAN AND THE MICHIGAN MAN 98-21-2 HARMON, HOWARD, WOODSON... 21 TOTAL MICHIGAN GREATS… THE AWARD THAT IS NEVER THE GOAL…. started looking stuff up. Some 76 percent of Super Bowl winners had a Michigan guy on the team, everything from the kickers and special teams players. If you start digging through rosters, there is some amazing research you can do on the Internet. lowing Michigan? Gallagher: "I'm an Army brat, so I moved The Wolverine: How did you start fol- " around quite a bit, but I did spend some very impressionable years in Ann Arbor. During the late '80s, my dad was teach- ing ROTC at Michigan. We were living off MAY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 15 The complete history of Michigan and the Heisman from 1940 to today. Harmon to Shoelace, War Heroes to Charity Stars… The three winners and those who came close. This book outlines each of these journeys from the Big House to the Heisman and beyond... NEW RELEASE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THE M DEN