One of the great things about talking about Michigan football history is that I find often the story tends to evolve after the initial post, tweet or article. The boys at Stunt3 Multimedia know this well, and here’s another example. They’ve been showing the latest cut of their fine documentary Black and Blue around the country and talking to many folks along the way. I recently interviewed director Brian Kruger from Stunt3 (check out the full interview in the next issue of GoBlueWolverine Mag) and he talked about a great discovery: “A few weeks ago a woman called me. She said her father was John Regeczi, who played on the teams with Gerald Ford and Willis Ward, those three years. She was very excited about that and she was telling me some stories. After about ten minutes I figured the conversation would wind down, but then she said, ‘Oh, and by the way, we have the game ball.’ [laughs] I was like, ‘What?!’.” Indeed it appears as thought the game ball to the controversial 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game exists. Brian told me the owner, who lives in California, was kind enough to take a few pics of the ball and send them over to Kruger, who in turn relayed a couple to me. Check it out: And I thought my…
-
-
U-M to Honor Willis Ward?
Maybe. I recently posted that a at screening of Black and Blue it was suggested that it’s high time for the university to formally honor Willis Ward: Near the conclusion of the Q&A session following the screening at the Alumni center, Moorehouse suggested that it’s time for the university to honor Ward in some way, and I agree. And after all, as Moorehouse pointed out, the only memorial on campus (if you don’t count buildings or roads in parking lots) for former athletes is this plaque dedicated to Owens…a Buckeye! Well, there seems to be some momentum. At last week’s monthly meeting of the U-M Regents, the idea of honoring was presented to the regents. As I understand it, an informal motion was approved to discuss the matter with the athletic department, with the hope of finding an “appropriate way” to honor Ward. Memo to Dave Brandon: Do the right thing. This is long overdue! [Ed. Update March 18]. Mary Morgan of the Ann Arbor Chronicle recapped the meeting including the activities around honoring Ward: Public Commentary: Willis Ward Three people spoke about Willis Ward, an African-American who played football for UM in the early 1930s. [For background on Ward, see John U. Bacon’s Chronicle column: "When Ward, Ford Played Ball for UM"] Buddy Moorehouse introduced himself as a 1982…
-
Faster Than Jesse Owens (1935)
A few moments during the film drew a verbal reaction from the crowd (including John U. Bacon’s hilarious description of Henry Ford’s henchman Harry Bennett) but none more poignant than the gasp when it was noted that Willis Ward once defeated the great Jesse Owens on the track.
-
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…
-
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.
-
President Gerald Ford Snaps the Pigskin! (1974)
Check out this shot of President Ford at a Portland, Oregon charity event
-
It Had to Happen
Nearly three years ago to the day I submitted a mgoblog guest post talking about the 100-year Michigan football anniversary event held in 1979. Former player Willis Ward attended the celebration held at Chrysler errr, Crisler Arena. I mentioned this: Willis Ward: The African-American end and U-M track star was Gerald Ford’s roommate for road games and a member of the ’32 and ’33 national championship squads. This man’s story deserves a full documentary or movie, not a blurb on a blog post, and it’s safe to assume he gave some interesting remarks to the banquet crowd. A hat tip to my boys at UGP/Moe’s and MGoShoe for simultaneously sending over this link. Pete Bigelow at AnnArbor.com writes that a local group is putting together a 10 part series covering Michigan football. It’ll debut with this: The series will debut with an episode on the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech game, in which the Yellow Jackets threatened to pull out of the game if Michigan played Willis Ward, the school’s second black player. Ward’s teammate, future President Gerald Ford, contemplated quitting the team in protest of Ward’s exclusion. Here’s a trailer from the group producing the films, Stunt3 Multimedia: When can we expect this to come out? According to senior creative director Buddy Moorehouse: ..the first film in the series ("Black and…
-
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…
