VIDEO: Michigan Football Discovers Rare 1933 Game Footage Featuring Future President Gerald Ford
By Sam Dunn
Before he was the Speaker of the House, the Vice President of the United States, and eventually the President, Gerald R. Ford was a student at the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1935. He notably starred for the football team, playing center as well as linebacker and long snapper. He was voted team MVP as a senior in 1934, and though digital footage of his years in Maize and Blue is scarce, the university is ready to show off a newly-rediscovered clip from October 14, 1933 that features Ford and the Wolverines taking on Cornell.
Gerald Ford in action against Cornell, October 14, 1933. Michigan would go on to win the game 40-0.
— UM Bentley Library (@umichBentley) April 2, 2020
This rare clip was discovered as part of a project to digitize our collection of U-M football films on legacy media. Stay tuned!#ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/mG3QbJLail
Talk about a blast from the past.
Ford was a two-time national champion with the Wolverines as a sophomore and a junior, and his No. 48 jersey was later retired. Interestingly enough, '48 was the year in which Ford was first elected to the US House of Representatives, the body he would go on to lead as Speaker.
Greatest presidential football player ever - not even close - Michigan's Gerald Ford. Center & LB, back-to-back undefeated NCAA titles pic.twitter.com/1Jv4QMrXAY
— West Wing Reports (edited by Paul Brandus) (@WestWingReport) November 26, 2016
The rest, quite simply, is history. Good on UM for giving us this little taste of the old school!