If you read this site you know that Saturday is officially Willis Ward Day in the state of Michigan. It is also not-so coincidentally the 78th anniversary of the infamous 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game. I bet you didn’t know this: there’s a descendant of Willis Ward currently studying on campus in Ann Arbor. I met Melanie Ward, the grand niece of Ward (Willis is her grandfather’s brother), at a screening of Black and Blue at the U-M Alumni Center on campus earlier this year. Ward (left) is currently a U-M senior and was kind enough to chat with me this weekend as we approach the day that will honor her great uncle. MVictors: What did you know about your great uncle before coming to U-M? Melanie Ward: I knew that I had a great uncle who played football for the University of Michigan in the 1930s. I also knew a little later that Gerald Ford also played on his team. But I did not know anything about the Georgia Tech football game. MVictors: Do you have any other family members who attended Michigan? Ward: Just Willis and his sister-law, who is my dad’s mother. MVictors: So when did you learn about the controversy about the 1934 Georgia Tech game and Willis Ward’s involvement? Ward: At the screening of the documentary…
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Willis Ward Getting His Day
Readers know I’ve been pushing for a while to have Willis Ward honored by U-M. While that hasn’t happened just yet, this isn’t half bad either–last week the State of Michigan Senate unanimously passed a resolution to declare October 20, 2012 as “Willis Ward Day” throughout Michigan. The Detroit News is getting behind the idea as well. Check out the editorial from September 29: A petition for history’s sake On Oct. 20, 1934, U-M football star Willis Ward was held out of a home game against Georgia Tech because the Southern school refused to suit up against a black player. The incident is widely regarded as the darkest day in the proud, 133-year history of Michigan football. As much as Michigan alums and the Ann Arbor community tried, they were unable to get then-athletic director Fielding Yost to stand for right and defend his player. Exactly 78 years later, on Oct. 20, Michigan faces the Michigan State Spartans in a home game. Filmmakers Buddy Moorehouse and Brian Kruger, creators of "Black & Blue," a documentary on Ward (and teammate and future U.S. President Gerald Ford, who almost quit after Ward’s mistreatment) have started a petition on change.org to get U-M to honor Ward on the 20th, with the whole world watching. Signing the petition will help. Officially honoring Ward and…