Conducted by Tim Pulice
He grew up in Ohio a Buckeye fan, but since 1974, Jon Falk has been a loyal Wolverine. Now in his 37th season as equipment manager for the Michigan football team, Falk has compiled his experiences handling the gear and acting as mentor to hundreds of players in the engaging If These Walls Could Talk: Michigan Football Stories from Inside the Big House (Triumph Books), written with Dan Ewald. The book is filled with colorful anecdotes centered on U-M greats such as the late Bo Schembechler, who hired Falk, beloved Maize and Blue stars like Rob Lytle, Anthony Carter, Charles Woodson, and Tom Brady–the latter of whom penned the foreword–tales of fierce gridiron battles against Woody Hayes and Ohio State, and more. Recently, Falk agreed to an interview inside his office at Schembechler Hall on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, where he recounted how he once rescued Bo from subzero temperatures, impressed upon Brady the importance of leadership, and briefly lent his apartment to a visiting U.S. president.
Describe a typical day for you during the football season at U-M.
Jon Falk: Well, what we do is have our staff meeting at 8 o’clock in the morning with the football coaches, and they tell us the plan structure for practice in the afternoon. We come down and get the practice jerseys ready. Offense is white, defense is blue. We have the scout team numbers from the opposing team, and we put those numbers on the scout team, so that the offense and defense can practice against the numbers they’re going to see on Saturday.
From there it rolls into practice in the afternoon. As soon as practice is over, there’s a lot of laundry that has to be done. I have some part-time students that come in and do the laundry, and then it’s ready for the next morning, to either have a weight-lifting process or practice for the next day.
I can imagine keeping up with 100+ players can be quite a challenge. Talk about the logistics of overseeing the team during a game.
JF: The thing that people don’t realize is that for a 12 o’clock game, we’re at the locker room at 6:30 in the morning. We put the uniforms in their lockers, we make sure their game shoes are all polished, we make sure that all the helmets are all polished. On Saturday morning, we have some part-time helpers that live in town here that have done it for years. Herbie Fredericks is one, he’s done it for over 63 years here. Bob Blandt paints the helmets on Thursday night, takes the nicks out from what’s been scratched during the week.
While they’re working on the helmets and jerseys, I have a phone man who goes with us and we help set up the sideline phones. I go up in the press box, and he’s on the sidelines. We settle the communications for the coaches because we want to claim our radio waves before somebody else claims them. We claim those by 8 o’clock, 8:30, it takes that much time to set the phones up in the press box, set them up on the field. Then by 8:30 or 9, we have those set up, then we set up the team benches on the sidelines, then we have the little cards that tell each position, so that they know as soon as they come off the field that’s where you’re supposed to sit so the coach, if he wants to talk to them, knows where they are.
Then you have the pre-game ceremony, when everybody is in, they ask for a different T-short, they ask for this or that. Then they get dressed, we run down on the field, we play the first half. We come back, I’m usually one of the first ones back in at the half. I get all the players in the locker room to sit down. Then we go down for the second half. As soon as the game’s over, we get ‘em back up, the coach comes in, he gives a little talk. Hopefully we can sing "The Victors" after a win, and then from there, the players start to turn their jerseys and pants in, their laundry. Their game shoes are picked up and put back in the stadium cubby hole, with their name. All the dirty laundry, the towels, the shoulder pads, the helmets, are all picked up and put in a truck and brought back over here to the football building.
So, for a noon game, by 6:30 or 7, everything is back in the lockers over here at the building, and you could practice on Sunday morning, if need be. Now, that’s a home game. A road game is a little different, because now you’re packing the semis on Thursday night, and we’re leaving on Thursday night to go to the ballpark where we’re playing. From there, we set up the 70 guys who can travel in the locker room. We’re all there all day on Friday. The team comes in right around 3:30. They leave after a walk-through with their warm-up sweats on. Saturday morning, we get to the ballpark, we set the phones up. After the game, all the travel bags are packed, they’re put back in the semi, and that guy takes off. We’ll fly back with the team. We’ll see him [the driver] Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, and we’re unloading that truck.
That’s the thing people who are home watching TV don’t realize. In fact, sometimes I tell people that, as far as they’re concerned, we’re cartoon characters. They turn the TV on, and there we are bouncing up and down the sidelines for about three, three-and-a-half hours. As soon as that game’s over, they turn the TV off, and as far as they’re concerned, we have no life, we have no problems, and we don’t do anything until next Saturday afternoon when they turn that TV back on. Nobody understands the involvement, the work, the pain, the ordeal, the time that it takes to get to that next Saturday afternoon. It’s not just at Michigan, it’s pro teams, it’s everything. Even on pro games, especially baseball and basketball, when they turn the TV off at the end of the game, nobody realizes that people are in that locker room for another two hours. And, if they catch a jet, they’re heading to another city, and may not get in to five in the morning. Here they are five in the morning, the equipment guys are over at the locker room, getting the stuff ready because at two o’clock in the afternoon those kids are going to come in and start that game. So, nobody knows the time that athletics consumes.
What do you like best about your job?
JF: The most fun that I have in the job is working with players. I mean, those kids are nice guys. It’s fun to go into the locker room after the game or after a practice, and walk around and talk to them. But at the same time, while you’re walking around and talking to them, you’re looking at their faces, you’re looking at them and you’re seeing if there’s a scratch or a nick on their body, and maybe you can ask them how it happened and maybe you might be able to do something with your football equipment that might be able to protect that piece you see.
Tom Brady wrote the foreword and, like him, a lot of players are quoted as saying that you’re someone they can always approach, even if it’s about something unrelated to Xs and Os. How do you find time to speak to players, maybe someone who is homesick or has other personal problems?
JF: It’s time consuming, but you’re here all day, and there are times when those kids just want to come in and talk. And that’s another thing. When you walk around the locker room, you look in a guy’s eyes. People’s eyes never lie. You can always tell how a guy feels.
In Tom Brady's case, when he was playing here with Drew Henson. I walked in here and I could see it was bothering him that he wasn’t starting. That’s when I called him in to my office. I said “Hey, Tom, I know you’re upset about not starting, but you’re the leader on this team, and everybody on this team looks up to you. If you show any flaw, that you’re willing to crumble, the whole team is gonna crumble, because you are the guy that they look to.” Tom looked at me and said, “Oh, man, I’ve been wanting to talk to somebody about this for a long time. I really appreciate you talking to me, Big Jon.”
That was good, he got it off his chest. I said, “Just keep your mouth shut, keep practicing, and someday, you’re gonna start, and they’re not gonna take you out.” And then a week or so later, he started, and they never took him out after that. That’s just the way it is.
People that are in this business a long time know athletes, they know players. Great athletes are like stallions. You don’t want to break a stallion down. You want to just control him a little bit. You want him to be able to run and jump and do what he wants to do. You can’t break him down to where he’s a pony ride for a child. You want him to be a nice stallion.
Jimmy Harbaugh was like that. Brian Griese came in the spring of ’97, and he said to me, “Well, Big Jon, I’m coming back for my senior year.” I said, “My gosh, Griese, you’re gonna walk out of here with a Michigan diploma in your back pocket. Why do you want to come back for one more year? You’ve got no guarantee that you’re gonna be the starter on this team.” He looked at me and said, “Because, Big Jon, I want to go to the Rose Bowl. I want to play in the Rose Bowl.” I said, “Well, if you keep that attitude, and if a quarterback beats you out, at least he’ll take you to the Rose Bowl.” Little did anybody know at the time that, not only would he be going to the Rose Bowl, but that he’d be the MVP, and we’d win the national championship.
That’s what so great about athletes, that’s what’s so great about Michigan, the things you’re able to do at the University of Michigan.
In one sentence, what is Michigan tradition?
JF: Everlasting time, over time it’s proven itself.
Fritz Crisler wrote, “Tradition is something you can’t borrow. You can go down and buy it at the corner store, but it’s there to sustain you when you need it the most.” He said, “I have watched countless Michigan football coaches, countless Michigan players call upon it time and time again, There is nothing like it, I hope it never dies.” That was Fritz Crisler. And you know what? It hasn’t died. Michigan tradition is there, it’s being built every day. That’s what so great about working at the University of Michigan.
What is the most important lesson that you teach players, maybe something that transcends the football experience at U-M?
JF: Never get down, pick yourself back up, and go on to the next step. I think players even mention in the book that, even after a loss, Big Jon was in the locker room on Monday talking about the next game, and that’s the way it is. You’ve gotta get away from that, and you gotta move on to the next game.
Football equipment has undergone some changes since you got started in the business. How have the athletes changed?
JF: Let’s see, that a good question. I think the athletes are faster today than they used to be, I think they’re bigger today than they used to be. If you compare locker rooms from 20 years ago and today, the locker rooms are bigger because the bodies of the players are bigger, so you’ve goota have bigger lockers, you’ve gotta have a bigger space for those kids to accommodate them. Shoulder pads have gone down in size, because everybody wants to be movable, they want to be flexible. We’re wearing more body-built equipment underneath your shoulder pads to protect you. It’s lighter, more flexible. Everything’s gone lighter and smaller.
Personality-wise, how have they changed?
JF: You know what? I don’t see much difference in personality. Kids are still having fun, they still love Michigan football, they still enjoy the game. To be honest with you, they’re all the same.
The two nicest things are being with the players that are here today and to see the players who come back after they graduate. That is the fun of this job. Being here so long, since 1974, I’ve had a chance to meet and be with so many players. I’m still one of the only guys left now that the former players can come back and see, because I worked for Bo, I worked for Mo [former head coach Gary Moeller], I worked for Lloyd [Carr, former head coach], and now I work for Rich [Rodriguez, current U-M head coach]. So, it’s neat to see all those former players come back, and they all know that they can come back and see me, and I’m still the one guy who has been on the teams when they were playing here.
Bo hired you in 1974. Was he as irascible as he often appeared, or was there a softer side, too? The book mentions how he loved the Michigan band. What he was like away from the sidelines and the cameras?
JF: Heck, we’d go see Neil Diamond in concert. He’d call me up. "Hey, Falk, we’re going down to see Neil Diamond, why don’t you come on over here?" He enjoyed entertainment. I’d go out to his house, and we’d sit there and watch TV, and we’d watch movies. He was a big movie buff, he’d rent videos, and we’d watch them on the TV screen. He was a good guy. Yeah, he had to have that tough [exterior]. A lot like Woody [Hayes], and a lot like Bobby Knight [former Indiana University head basketball coach].
I tell the story in there [pointing to the book] about Bobby Knight. Whenever we’d go to Indiana, he’d pick me up on Friday night and we’d go to dinner. So, one day we went out and Bobby had a new credit card, and said he wanted to use at the gas pump. We drove around to four different places in Bloomington and not a one of them had a gas pump that took a credit card. So, I said, “Well, Bobby, you go in, and go to the office, slide the credit card after I pump the gas. So, I’m out there and I cannot get his gas cap off. I’m tryin’ to turn and turn. I look in there and there’s Bobby Knight, and he’s looking at me and his foot starting to stomp. So, he walks out and says “What’s goin’ on here?” I said, “Is there a trick to opening this gas cap?” He says “A trick? Give me that!” and takes it, pops it right off. After he popped the cap, he said, “Hey, Jon, you gotta be smarter than that gas cap.” So he grabbed the pump out of my hand, started to squeeze and pump, and he goes “What’s goin’ on, this isn’t working!” I said, “Hold on, Bobby,” so I and went over, flipped the lever on the gas pump and said, “You gotta be smarter than that gas cap," and he just laughed. So, they all have a laughable side to them.
How would you characterize Bo’s relationship with Woody?
JF: Friends, great friends. Woody was sick, and Bo had won an award down in Dayton, Ohio. So, Bo invited me to go down with him in 1987. We flew down, and the guy who flew us down was Bill Gunlock, who played with Bo for Woody down at Miami of Ohio. So, we go in, and Woody just looked terrible. He got up and gave a talk, and he had a hard time, but he did it. Bo ridiculed him afterward, saying “I told you not to come tonight, Woody I told you not to come.” In fact, Woody gave me a little pot of flowers. He said, “You married?” I said “No sir, but I’ve got a girlfriend.” He said [imitating Hayes’ gruff voice], “Here take these flowers, and give them to your girlfriend.” So I took them back to Cheri, who’s now my wife, and I said, “Hey, Woody Hayes gave these flowers to you!”
Going back in the plane, Bo said, “Boy, the old man didn’t look good tonight, did he? And we both said, no, he didn’t look good at all. Bo said, “Well, he’s so hard-headed, he doesn’t listen, I told him he’d introduced me enough, he didn’t need to come introduce me tonight.” I looked at him and said, “Hard-headed, huh? Sounds like some other people I know,” and everybody just laughed.
Here’s a beautiful story that I thought was good, you talk about Bo being able to laugh at himself. In 1985, I’m going down I-94. It’s about 40 degrees below zero in January. The snow’s coming down. Twice I said to myself, you know, I think I better turn around and better go back, the roads are getting bad. I said, no I’m gonna keep on going.
I go on, and there’s a guy hitchhiking on the side of the road, and I said, “Wow, he’s got a hat that looks just like Bo’s.” So, I went just a little further, and said “Wait a minute, that’s Bo’s car.” So I pulled off to the side of the road. I went back, and here was Bo standing on the side of the road, shaken, cold, his nose was red, his cheeks were red, his hands were cold. He looked up at me and he goes “I’m never been so happy to see your ugly face in all my life.” And I said, “Hey now, Bo, you better treat me nice. My car’s still running, and it’s warm!” So, I helped him get into the car, I turned on the heaters full blast. “I just want you to know, Jon, I’ve been on the side of that road for 45 minutes and not one person stopped. Three state troopers went by, and they didn’t even stop. You’d have thought that a state trooper would have said, ‘Hey, what’s goin’ on here?’ But no, they all passed me by.” And I said, “Well now, Bo, you gotta remember something. You were 6-6 last year.” And Bo looked at me and said, “Yeah, why don’t you just shut up, get me to the airport, and then get my car and have it in my driveway tomorrow morning.” I said, “Hey, Bo, I’ve got plans tonight.” He said, “Well, your plans just changed.” So, when I dropped him off at the airport, I had to call a friend of mine. We towed the car in, got it fixed, and I had it in his driveway the next morning. But he could laugh about that stuff. He told that story a hundred times after he got back, he thought it was funnier than heck.
Jon, you’ve got a great memory. Do you keep a journal?
JF: It’s really interesting. I used to tease Bo all the time that I was gonna write a book. Bo used to laugh, "Yeah, you could tell a lot of good stories." So, I started keeping notes in 1980 as I went along.
Dan Ewald did a great job of taking my voice, and the way I talked, and put it into the book. I’ve had so many letters. Rick Forzano, who coached the Detroit Lions, wrote me and said, "Jon, I only met you once, but I want you to know that I bought your book on Friday, I couldn’t put it down for the whole weekend. I knew Bo back in Barberton [Ohio], but I want you know, in my opinion, your stories brought Bo Schembechler back to life.” Now, that’s a tremendous compliment from a guy who coached as much as Rick Forzano did. Bobby Nichols, who was the retired basketball coach at Toledo, great guy, wrote me a letter. He said, "Jon, I read your book, I couldn’t put it down, and I want you to know that the stories you tell are so genuine, I enjoyed every one of them. I thought it was a great book.”
When you get letters like that from people, it makes you feel good. Many of my friend have said that, when you’re reading the book, Dan Ewald wrote it like it was just me sitting there spinning a story for somebody. That’s what really has helped the book a lot.
