Hatch and The Tradition of Retiring Jerseys
Hatch also began the tradition of retiring jersey numbers at Michigan. The first jersey Hatch retired was the No. 47 jersey worn by Bennie Oosterbaan. After Oosterbaan graduated in the 1920s, Hatch said, "Nobody's ever going to make All-American three years running again. I'm not going to give Bennie's number out." As Tom Harmon finished his playing career at Michigan, Hatch decided Harmon's No. 98 jersey would join Oosterbaan's as the second to be retired. One newspaper reported: "Ol' 98 will be folded carefully and laid away to rest in the Michigan Niche of Fame. That is the decree announced by Henry Hatch, Ann Arbor equipment manager." And when Harmon completed his final game, the United Press reported: "The book was closed on number 98 today, and Equipment Manager Henry Hatch of Michigan university put it reverently away in a musty trunk beside number 47." The other of the four original retired numbers (see main image above) are No. 87, which belongs to Ron Kramer and No. 11, which belongs to the Wistert brothers.
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“He looked at Senator Hatch and said, “I’m going to make her cry. I’m going to sing ‘Dixie’ until she cries.” And I looked at him and said, “Senator Helms, your singing would make me cry if you sang ‘Rock of Ages’.””
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