Our Most Athletic President

Gerald Ford has died at the very ripe old age of 93 and some change, just a few weeks older than the age Ronald Reagan had reached when he departed this mortal coil. What do our two longest-living presidents have in common besides both being Republicans and running head-to-head in the last close primary race in 1976? Answer: they both played college football, but that is barely half of the story. Reagan played for Eureka College and cut a strong enough figure to play the Gipper, whose name he wore for the rest of his life, in a movie. Ford played center for no less a powerhouse than the Maize and Blue of the University of Michigan. As their center, he starred for Coach Harry Kipke as the Wolverines rolled to consecutive undefeated seasons and National Championships in 1932 and 1933. As a senior in 1934, he earned the honor of team MVP and played in the college All-Star game. Michigan has only retired five numbers in its history, but #48, in honor of Gerald Ford, is one of them. I had heard, "He played college football," but did not know until now that Ford turned down offers to play for the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers so that he could go to Yale Law School, where he finished third in his class. Do not be in doubt. When people call Ford, "one of our most fit presidents," they are paying him an insult out of ignorance or by intention. Gerald Ford was completely peerless for physical fitness among presidents, as his longevity can testify.
How is it that a bona fide star athlete developed an image as a klutz and a man who made distinguished marks at Yale Law as a dunce? The answer is very simple: he ran for president from the wrong party. Chevy Chase with his Saturday Night Live bits taught us a lesson about the power of mockery. Rest in peace, Wolverine. You are free of mockery now.