How Michigan became the Wolverines

[redbuck]

I have been reading the book "Cathedrals of College Football", now out of print but it is quicky becoming one of my favorite books.

This may be of more interest to me as an Ohio State fan than to others, but I've always wondered why Michigan is called the Wolverines, because no trace of a wolverine has ever been found inside the state of Michigan. Now I know the answer, at least sort of.

The common conception is that the rowdy fans earned the nickname for their outrageous and sometimes animal-like enthusiasm, but that rumor is apparently a fabrication.

The real reason for Wolverines comes from farther back. There are two possibilities. The first and less likely is that they were nicknamed Wolverines because of the furs and fur carriers that would pass through Michigan with Wolverine skins back several hundred years ago. The more likely reason, though, is the original settlers in Michigan, the French, who were casually nicknamed Wolverines by Native Americans and other settlers due to their tremendous appetites and seeming disregard for their own bodies due to their overconsumption of game animals.

[CCN]

I have been reading the book "Cathedrals of College Football", now out of print but it is quicky becoming one of my favorite books.

This may be of more interest to me as an Ohio State fan than to others, but I've always wondered why Michigan is called the Wolverines, because no trace of a wolverine has ever been found inside the state of Michigan. Now I know the answer, at least sort of.

The common conception is that the rowdy fans earned the nickname for their outrageous and sometimes animal-like enthusiasm, but that rumor is apparently a fabrication.

The real reason for Wolverines comes from farther back. There are two possibilities. The first and less likely is that they were nicknamed Wolverines because of the furs and fur carriers that would pass through Michigan with Wolverine skins back several hundred years ago. The more likely reason, though, is the original settlers in Michigan, the French, who were casually nicknamed Wolverines by Native Americans and other settlers due to their tremendous appetites and seeming disregard for their own bodies due to their overconsumption of game animals.
Makes a lot of sense. Michigan is the Wolverine State not because of the University, even though it seems like so many people in Ohio can't separate the state and the University. When General Custer made his counter charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, he led on his troops by shouting "On, you Wolverines." The Monroe, Michigan native was referring to his home staters in his unit, not a bunch of maize and blue alumni.