• Hail, Hail to the Chief | Happy 101 Gerald Ford

    A hearty salute to the memory of President Gerald Ford born July 14, 1913, who today would have turned 101.  In honor of the 1934 team MVP, a repost.  Here are a few of my favorite shots of the POTUS in and around campus.  Above, via eBay one of the classic shots of Ford hiking the pigskin in the 1930s.  Below, via the Bentley Library, Ford addressing captain Mark Messner and the team in 1988: Here with Bob Ufer kicking off his presidential campaign in 1976 at Crisler Arena: And finally at practice with General Bo: In honor of Ford’s 101st birthday, here is a repost of the speech President Ford delivered to the Annual Congressional Dinner of the University of Michigan Club back in March 1975 and worth a read: [Introductory portion omitted] You know, as a matter of fact, I can still remember spending a good part of my sophomore and junior years washing dishes in the DKE house–of which I was a proud member–and I mean washing dishes. As a matter of fact, I washed so many dishes I was the only athlete in Michigan history who ever had a football knee and dishpan hands at the same time. [Laughter] As I mentioned a moment ago, I was lucky enough to play football, first on Ferry Field…

  • Calisthenics with Coach Kipke (1933)

    Thanks to Black and Blue creator Buddy Moorehouse for sending this over.  There’s no audible sound but this clip is worth checking out nonetheless.  It’s from 1933 featuring Coach Harry Kipke, several of the players and includes some game footage and a lot of shots of the team warming up and going through drills.  Buddy found this on a recent visit to Grand Rapids to check out the Growing Up Grand exhibit at the Gerald R. Ford Museum: I love the vintage game footage of the kick-off 45 seconds in.  The opponent throws up a double wedge but the Michigan men maintain their lanes and squash the return.  The full clip is 9 minutes and is property of the U-M Bentley Historical Library. Also on display at the exhibit is the RIGHTEOUS pigskin from the 1934 Georgia Tech game: Buddy also passed along that in honor of Gerald Ford’s 100th birthday on July 14, 2013, every PBS affiliate in the state will be airing Black and Blue.  Nice! Follow MVictors on Twitter