• Black and Blue – New Trailer For Gerald Ford-Willis Ward Documentary

    Check out the updated trailer for the Willis Ward-Gerald Ford documentary – looks to be outstanding (despite the gent at 1:51):   I understand from Buddy and Brian down at Stunt3 that it will be released in the September-October timeframe and like Bart Scott, I “Can’t Wait”.   Look for more updates here of course and I hope you will check it out. For much more read my post on The Willis Ward Protests.

  • Jesse Owens, Gerald Ford and 1934

    Regular readers of this site know one of my favorite decades of Michigan football is the 1930s, having covered different seasons and events in eBay Watch and in the Little Brown Jug Lore series from those years. If I had to pick one year as my favorite during the stretch it’s definitely 1934 which is ironic, as it’s arguably the worst season in Michigan football history.   I argued this point here and here, but in a nutshell consider that Harry Kipke’s team, coming off back-to-back national championships, finished 1-7, was shut out in five of the eight games and scored a mere 21 points.  Fugly. Despite the futility on the gridiron, the season is packed with historical treasures of major significance both on and off the field.  Check out this program from the Ohio State-Michigan held on November 17, 1934: The program features several photos of players, including a collage of the Michigan team including team MVP Gerald Ford: The top of the photo features Willis Ward, the African American end who was at the center of a fierce controversy that played out before the Georgia Tech game a few weeks earlier that season.  For those not familiar, The Jackets made it known well before the game that they wouldn’t take the field in Ann Arbor if Ward played, spawning…