Our Growth. Our Story. Our Impact. is a web series highlighting the rich history of Grand Rapids Public Schools.
On Thanksgiving Day in 1930, South High squared off against Union High in their annual Thanksgiving Day battle for the Little Red Jug. The game ended in a scoreless tie, but Union was later forced to forfeit when it was discovered one of its players had signed a professional contract prior to the contest. South High's victory was a signature moment in the school's undefeated season.
One of South's starters on the team went on to even greater glory: its team captain and center Gerald R. Ford. Ford and his teammates met for breakfast the following season to commemorate their win and continued every season after, forming the 30-30 Club in recognition of the 30 men who played on the 1930 team.
In 1974, the 44th anniversary of the victory was celebrated at the White House, at now President Ford's invitation. A healthy crew of 30-30 Club members posed for the photo in the Oval Ofiice. Only one, ironically named Ford Lipscomb, backed out in protest of Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon and a general dissatisfaction with government.
The 1930 contest was just one in the long Thanksgiving Day football history between Union and South, one that began just before World War I and well before there was an official City League in Grand Rapids. The mutual respect the players shared for each other carried over, and in subsequent meetings of the 30-30 Club, former Union players were invited to the reunion, and many came.
Ford graduated from South High in 1931 and enjoyed further football success at the University of Michigan, playing a key role in the 1932 and 1933 undefeated National Championship teams.
The 30-30 Club closed shop after its 75th anniversary in 2005. Not long after, former Ford teammate Jim Trimpe was interviewed by the Ford Museum's Richard Norton Smith. Trimpe remembered his old team captain fondly as a great organizer and a solid student. Trimpe and some of his friends helped promote Ford's run for class president in 1931. Ford lost by two votes.
Article by GF Korreck
Sources: Football Friday, The National Archives, fordlibrarymuseum.tumblr.com; Jim Trimpe interview with David Norton Smith, geraldrfordfoundation.org, 2008
Image: White House photograph A2193-21
