Big Ten Country
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Bob Wood (author)
Robert Edward "Bob" Wood is an American author, teacher, activist, and potential candidate for Congress. As a 28 year-old high school history teacher from Kalamazoo, Michigan, , he wrote the 1988 best selling book Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks...
. Released in 1989, the book follows the 1988 Big Ten conference football season by visiting each of the ten universities over ten successive weekends. Just as in his first book, Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks
Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks
Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks: And All the Wieners In Between is a 1988 bestselling book by author Bob Wood. In 1985, the then-28-year-old Wood was a high-school history teacher in Seattle, Washington when he took a trip to all 26 Major League Baseball stadiums in one summer. Wood decided to assign...
, Wood rates the universities and their towns on everything from restaurants and bars to mascots and tailgating fans.
1. Notre Dame at Michigan State. Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan. September 17, 1988.
Highlights consist of a nostalgic look by the author back at his days as a Spartan undergrad. First of 842 references to "crisp" fall weather. He also interviews and profiles various members of the marching band in great detail. The author additionally alludes to a womanizing and beer drinking past whilst listening to Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
tapes.
2. Northern Illinois at Minnesota. Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota. September 24, 1988.
A visit to the long since abandoned and forgotten original football stadium for the Golden Gophers. Wood bemoans the fact that the Metrodome is not a good environment for a college football game. He additionally visits the infamous Dinkytown area made famous by Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
3. Michigan at Wisconsin. Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin. October 1, 1988.
Wood raves about how "Madison!" the town and college are. Exclamation points run rampant throughout the chapter. He discusses the infamous pranks pulled by the student government and describes a lovely and historic campus. A great deal of time is spent on the marching band's "5th Quarter" celebration after every game. Wood also tries and fails to explain a rivalry between the P and O sections of Camp Randall Stadium.4. Michigan State at Michigan. Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan. October 8, 1988.
The author visits several barber shops and gift shops in Ann Arbor and overcomes his hatred for U of M. Wood's highlights include a barber smock that features a U of M logo and a restaurant that places "An entire bottle of Heinz Ketchup on the table!"5. Michigan at Iowa. Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa. October 15, 1988.
Wood runs wild through Iowa City with the "Beer Band" the night before the game. The band plays fight songs at ten different bars in exchange for beer. The author also attends a pre-game breakfast pep rally where coach Hayden FryHayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
describes how Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
's dad was buried in a Hawkeye football jersey. Wood is also highly complimentary of the Iowa fans and their tailgating skills.
6. Michigan State at Illinois. Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois. October 22, 1988.
Wood discusses the history and love fans have for Chief IlliniwekChief Illiniwek
Chief Illiniwek was the mascot and the official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was portrayed by a student dressed in Sioux regalia to honor the Illiniwek, the...
. His attempts to interview him after a pep rally, prove unsuccessful. After the game Wood visits the graves of two former Illini coaches, one of which is Robert Zuppke
Robert Zuppke
Robert Carl Zuppke was an American football coach. He served the head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1913 until 1941, compiling a career college football record of 131–81–12. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, Zuppke coached his...
, and sees an orange Illinois balloon drift down from the sky and then blow away.
7. Iowa at Indiana. Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana. October 29, 1988.
The author spends most of the chapter on IU basketball, his love for Bobby KnightBobby Knight
-Indiana:When Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale....
, and his fruitless attempt to interview his hero. The football stadium is described as bland and the IU fans are belittled for not having good tailgating skills. Wood however is happy when he finds a restaurant in Bloomington that places an entire bottle of Heinz Ketchup on the table.
8. Michigan State at Purdue. Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana. November 5, 1988.
Wood describes West Lafayette and Purdue as being boring, but he does highlight the great history of Purdue quarterbacks with Len DawsonLen Dawson
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
, Bob Griese
Bob Griese
Robert Allen "Bob" Griese is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins...
, and Jim Everett
Jim Everett
James Samuel Everett III is a retired professional American football quarterback who played for twelve seasons in the National Football League ....
. He additionally spends a great deal of time with the Purdue band and the Boilermaker Special
Boilermaker Special
The Boilermaker Special is the official mascot of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It resembles a Victorian-era railroad locomotive and is built on a truck chassis...
. Wood raves about Purdue's natural grass field. At the time it was the only grass field in the Big 10. Sadly, he is once again frustrated to find weak tailgating skills with the Purdue fans.
9. Purdue at Northwestern. Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois. November 12, 1988.
Wood spends a cold, creepy night with a sorority pledge master named Verna at The RockThe Rock (Northwestern University)
The Rock is a boulder on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, located in between University Hall and Harris Hall. It serves as a billboard for campus groups and events.-History:...
on the Northwestern campus. He attempts to explain the odd tradition of painting the rock at night by any group that desires to do so. The author also describes a cold wet game with so few fans that, "It felt like a high school contest." He visits with several die hard Wildcats fans that had suffered through a record setting 34 game losing streak. The chapter also focuses on the high academic ratings of the Northwestern players and how they had the only female Sports Information Director.
10. Michigan at Ohio State. Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio. November 19, 1988.
The chapter covers the Woody HayesWoody Hayes
Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University , Miami University , and Ohio State University , compiling a career college football record of 238–72–10.During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio...
legacy and the intensity of the Michigan and Ohio State rivalry. Wood spends time in Papa Joe's Bar in Columbus and interviews the member of the Ohio State Marching Band that dots the "i" in the script Ohio at the game. The chapter and the book concludes with Wood receiving his first press credential and being allowed to sit in on Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
's victorious post-game press conference.