Wisconsin Football Vault

Somehow, some way, my mom keeps finding new Badger-related reading material for birthday and Christmas gifts. Bless her heart!

This year for my birthday she gave me the University of Wisconsin Football Vault, written by Pat Richter, Vince Sweeney, and Justin Doherty.

At its heart, the "book" is a historical look at the program, with few new facts or anecdotes. Stories about Pat O'Dea, Ivy Williamson, Rufus Ferguson, et al, are well-known to any of us who have read Badger history books before. The pictures and layout are really nice, afforded by the large format.

What makes this offering outstanding, though, is the Badger football "artifacts" littered throughout the book. These are reproductions of game programs, a letter from O'Dea to Yale's athletic director, a Daily Cardinal song supplement, tickets, media credentials, O'Dea's Hall of Fame nomination, schedules, roster sheets, and camp brochures.

This stuff is really neat, worth the price of the book. The artwork on some of these things is phenomenal, and the language is interesting. I'm going to try to scan and post some of the artifacts, particularly the game programs, you'll enjoy them.

Check it out, you can buy it through Amazon.