Today in the MHSAA: 12/2/22

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

December 2, 2022

1. HOCKEY Division 1 No. 4 Brighton held on to defeat No. 9 Northville 5-3 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Muskegon edged Kalamazoo Central 66-62 in overtime on the road – Kalamazoo Gazette

3. GIRLS BASKETBALL Grace Pribble scored the game winner with 16 seconds to play as Grand Ledge edged Caledonia 43-42 – Lansing State Journal

4. GIRLS BASKETBALL The Michelle Lindsey era began at Bloomfield Hills Marian with a win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett – Oakland Press

5. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saginaw Arthur Hill improved to 2-0 with a 53-36 win over Flint Beecher – Saginaw News

6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Mendon improved to 2-0 with a 24-22 win over Quincy – Sturgis Journal

7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Freeland earned its first win of the winter, 39-21 over Midland Bullock Creek – Midland Daily News

8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Petersburg Summerfield opened with a big win over Lincoln Park – Monroe News

9. GIRLS BASKETBALL Harbor Springs edged Indian River Inland Lakes 64-51 – Petoskey News-Review

10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Bad Axe moved to 2-0 with a second road win, this one over Harbor Beach – Huron Daily Tribune

Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South

October 25, 2024

The only U.S. president from the state of Michigan, Gerald Ford also is the only person to become president without winning an election to become either president or vice president.

But before a career in politics, Ford starred on the gridiron at Grand Rapids South High School. South opened in 1917 and closed as a high school in 1968. Ford graduated in 1931, playing as a senior on a football team that would go undefeated and eventually be named a state champion according to statewide media – whose rankings determined champions before the creation of the MHSAA Playoffs in 1975.

Ford appears in his uniform in 1928.Ford's final game was a scoreless tie played against cross-town rival Grand Rapids Union, a game Union would later forfeit for using ineligible players.

Ford also played basketball and ran track at South. After high school, he attended the University of Michigan and played football for the Wolverines. In 1934, his senior year, he was named team MVP. Following that, he attended law school at Yale and was an assistant football coach for the Bulldogs.

Ford was elected to Congress in 1948 and served 13 terms in the House of Representatives. When Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president in 1973, President Richard Nixon selected Ford as the new VP. A year later, after Nixon resigned, Ford assumed the presidency – becoming the 38th president of the United States.

Ford was inducted into the State of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1977 and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1978. He died in 2006 at the age of 92. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids is the presidential museum and burial place of Ford and his wife Betty.

Previous "Flashback 100" Features

Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: 
Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: 
James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6:
Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read 

PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from top left: Gerald Ford headshot from 1929. (2) Ford appears in a team photo with Grand Rapids South that fall. (3) Ford stands in football pants in 1930. (Middle) Ford appears in his uniform in 1928. (Photos courtesy of The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.)