The 'M' Tradition
The celebrated varsity ‘M’ award dates its origins to 1864, when university baseball clubs began presenting the letter to distinguished players.[1] This was a tradition which arose at other universities around the same time, raising the question as to which school had the first varsity award. While Michigan’s award predates Harvard by a year, it is Harvard that is believed to have awarded the first “varsity” letter in 1865.[2] Michigan only suffers this claim by not having a recognizable “varsity” team during those years.
Photographs (in order): 1. 1883 baseball team with old English 'M'. 2. 1888 baseball team, first block character. 3. 1891 baseball team, with serifs. 4. 1895 baseball team, with 'M' resembling contemporary award.
Harvard’s early letter tradition was likely similar to Michigan’s. The Harvard practice began with the addition of the old English ‘H’ onto the uniforms. The players who played in the most important games were allowed to keep the ‘H’ uniforms, and the letter award was established.[3]
Michigan also used an old English letter on their early uniforms.[4] This English ‘M’ was used until at least 1888, when it was simplified into a smaller block character.[5] In 1891, serifs were added onto the letter, becoming the iconic ‘M’, and the award moved from the uniforms onto sweaters.[6] The letter converted from blue to maize in 1892,[7] and the letter which resembles the contemporary award was standardized by 1895.[8]
[1] Perry, Will, Michigan All-time Athletic Record Book, University of Michigan, 1968, 166.
[2] Richardson, Jamie, “History of the Letter Award Tradition,” last updated: October 10, 1999, http://web.archive.org/web/20091017114347/http://members.cox.net/phxjer/sleeves/history.htm
[3] Ibid.
[4] 1883 University of Michigan Baseball Team, 1883, Folder “Team Photos, 1882-1900,” Box 25, Athletic Department (University of Michigan) records, University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
[5] 1888 University of Michigan Baseball Team, 1888, Folder “UBImum F84,” University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File, University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
[6] 1891 University of Michigan Baseball Team, 1891, Folder “UBImus F84-463 Baseball,” University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File, University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
[7] 1892 University of Michigan Baseball Team, 1892, Folder “Baseball,” Box 19, Michigan Union records, University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
[8] 1895 University of Michigan Baseball Team, 1895, Box 5 out., Athletic Department (University of Michigan) records, University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI.