It was one of the most disgraceful incidents in Michigan football history - and ultimately, one of the most inspiring. This film tells the long-forgotten story of the 1934 game between Michigan and Georgia Tech - a story that's never been told on film before.
When the Yellow Jackets agreed that season to come to Ann Arbor for a game, they insisted on one condition - Michigan had to sit out the lone African-American player on the team, a talented end from Detroit named Willis Ward. Many of Ward’s teammates were outraged when athletic officials at U-M agreed to the demand. The most outraged Wolverine was Ward’s roommate, a lineman from Grand Rapids named Gerald Ford. Ford threatened to quit the team in response to Ward’s benching - and changed his mind only after Ward convinced him that he had to play.
Photos of the Event
When
February 13, 2012
Program Supporters
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
