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Ohio State vs. TTUN Rivalry (A Wolverine rights a wrong for a Buckeye)

ant80

Think less, feel more.
Saw this article about Jesse Owens, Gerald Ford and Willis Ward online and thought I should share.

Decency, justice and the Michigan-OSU rivalry: The story of Jesse Owens and Gerald Ford
It’s quite true that for much of the year, Michigan’s hatred for all things Ohio State never goes away. And vice versa. That’s true today, and it was certainly true back on Nov. 26, when the Wolverines and Buckeyes tangled in one of the most epic football games in their long and storied rivalry.

So in the face of all that, here’s a story about a Wolverine and a Buckeye who came together to right a historical wrong. It’s a story of respect and racial justice and friendship, and most of all, basic human decency.

It happened 41 years ago, and it’s evidence that yes, while we hate them and they hate us, at its core, this rivalry is truly rooted in respect and decency. It’s a story about two great Wolverines (Gerald Ford and Willis Ward) and one great Buckeye (Jesse Owens). It’s a story about a Michigan man who did a great thing for an Ohio State man, and when you hear it – if you’re a Michigan fan – it’ll hopefully make you feel even more proud that your blood runs maize and blue. And if you’re a Buckeye, it’ll serve as proof that not everyone from “That School Up North” is evil.

The story starts in the fall of 1934, when Gerald Ford and Willis Ward were senior starters on Michigan’s football team. If you’ve seen our documentary, “Black and Blue,” you know this part of the story well. Coming off back-to-back national championships in 1932 and 1933, Michigan was scheduled to host Georgia Tech in the fall of 1934. Athletic director Fielding H. Yost scheduled this game despite knowing full well that like all teams from the south back then, Georgia Tech would refuse to play the game unless Michigan benched Ward, an African-American end from Detroit who was the team’s best player.

...

Started a new thread because I didn't see one exclusively dedicated to the rivalry in my perfunctory search, and thought there should be one.

On a separate note, new players <cough>Jeremy Ruckert</cough> should be reminded of this.
 
From the article:
In the winter of 1935, Jesse Owens and Willis Ward raced against each other five times. Ward won the first two races and Owens won the last two. The one in the middle was so close that if it happened today, it would be a photo finish. But there were no photo finishes in collegiate track meets back then, so the judges narrowly gave it to Owens. But the fact is, back in the day when Jesse Owens was the fastest man on the planet, there was a Michigan man who was just as fast.

This whole paragraph is disgusting, but the part I highlighted is the worst. First, "Yeah, Jesse Owens (your guy) was awesome. Everyone will have heard of him 80 years after this event. But our guy - a guy no one knows about 80 years later - he was just as good. We swear it! C'mon! Why don't you believe us?!?" Second, the bolded statement seems like their whinings from 1972-1974. I wasn't even born yet, and I know them well. 1972: "Our guy scored the touchdown! Everyone in the stadium knew it but the refs were too scared to piss off the home crowd!" (From what I understand, Ohio State was winning 14-11, and Michigan went for the win on fourth and goal from the 1, instead of kicking the field goal. I read one Michigan fan claim to have the "perfect view" of the play - the running back crossed the goal line, was pushed back, crossed the goal line AGAIN, and was pushed back AGAIN. Ruled no touchdown.) 1973: "We were the better team, as evidenced in the second half, where we out-scored you 10-0. What? The first half counts, too? Well, damn, I guess it's a tie, 10-10. Well, at least the rest of the conference knows that we should have won that game, so we'll go to the Rose Bowl. Damn." 1974: "Everyone in the stadium knew that last field goal went through the goalposts - watch the replay - the stadium gets really quiet because they knew they lost the game. Then the refs, who were scared of the home-town fans rioting afterward, unfairly claimed he missed that field goal." In this case, I'm going to guess that it wasn't as narrow as this writing thinks it was.
 
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