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| Michigan Wolverines...filled with spirit and much more that the state's nickname. |
MICHIGAN NICKNAME: WOLVERINES
If you’re ever watching the television program “Unsolved Mysteries,” don’t be surprised if the
University of Michigan nickname isn’t examined. Since the earliest memories of Michigan athletics,
its teams have been known as the Wolverines. However, there is no known reason why this animal
was ever associated with the university. There has never been a verified trapping of a wolverine
inside the state, nor have there been any skeletal remains of a wolverine found that would suggest a
history with the state.
The nickname topic has been debated through the years. Legendary Michigan football coach shared
his theory when he wrote about the subject in the 1944 Michigan Quarterly Review. Yost thought the
nickname evolved from the trading of wolverine pelts at a Sault Ste. Marie trading station. The fur
traders may have referred to the Michigan trappers as “Michigan Wolverines.” This fact would have
led to the state nickname and eventually to the University.
Albert H. Marckwardt described another theory eight years later in the 1952 Michigan Quarterly
Review. His thoughts focused on when the French first settled Michigan in the late 1700s. Their
appetites were so gluttonous or “wolverine-like” that the wolverine name was given to them.
A border dispute between Michigan and Ohio in 1803 is the catalyst for the third nickname theory.
While the two sides fought over the proper establishment of the state line, the Michiganders were
said to have called themselves wolverines for their fierce negotiating skills. The Ohio version leaned
more to the wolverine name being more associated with gluttonous “wolverine” habits of the
Michigan natives.
If you’re ever watching the television program “Unsolved Mysteries,” don’t be surprised if the
University of Michigan nickname isn’t examined. Since the earliest memories of Michigan athletics,
its teams have been known as the Wolverines. However, there is no known reason why this animal
was ever associated with the university. There has never been a verified trapping of a wolverine
inside the state, nor have there been any skeletal remains of a wolverine found that would suggest a
history with the state.
The nickname topic has been debated through the years. Legendary Michigan football coach shared
his theory when he wrote about the subject in the 1944 Michigan Quarterly Review. Yost thought the
nickname evolved from the trading of wolverine pelts at a Sault Ste. Marie trading station. The fur
traders may have referred to the Michigan trappers as “Michigan Wolverines.” This fact would have
led to the state nickname and eventually to the University.
Albert H. Marckwardt described another theory eight years later in the 1952 Michigan Quarterly
Review. His thoughts focused on when the French first settled Michigan in the late 1700s. Their
appetites were so gluttonous or “wolverine-like” that the wolverine name was given to them.
A border dispute between Michigan and Ohio in 1803 is the catalyst for the third nickname theory.
While the two sides fought over the proper establishment of the state line, the Michiganders were
said to have called themselves wolverines for their fierce negotiating skills. The Ohio version leaned
more to the wolverine name being more associated with gluttonous “wolverine” habits of the
Michigan natives.
Mascots, Nicknames & More |