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A racial incident much closer to home affected the Olympic chances of another Michigan athlete. Willis Ward was one of the best all-around athletes ever to compete for Michigan. A high school football and track star in Detroit, Ward had decided to attend college at Dartmouth. He had not seriously considered Michigan because of its reputation for not accepting Black football players. No African-American had earned a varsity football letter since George Jewett in 1892. During Fielding Yost's tenure as coach several black students did join the football squad, but it appears that none of them ever saw game action and only one earned even a "reserve letter." In 1931, UM Regent James Murfin and football coach Harry Kipke wanted to change that. With Kipke's assurance that he would be given full opportunity to play football, Ward enrolled at Michigan. He quickly became friends with another freshman football player, Gerald Ford.


Ward earned six varsity letters in football and track. He starred at end on the 1932 and 1933 national champion football squads, and played both end and halfback in 1934. In track Ward won Big Ten titles in the 100 yard dash, 1933; high jump, 1933 and 1935; 400 meter dash, 1933; and long jump, 1934. On several occasions he beat Jesse Owens in the 100 yard dash and was also an outstanding hurdler. Because of his all-around skills, Ward was considered a likely contender for the U.S. decathlon team.




In the third game of the 1934 football season, Michigan was scheduled to play Georgia Tech in Ann Arbor. Ward's presence on the team posed a problem. At least as early as the fall of 1933, the Georgia Tech athletic director had written to Yost asking what was going to be done about Ward, asserting that his team would not take the field if Ward was playing for Michigan. As game day neared the issue became a major controversy on campus and mass meetings and demonstrations were held. Some students and faculty demanded that either Ward must play or the game should be canceled. Others argued that, as host team, Michigan must respect southern customs and hold Ward out of the game. Yost and Kipke did not publicly reveal their decision beforehand, but when kick-off came, Ward was not in uniform.

The incident left Ward angry and, in his view, it demoralized the team for the rest of the season. Ward recalled that Ford considered quitting the team in protest. The team finished with a 1-9 record, the only win coming against Georgia Tech. In later interviews Ward said the episode left him disillusioned with sports and sapped his competitive spirit. He took part in the Olympic trials, but having lost the burning ambition to win, Ward, in his own words, did not train to his peak and failed to make the U.S. team. Willis Ward went on to earn a law degree and had a distinguished career as a lawyer and judge.