Article by Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62
Co-editor Michigan eDelt [email protected]
In our eDelt to you on September 6, 2024, we published a story about our most important Michigan Delta Chi in the fraternity’s history since 1892 named John Levinson – The Iron Horse of Michigan Delta Chi. Prior to this we had an article about him which we published March 30, 2024, 587 Straight Michigan Football Games Attended. This latter article indicated that John had attended 587 straight Michigan football games, home, away and bowl games.
Excerpts from this article included: “Ironically, as he reflects on game number 587, a national championship for his beloved Wolverines, Levinson embarks on the most complicated adventure of his life. Recently diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – Lou Gehrig’s Disease), the indomitable sports fan – the one who refuses to watch games on TV, the one who declines to sit in a posh suite – can feel his destination is nigh.”
“It’s my goal to keep going until I can’t,” he says, noting that the 2024 Ohio State game at Columbus would be his No. 599. “I’m not going to give up before I can’t do it, but I won’t know until I get there. I don’t know what limitations I will have, and I need to be cognizant of my support group.”
In this article, he indicated that NOTHING COMPARES TO OSU IN 1969. Levinson says, “That was the best game. Best game. It has never changed, and I doubt it ever will.” He sat in the OSU end zone in 1968 to witness the Buckeyes’ blowout victory of 50-14 and knew that Michigan was a huge underdog the following year. “As the game got closer, the mood on campus changed and I was telling everybody, ‘We’re gonna win this game.’ I started the ‘Goodbye, Woody’ cheer in the student section. That was the game when I decided, ‘I’m gonna make sure I do this as a hobby.”
ALS DOESN’T COME WITH A TIMELINE: “I was gifted with will, desire, whatever you want to call it, more than most people. I think maybe the reason that I was chosen to suffer with this particular case is because I need to set a good example for others in similar circumstances. I decided, as a leader, that I’m going to do the best I can possibly do and not fold my tent.”
With that background, we are now in mid-December, 2024. John has indeed attended his 599th game, which has not been easy. He has had to change his regular seat to seats reserved for the handicapped. He has had to re-arrange the manner in which he gets to the games, navigates a new route to the seats, and arranges to reverse the process to get home. Everything was great in the beginning since the first 5 games were at home. It sounds like a simple process for home games, occurring in familiar surroundings he has negotiated hundreds of times, BUT what about the away games? The first away game was against Washington in Seattle, Washington, and trying to get handicapped seats, figuring out the logistics of getting plane flights to Seattle and transportation to hotels, and going from the hotels to the seats was a significant task.
John had been to Seattle in 1983 and 2001. The 2001 game was a challenge because 9/11 occurred in the middle of the trip, so his group had to drive 3 days home from Seattle, but that was when John was healthy. Now, even the smallest detail could de-rail the process. The 7th game was the Illinois game which was much easier than the Seattle game. The 10th game was playing Indiana in Bloomington, which should have been easier, but the bureaucrats in the sporting department were “painful.” John was having increasing difficulties with getting around, but missing the Ohio State game was not an option. We noted that the 1969 game at Ohio State was a highlight for John, BUT we can only assume that game 599, beating Ohio State, who was a 19-point favorite, had to move up to either #1 or #2 in status (John has since let me know that game 599 moved into 2nd place). John will round out his 600th game at the ReliaQuest Bowl (formally known as the Outback Bowl) in Tampa Bay on ESPN, Dec. 31 at noon.
I just communicated with John. He has had some setbacks in the last week and is not sure he can negotiate two days of traveling and one day of the game, all with potential wheelchair challenges and limited strength.
I’m sure all of us out there are praying that he can make the 600th game, but even if he doesn’t get to 600, his 599 straight games will stand as a record which will stand a long time, maybe forever.
Below are links to the two articles we wrote on John recently:
