college Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Dec262016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Groovy College Course Catalogs of the 1970s

Whether for their graphic design, optimistic photographs, or quaint vintage charm, I always have a blast looking at old college course catalogs. So I'm going to share some of my favorites with you, grouped by decade. Up first are the groovy '70s. Here are one dozen college course catalogs from the Me Decade, covering both undergraduate and graduate schools from small junior/community colleges to well-known and prestigious universities. (All images courtesy the Internet Archive.)

May262015 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Kodachrome Memories #4: Miami (OH) University Homecoming, 1953

Photography

This fantastic set of slides is reportedly from Homecoming Weekend festivities for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. As you would expect the marquee event of the celebration was a college football game. In this case it's the Redskins against in-state rival Ohio Bobcats, locally known as the Battle of the Bricks. The date on these slides is marked as 1954, but since the rivalry game that year was played in Athens I'm guessing this is actually 1953. That would put the date for this game as October 24, and is a game that ended in a 7-7 tie. There are no actual photos of the game here, but plenty from what look like pregame and perhaps halftime festivities. Also included are shots of a parade probably held on the campus and a few shots of the campus itself. Miami alumni are prominently ...

Jan122015 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

UNC Men’s Basketball 1972-73: “How You Doin’?”

Ephemera

I don't handle college basketball ephemera on the Press Room (yet), but I couldn't not share this anyway. It's the media guide for the North Carolina Tar Heels' 1972-73 men's basketball season, and it is quite fetching for a few reasons. Here we see a quite fetching UNC co-ed being eyed, sort of creepily I might add, by a trio of UNC players including George Karl on the right. And hoo-boy are those some great pants he's wearing. But it's not his legs we're interested in, right? Ah, college life. As it turns out, putting pretty college women on the front of media guides and programs was not an uncommon practice, and I'm not even including cheerleaders in that category. But that's another topic for another post...

Jan252013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Here’s the Inspiration for That Tom Hanks Piano Scene from Big

Ephemera, Photography

Nearly four decades before Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced their way into our hearts during the FAO Schwarz piano scene in Big, Life magazine photographer Lisa Larsen snapped this: I'm kidding of course. This is Betty Spornitz, who won first prize in May 1950 at the Flickertail Follies, a talent show held at the University of North Dakota. Good times.

Jan262011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The word cloud of Robert Burton’s letter to Jeff Hathaway

Sports

For those who haven't heard of Robert G. Burton, he's the winner of January's Douchebag of the Month award. Burton, who has donated millions of dollars to the University of Connecticut football program and whose name adorns their athletic complex, was most displeased with the recent hiring of head coach Paul Pasqualoni. That's pretty standard I guess. Boosters get pissy all the time when a coach gets hired/fired, or some other decision is made that they don't agree with. But Burton took it a step further, firing off a rambling, boastful, and just plain obnoxious six-page letter to UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway. The letter itself (excluding attachment notices and other miscellaneous text) is more than 1,700 words long. So here's the word cloud for it, which pretty much sum...

Sep22010 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Commercials I hate: Education Connection

Advertising

Here's a classic example of "more is less". There's nothing inherently bad or obnoxious about the current group of Education Connection commercials. The problem comes from their sheer ubiquitousnes. Day or night - regardless of channel it seems - this chick in her pajamas is in my face an average of every 7.2 minutes. But I can understand why - how else would you be able to find out about online schools and scholarships? Oh wait, you can USE THE INTERNET. And how 'bout those production values! Apparently this girl isn't just wearing pajamas, she's wearing see-through pajamas. Look closely at them starting around the 23-second mark, and you'll see the graphics flying through her shorts. I'll just assume none of these online schools teach TV production. Luckily Education ...