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
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Willis Ward at 100
Born on this day a century ago, Willis Ward. The former Michigan track and football star was honored this season at Michigan Stadium: His involvement in the controversy around the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game is of course chronicled in the documentary Black and Blue. October 20, 2012 was declared “Willis Ward Day” in the State of Michigan. Have a toast tonight to Willis Ward!
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TWIWMFbH: Live! Willis Ward, Gerald Ford and 1934
It was a special *live* edition of This Week in Michigan Football History as Black and Blue director Brian Kruger joined me, Sam and Ira in the WTKA Bud Light Victors Lounge to discuss…what else? 1934 and the Georgia Tech/Willis Ward game. A big thanks to Ira for getting the audio clip: [display_podcast] You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here.
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Willis Ward Blitz
Funny, for tomorrow’s game we were supposed to honor perhaps the most famous (non-POTUS) Michigan athlete of all-time—Tom Harmon. That didn’t work out. Instead, we will be recognizing honoring one of the most controversial moments in Michigan football history—Willis Ward and the 1934 Georgia Tech game– something that occurred just a few years before Old 98 stepped on campus. My mini Ward shrine I’ve had for a few years: student ticket booklet, order form for tickets to the Tech game and of course the stub. The Ward story is blowing up here and there and there’s more to come. There’s no pre-recorded episode of This Week in Michigan Football History as I will be live in the coveted WTKA Bud Light (M)Victors Lounge on Saturday around 1:30PM EDT discussing 1934, Ward, Ford, Kipke and much more with Sam, Ira and Brian Kruger from Stunt3 Multimedia—producers of the wonderful documentary Black and Blue. For those out of town, I highly recommend tuning in via iHeart Radio or via the iHeart Radio app. Elsewhere: * Don’t miss the piece by Stephen Nesbitt of The Daily on the Ward affair. Includes a small line from me and loads of Bacon, which is never a bad thing. From ‘The Forgotten Man: Remembering Michigan trailblazer Willis Ward’, check out this nugget: It was April 13,…
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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…
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Director Brian Kruger discusses Willis Ward documentary (Black and Blue)
Brian Kruger and his partner Buddy Moorehouse of Detroit-based Stunt3 Multimedia are currently on a nationwide tour, screening their wonderful new documentary, Black and Blue. It’s the amazing but little known story of Michigan’s 1934 football game against Georgia Tech, and the circumstances that led to the benching of Willis Ward, an African American football and track star at U-M. The backdrop of the tale involves Ward’s friend and future president Gerald Ford, and it follows how the incident shaped their lives after college.
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Black and Blue–Ann Arbor Screening
For U-M fans in the area, I’ll be attending this screening of Black and Blue at the Alumni Association building on Thursday evening. If you attend definitely stop by and say hi. I understand there will also be a little Q&A portion as well. Not sure about the cocktail situation. Details via the official site: Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game Thursday, February 16, at 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.) Alumni Association, 200 Fletcher St. In Celebration of African American History Month and the U-M 26th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, the Alumni Association is hosting a special free screening, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Brian Kruger and U-M alumnus Buddy Moorehouse, ’82. This Quick Study lecture is sponsored by the Alumni Association’s Lifelong Learning program. When Georgia Tech came to Michigan in 1934, the Wolverines were forced to bench their best play, Willis Ward, because he was an African-American. The incident infuriated Ward’s best friend on the team, a future president by the name of Jerry Ford, who threatened to quit the team in response. The friendship that began in the Big House lasted all the way to the White House. This is the story of two schools, two friends, and a…
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Brian Kruger talks ‘Black and Blue’ (WTKA audio)
My ticket stub made it into a movie! Brian Kruger of Stunt3 Multimedia joined Ira and Sam Friday morning to talk about Black and Blue. Worth a listen: [display_podcast] I love the idea that they are producing educational materials around the story for schools for Black History month. Want to support this project? Get in touch with Brian over at Stunt3. Deal! Exclusively for readers of this site, you can order the Black and Blue DVD today with shipping waived, follow this link.
