Nearly three years ago to the day I submitted a mgoblog guest post talking about the 100-year Michigan football anniversary event held in 1979. Former player Willis Ward attended the celebration held at Chrysler errr, Crisler Arena. I mentioned this:
Willis Ward: The African-American end and U-M track star was Gerald Ford’s roommate for road games and a member of the ’32 and ’33 national championship squads. This man’s story deserves a full documentary or movie, not a blurb on a blog post, and it’s safe to assume he gave some interesting remarks to the banquet crowd.
A hat tip to my boys at UGP/Moe’s and MGoShoe for simultaneously sending over this link. Pete Bigelow at AnnArbor.com writes that a local group is putting together a 10 part series covering Michigan football. It’ll debut with this:
The series will debut with an episode on the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game, in which the Yellow Jackets threatened to pull out of the game if Michigan played Willis Ward, the school’s second black player.
Ward’s teammate, future President Gerald Ford, contemplated quitting the team in protest of Ward’s exclusion.
If you don’t know the Ward/1934 Georgia Tech game story I suggest you start here.
Related:
The Willis Ward Protests
Harry Kipke and the Fall of 1934
Original Story:
http://mvictors.com/?p=9692
