Paul Bunyan Trophy
Michigan-MSU Winner Takes Governor's Trophy Home

The battle for the Paul Bunyan - Governor of Michigan Trophy between intrastate football rivals Michigan and Michigan State will take place for the 48th time Saturday, Oct. 21, 2000, in Ann Arbor.

  Paul Bunyan Trophy
Presented for the first time in the 1953 meeting between the Wolverines and the Spartans, the Paul Bunyan Trophy is the lesser-known of Michigan's two annual trophy games, shadowed by the nationally recognized Little Brown Jug Game between Michigan and Minnesota.

The Bunyan Trophy was put into circulation by then Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams. The prize consists of a four-foot wooden statue of the legendary Paul Bunyan astride an axe with feet planted on a map of the state of Michigan. Two flags -- one with the Michigan "M" and the other with the Michigan State "S" -- are planted on either side of Bunyan. A five-foot stand supports the statue.

Michigan State won the first of the Bunyan Trophy games with a 14-6 victory in East Lansing. Since that first game, Michigan has won 27 times, MSU 18 with two ties. The Spartans currently hold the Bunyan Trophy, courtesy of a 34-31 win over the Wolverines a year ago in Spartan Stadium. In the 1970s to mid-1980s, U-M beat the Spartans in 13 of the 14 annual meetings, including a Bunyan Trophy-record streak of eight straight from 1970 to 1977.

Paul Bunyan Governor of Michigan Trophy, Year-by-Year:

 
1953  MSU 14, U-M 6
1954  U-M 33, MSU 7
1955  U-M 14, MSU 7
1956  MSU 9, U-M 0
1957  MSU 35, U-M 6
1958  MSU 12, U-M 12
1959  MSU 34, U-M 8
1960  MSU 24, U-M 17
1961  MSU 28, U-M 0
1962  MSU 28, U-M 0
1963  MSU 7, U-M 7
1964  U-M 17, MSU 10
1965  MSU 24, U-M 7
1966  MSU 20, U-M 7
1967  MSU 34, U-M 0
1968  U-M 28, MSU 14
1969  MSU 23, U-M 12
1970  U-M 34, MSU 20
1971  U-M 24, MSU 13
1972  U-M 10, MSU 0
1973  U-M 31, MSU 0
1974  U-M 21, MSU 7
1975  U-M 16, MSU 6
1976  U-M 42, MSU 10
 
1977  U-M 24, MSU 14
1978  MSU 24, U-M 15
1979  U-M 21, MSU 7
1980  U-M 27, MSU 23
1981  U-M 38, MSU 20
1982  U-M 31, MSU 17
1983  U-M 42, MSU 0
1984  MSU 19, U-M 7
1985  U-M 31, MSU 0
1986  U-M 27, MSU 6
1987  MSU 17, U-M 11
1988  U-M 17, MSU 3
1989  U-M 10, MSU 7
1990  MSU 28, U-M 27
1991  U-M 45, MSU 28
1992  U-M 35, MSU 10
1993  MSU 17, U-M 7
1994  U-M 40, MSU 20
1995  MSU 28, U-M 25
1996  U-M 45, MSU 29
1997  U-M 32, MSU 7
1998  U-M 29, MSU 17
1999  MSU 34, U-M 31