In the early part of the 20th Century, Jim Crow was a sad fact of life in college football. The issue came to a head in the fall of 1934, when Georgia Tech traveled to Ann Arbor to play Michigan. The Wolverines’ best player was an African-American from Detroit named Willis Ward. Georgia Tech refused to play the game unless Ward was benched. After much debate, Michigan finally caved in and sat him out.
The decision infuriated many of Willis Ward’s teammates, including his best friend on the team, a tall lineman from Grand Rapids named Jerry Ford. Ford threatened to quit the team in protest, and agreed to play the game only after Ward personally asked him to. With Ford playing the game of his life, the Wolverines won the contest – their only victory of 1934.
The lessons that Gerald Ford learned that day in the Big House followed him all the way to the White House. He never forgot the humiliation that Willis Ward endured, or the courage his friend showed in the face of it all. The incident ended up shaping Ford’s views on civil rights and equality all the way to the White House and beyond. Gerald Ford and Willis Ward remained close friends all the days of their lives, forever connected by what happened on a rainy October afternoon in 1934.
