Jim Harbaugh visits Bo Schembechler's grave, smashes buckeye (Video)
Dating back to 1997, a group of Michigan fans have made a trek to the graves of Michigan coaches Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler (who passed away in 2006) and radio broadcaster Bob Ufer on the Tuesday before the Michigan-Ohio State game. This time around, the group had a special guest: Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.
According to the Detroit News, approximately 200 fans participated on Tuesday night to pay tribute. Jeffrey Holzhausen, the fan who organizes the event, said he didn’t know the coach was there until Harbaugh asked to say a few words.
“I had no idea he was there,” Holzhausen said. “It’s Michigan magic and tradition all in one spot. It meant the world to me.”
Accompanied by his father Jack Harbaugh (who coached on Schembechler’s staff) and 15-year-old daughter, Jim Harbaugh talked about Schembechler’s impact.
From the Detroit News:
“Bo was my coach,” Harbaugh said. “I first met him when I was nine years old when my dad coached here at Michigan. He was the secondary coach. He was larger than life to our family. Excited and enthusiasm beyond what anybody could imagine. He would let us come to practice. We were ball boys, my brother John and I.
“And getting to play for coach Schembechler, what I can tell you is this, everything I base my entire professional life on and my personal life was learned here at the University of Michigan. It’s rooted at the University of Michigan, it was experienced at the University of Michigan. And it’s the team, the team, the team. We win as a team. Everybody does a little, and it adds up to a lot. When it came to honor, integrity, doing things at the highest level, Bo Schembechler set the standard.
“I draw daily inspiration from coach Schembechler, like so many that knew him, anybody that knew him, anybody that was associated with him, anybody that played for him or anybody that coached with him, he set the standard at the very highest level. One of the greatest of all time, Bo Schembechler.”
After Harbaugh’s speech, Holzhausen asked him if he would smash a buckeye, and Harbaugh did just that.
Jim Harbaugh also smashed a buckeye with a maize hammer at the foot of Bo Schembechler's grave: pic.twitter.com/AWdLt6swic
— Derick Hutchinson (@Derick_Hutch) November 25, 2015
The group then paid their respects at the graves of Ufer and Yost and sang UM’s alma mater and fight song. And before the night was over, the group, at Harbaugh’s request, honored Chad Carr, the grandson of longtime Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr, who passed away from brain cancer earlier in the week at just five years old.
Saturday’s game between the Wolverines and Buckeyes kicks off at noon at Michigan Stadium.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
