The Bentley Historical Library will close at 3:00 p.m. on September 30, 2024

Making Michigan Series

Join us for the Bentley Historical Library’s series of talks exploring the history of the University of Michigan.


A smiling man points to the Little Brown Jug trophy, with text that says: Making Michigan, The Little Brown Jug: Myths and Mysteries of College Football's Oldest Trophy, at the Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor, Thursday, September 26, 7:00 PM EDT

The Little Brown Jug: Myths & Mysteries of College Football’s Oldest Trophy
September 26, 2024; 7:00 PM EDT
Attend in-person at the Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor
OR online

Over 110 years ago, a five-gallon pottery jug became one of Michigan football’s longest traditions.

Join us for this free talk about the unique history of the Little Brown Jug trophy, by U-M’s Lecturer Greg Dooley, as we dive into the many myths and questions surrounding the Jug’s history, and explore stories from the early years of the B1G and college football.

Greg Dooley is a full-time lecturer at the University of Michigan, where he teaches three courses, including ‘The History of College Athletics.’

Dooley frequently appears as a guest on local radio shows, history documentaries, and as a speaker for U-M Alumni Clubs, teams, and groups. He has also covered the history and culture of Michigan sports for over 20 years at MVictors.com. 

>> If you’d like to attend this event IN PERSON at the Observatory, register here

>> If you’d like to attend this event VIRTUALLY, register here

Watch previous lectures

Secret Histories: Uncovering the Hidden Truths of U-M’s Past 

Making Big History: Adding Billions of Years to Students’ Education

How U-M’s First Hospital Made History – with Joel Howell

Four Years of “Making Michigan” and Four Decades at Michigan: Some Reflections – with Gary Krenz

A Stunning Achievement: The Improbable Collaboration of the Bentley Library and the Vatican Archives

More Than “First Do No Harm”: Modeling Global Engagement with the U-M/Ghana Partnership

A City’s Conscience: The Life and Career of Josephine Gomon

Wolverine Writers II: Stories of Fire, Ice, and Rebirth 

Poets at Michigan: Then and Now

A Library for All: U-M, Google, and the Importance of Having a Copy

Keeping Resistance Alive: Chandler Davis and Academic Freedom at U-M

Fifty Years of Native American Student Activism with Bethany Hughes 

A Difficult Archive: Reckoning with U-M’s Complicity in the U.S. Colonization of the Philippines with Deirdre de la Cruz

To Put Living Force Into the Symbols: The Journeys of Anatol Rapaport

Wolverine Writers: History and Storytelling Across Campus and through the Years

Seeing Anew Symposium 1: The Observatory and 19th-Century Science and Scholarship 

Seeing Anew Symposium 2: The Observatory in the History of Astronomy

Seeing Anew Symposium 3: The Observatory as an Historic Site for Contemporary Education

Seeing Anew Keynote: Astrophysicist Brian Nord in conversation with Gary Krenz

The McCarthy-Era Red Scare in Michigan: Its Meaning, Then and Now with David Maraniss

Sing to the Colors: My Complicated Love Song to the University with James Tobin

Conquering Heroines: How Women Fought Sex Bias at Michigan and Paved the Way for Title IX with Sara Fitzgerald

Michigan Football Game Films, 1930-1986: Digitizing Game-Day History with Brian Williams and Greg Kinney

Undermining Racial Justice at the University of Michigan with Matthew Johnson 

Pathways to Greatness: How the University of Michigan Became a World-Class University…and What it Cost with Terry McDonald

Campus Chords: Devotional Harmonies and the Dissonance of Difference in the University of Michigan’s Songbook with Mark Clague

Constructing Gender: The Origins of the Michigan League and Michigan Union with Nancy Bartlett and Sarah McLusky

Anti-Fascism at U-M: Defending Democracy During the Spanish Civil War with Juli Highfill

Radical Roots, Contested Place: African American and African Studies at U-M with Stephen Ward

The Boundaries of Pluralism: The World of the University of Michigan’s Jewish Students from 1897 – 1945 with Andrei Markovits and Kenneth Garner

Stars Rising: Why U-M’s Detroit Observatory Matters — and Where It’s Going with Gary Krenz

Lilly Stalks, Pounded Murphies and Caramel Ice Cream: Investigating the Food System that Fed U-M Students a Century Ago with Lisa Young

“We must work off our surplus animal spirits”: 19th-Century Origins of Athletic Competition at the University of Michigan with Greg Kinney and Brian Williams

Telling the Truth About the Liberal Arts: Histories and Futures with Terry McDonald

Coeducation for Democracy: The Changing Moral Vision for Educating the Sexes at U-M, 1870-1920 with Andrea Turpin