Red Feather History
The Fordney Club was involved with the Arthur Hill High School Memorial Stadium from its inception in 1949, assisting with funding for its construction. The Club announced it would use Memorial Stadium as the site for an annual football game to raise funds for Saginaw County’s United Fund Community Chest (known today as the United Way of Saginaw County). The initial effort began an 18-year series which raised almost $100,000 for Saginaw charities.
The inaugural Red Feather game took place on September 20, 1952 pitting Central Michigan University (then Central Michigan College) against St. Ambrose (Iowa). The CMC squad was coached by Bill Kelly, the former Arthur Hill mentor and Fordney Club member. Frank Brogger, former St. Andrews High School coach, was the St. Ambrose coach. CMC won 38-14 as former AHHS standout Vern Hawes ran for a 90 yard score. Other local athletes who played in that inaugural contest included longtime Michigan Lutheran Seminary coach Loren Dietrich, Dick Kackmeister, Wes Harden, and Jack Sears. Central Michigan would go on to appear in fourteen additional Red Feather games. Due to scheduling conflicts, Alma College and Ferris State played in the 1960 Red Feather game. In Coach Kelly’s final Red Feather appearance in 1966 with CMU, Wisconsin State blasted the Chips 40-16. The Fordney Club announced in the early ’70s that it would contribute its Red Feather game net revenues to area charities and athletic organizations. The game was renamed the Fordney Charities Classic in 1971, hosting Alma College and Ferris State College for two years. Following the 1972 game, the Fordney Club had fulfilled its mission and concluded the annual event.
In 1997 the Red Feather Charities Classic game was revived by the Fordney Club again as a charity fundraiser, generating net proceeds in excess of $25,000. A new Fordney club tradition was established to raise funds specifically for youth athletic programming in Saginaw County. Saginaw Valley State University beat Michigan Tech 45-28 in that revival Red Feather Charities Classic game. A great tradition of exciting football once again entertained and thrilled local football fans. SVSU would go on to appear in the ’98 and ’99 Red Feather showdowns. In 2000, the Fordney Club elected to involve high school teams for the first time in the Red Feather Charities Classic. The Arthur Hill High School Lumberjacks hosted the Midland High Chemics in the inaugural high school game. Regional high school teams would continue to appear in the Red Feather Charities Classic at AHHS’s Memorial Stadium through 2010.
In 2011, the Red Feather Charities Classic returned to the collegiate arena with the SVSU Cardinals becoming the annual host team of the Red Feather game. The home opener each year at Wickes Memorial Stadium on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University presents the gridiron showdown. The Cardinals posts a 3 – 2 record through the 2015 season as the Red Feather champions, beating Ferris State 30-27 (2011), Valdosta State 28-24 (2012), Malone University 59-20 (2013), with losses to the University oflndianapolis 10-24 (2014) and Michigan Tech 21-35 (2015). The Fordney Club’s Red Feather Charities Classic football game continued on with its mission in 2016, pitting the SVSU Cardinals against the Northwood Timberwolves on September 10, in Wickes Stadium for the 40th Anniversary of the coveted Red Feather Charities Classic trophy. The Cardinals defeated the Timberwolves 20-14, maintaining possession of the Red Feather Trophy! The 2017 showdown brought the Walsh University Cavaliers to Cardinal land, posting a Cardinal victory and shutout of 28 – 0. The Cardinals hosted the West Virginia team of Alderson Broaddus for the 2018 Red Feather season opener, maintaining possession of the Red Feather trophy again with a 45-7 victory. The Cardinals continued in their winning fashion to defeat the Tiffin Dragons for the 2019 Red Feather Charities Classic defeating the Dragons with a 35 to 20 victory. Forever will the 2020 Red Feather be marked with an asterisk as being “canceled” due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. However, under the mantra, “This too shall pass;’ the Red Feather game was back stronger than ever with a Cardinal 13-9 victory over Texas A&M Kingsville in 2021 and a 72-0 thomping of West Virginia Wesleyan in 2022.
