Michigan, Northwestern honor first black player at both schools with trophy
Michigan and Northwestern announced a new tradition Thursday to honor George Jewett, the first black football player at both schools. The teams will compete in a rivalry game for a trophy bearing his name in future games, the first of which will take place Saturday at noon ET in Ann Arbor.
Not only was Jewett the first African-American player at both programs, but also the first to compete in the Big Ten. He attended Michigan from 1890 to 1893 before transferring to Northwestern to finish out his career. He earned a degree and went on to practice medicine in the Chicago area.
The hope from both schools is that this game will bring awareness about a little-known piece of history and serve to honor one of the sport’s pioneers.
“Trophy games are made out of rivalry games not out of hatred, but because of great games or for the trophy,” offensive lineman Andrew Stueber said. “I look forward to starting this tradition and the legacy for great games for this trophy. It’s something we’re super proud about and excited to play for.”
The announcement from Michigan and Northwestern also made history by being the first rivalry trophy in FBS named after an African-American player.
The Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) are one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the conference. Northwestern is coming off of a Big Ten West division title, but has struggled to find the same success so far in 2021.
Although the game might not look like the best matchup on paper, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said that’s not the point. He hopes the trophy can serve as a history lesson for players, who were taught about Jewell prior to the contest.
Jewell’s example is one he believes each member of the team should try to emulate.
“I love what it means for all of our student athletes in terms of being a student and an athlete,” Manuel said. “I couldn’t be prouder of playing that game against Northwestern. … “What’s going to happen a lot is during this week, they’re going to say, ‘Who’s George Jewett?’ They’re going to go back and look at who he was and the stories about his family and his history in Ann Arbor.”
And it appears that’s exactly what is happening. Throughout the video announcement, several Michigan players spoke about how special it is to be a part of this historical moment honoring George Jewett against Northwestern.
“I can’t even imagine what that would be like,” tight end Joel Hongford said of Jewell’s experience. “The fact that we get to honor him and play for him and the legacy that he left behind of not only being a great football player, but also a tremendous student is a really big deal.”