For Saturday’s epic battle against the Spartans, we start briefly with a game in 1917 when the Spartans were the Aggies of M.A.C. We then fast forward to nearly a decade later to 2012 when four field goals got the job done, and on that day we honored Willis Ward – the African American star who was forced to sit out the 1934 Georgia Tech game.
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The Willis Ward Protests (1934)
A breakdown of the campus-chaos leading up to and following the infamous 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game. U-M benched Ward and succumbed to Tech's demand to not play against a black player. Read on:
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TWIMFbH: Track Meet Cures Depression (1935)
Wire photo from the 1935 Penn game. That’s U-M’s Stark Ritchie toting the pigskin. (via eBay) Harry Kipke was an All-American start on Fielding Yost’s squads in the early 1920s, and then took a shot a coaching, first as an assistant at Missouri, then took the head coaching job up the road at Michigan State in 1928. When the head coaching job came free in Ann Arbor, Yost brought Kipke home and he got off to a fast start. But then 1934 hit: [display_podcast] That 16-6 win over Penn in 1935 was probably Kipke’s last great win of his coaching career. You can find more on the Willis Ward vs. Jesse Owens match-up here, and if you can stomach it, the run down of why Kipke was fired here. And if you need more on the 1934 Georgia Tech game controversy, grab Stunt3 Multimedia’s epic documentary today. You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here….sponsored in 2013 by Ziebart of Yspilanti. And don’t forget to catch it live today on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM. Related: I’ll be shoving off to East Lansing so check back here and on Twitter for sights, snark, and sounds.
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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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Photos: Michigan 12, Michigan State 10 (2012)
A few sights from Saturday pregame and postgame: So during pregame, the Spartan kickers ran over to the U-M (north) side of the field. Gibby trotted over to keep an eye on things. Dantonio took the field with a smirk as he was thoroughly abused by the tunnel taunters You can’t get the half boar, half rat hat at Moe’s (yet) Bell checking out the new fangled shiny helmets. Not a fan but they did look better on TV (and even in this photo). In person it looked like the shade of green was much lighter. Many former football greats were on hand, including Mark Messner (above) who no doubt recalled his epic battles with Michigan State’s Tony Mandarich Honoring Willis Ward on the 78th anniversary of the Georgia Tech game. Props to John U. Bacon for first writing about the story, and Brian and Buddy at Stunt3 for the wonderful Black and Blue documentary. Speaking of Brian – you can hear our live edition of This Week in Michigan Football History from Saturday right here At this point Fowler figured it was time to GTFO Lewan and Gholston smokem peace pipe after the game Elsewhere! Photos: mgoblog Photos: MBN Photos: AnnArbor.com Photos: Michigan Daily…
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Living Legacy: Interview with U-M Senior Melanie Ward
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…
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The Willis Ward Petition– 78 Years Later
Seventy eight years ago this fall the U-M campus was set ablaze. Students and teachers held heated (heated as in objects and insults being hurled) debates/protests over the proper way to handle the Georgia Tech game. You know the story by now: The Jackets visited Ann Arbor but made it known well before the game that they would only play if Michigan’s African American end, Willis Ward, didn’t participate. The saga, including background and the aftermath is documented in the documentary Black and Blue which you should own in your collection. The largest group, the United Ward Front, was a group of students and professors with a simple demand: Ward plays against Tech or the game should be cancelled. They gathered over 1,500 signatures in support and led many of the protests (clip from the 1934 Michigan Daily to the left). Fast forward nearly 78 years. The guys behind Black and Blue have a new petition —one urging U-M to honor Willis Ward on October 20, 2012. You can sign on here: http://www.change.org/petitions/honor-willis-ward The are asking U-M to honor Ward on Saturday October 20, 2012 because this will be the 78th anniversary of the Georgia Tech game. On top of that, Ward would have been 100 this year and the Michigan state legislature is already expected to declare that Saturday…
