Did you see that?
March 5, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from Feb. 27 - March 3.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Wrestling
We are the Champions, part 2: A group of 56 champions emerged from 896 MHSAA Individual Finals qualifiers -- including St. Johns senior Taylor Massa, who became the 16th in MHSAA history to win four individual championships and the fifth to do so while never losing a high school match. We reported both on Massa separately and on the top stories from our 13 other weight classes. (Second Half)
Competitive Cheer
New winners emerge: Southgate Anderson in Division 1 and Richmond in Division 3 won their first MHSAA cheer championships at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex; Richmond was runner-up in Division 3 last season, while Anderson improved from seventh in Division 1. Gibraltar Carlson and Michigan Center continued their recent successes by claiming the titles in Divisions 2 and 4, respectively. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2-3-4)
Bowling
From no one to No. 1: Eight championships -- four team and four individual -- were awarded over the weekend. And for the most part, favorites prevailed. But the best stories from bowling might have been the Flat Rock girls and Mason boys, who defied expectations in emerging from unranked at the end of the regular season to win their Team Finals. (Second Half Girls Team) (Second Half Boys Team) (Second Half Girls Singles) (Second Half Boys Singles)
Girls Basketball
Unexpected East Lansing: The Trojans are regulars in the later rounds of the MHSAA Tournament. But among Lansing-area teams, Waverly was the biggest contender this winter and ranked No. 2 in Class A at the end of the regular season. But the Trojans extended a six-year postseason winning streak and avenged an early-season loss to the Warriors by winning Friday's District Final, 57-53. (Lansing State Journal)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
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'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.)