The Gerald Ford/Willis Ward Story is Now a Stage Play

The Gerald Ford/Willis Ward story, which was told so well in the documentary "Black and Blue," is now a stage play. For those who haven't seen the documentary, it's the story of the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech football game, in which Ward was benched by athletic director Fielding Yost because Georgia Tech refused to play against an African-American player.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation has turned the story of "Black and Blue" into a stage play called "Victors of Character." The premiere takes place Feb. 15 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, and I believe that tickets are free. Here's the Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/934356630062487/

I will be going to this, and I'll write a review as a Diary entry. Hope to see some fellow MGoBloggers there.

I've become an enormous Willis Ward fan since learning his story. He's probably the most underrated athlete in Michigan history (he was the best player on two national championship football teams, and as a sprinter, he beat Jesse Owens TWICE). And he was an even better man. Hopefully this stage play will allow even more people to learn the Ward/Ford story.

And let us not forget that Willis Ward helped deliver Rashan Gary to U-M's campus. Gary's mom wanted her son to attend a school with a strong civil rights legacy, and when she heard the story of Willis Ward and Gerald Ford, that sealed the deal.