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A legacy cherished, but fading
Integration took black-college talent, gave football players opportunities
http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/182905-6930-P.html
Retired coach Eddie Robinson's Grambling teams won nine black-college national championships. He coached four NFL Hall of Famers and QB Doug Williams, who won a Super Bowl. -
- Associated Press file photo
Saturday's game
? Who: Tennessee State (3-1) vs. South Carolina State (2-1)
? Where: RCA Dome
? Kickoff: 4 p.m.
? Tickets: (317) 239-5151 or http://www.ticketmaster.com
All-time black college team
Here is the lineup chosen in 1992 to celebrate the centennial of black college football:
? Quarterback: Doug Williams (Grambling)
? Running backs: Walter Payton (Jackson State), Tank Younger (Grambling)
? Wide receivers: Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), Charlie Joiner (Grambling)
? Offensive linemen: Jackie Slater (Jackson State), Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Art Shell (Maryland State), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Ernie Barnes (North Carolina Central)
? Defensive linemen: Willie Davis (Grambling), Ed "Too Tall" Jones (Tennessee State), David "Deacon" Jones (Mississippi Vocational), L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas AM&N)
? Linebackers: Robert Brazile (Jackson State), Harry Carson (South Carolina State), Willie Lanier (Morgan State)
? Defensive backs: Mel Blount (Southern), Lem Barney (Jackson State), Everson Walls (Grambling), Donnie Shell (South Carolina State)
-- Team chosen by the Sheridan Broadcasting Network, which broadcast black college football on the radio.
Black-college dynasties
Here's a look at four of the top teams in black-college football history.
Grambling
? Home, founded: Grambling, La.; 1901
? Football started: 1941
? Best years: From 1941-97, all under coach Eddie Robinson, the Tigers went 408-165-15 and won nine black-college national championships. The team also won titles in 2001 and 2002.
? Players drafted into NFL: 217
? Pro Football Hall of Famers: Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Willie Brown, Charlie Joiner.
? Notable: Tank Younger, Ernie Ladd, Doug Williams
Tennessee State
? Home, founded: Nashville, Tenn.; 1912
? Football started: 1912
? Best years: From 1944-84, most under coach John A. Merritt, the Tigers went 323-69-13 and won 11 black-college national championships.
? Players drafted into NFL: 202
? Notable alumni: Ed "Too Tall" Jones; "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam, Claude Humphrey, Richard Dent
Florida A&M
? Home, founded: Tallahassee, Fla.; 1887
? Football started: 1906
? Best years: From 1945-69, all under coach A.S. "Jake" Gaither, the Rattlers went 203-36-4 and won six black-college national championships.
? Players drafted into NFL: 55
? Notable alumni: Bob Hayes, Ken Riley, Willie Galimore
Jackson State
? Home, founded: Jackson, Miss.; 1877
? Football started: 1911
? Best years: From 1971-90 the Tigers went 158-58, winning the black-college national title in 1985. The team also won titles in 1962 and 1996.
? Players drafted into NFL: 96
? Pro Football Hall of Famers: Walter Payton, Jackie Slater, Lem Barney
Information provided by the schools.
By Jeff Rabjohns
jeff.rabjohns@indystar.com
October 1, 2004
The 1966 Tennessee State football team was unstoppable. Untouchable, really.
The Tigers went undefeated, winning their 10 games by a combined score of 410-51. Six seniors were drafted by the NFL, and 22 players from that team eventually played professional football.
"We could have played with any team at that time," said Leo "Swamp Fox" Johnson, a wide receiver who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1968.
That's just one example of how good football was at historically black colleges before the 1970s, when integration began altering the makeup of rosters in college athletics, particularly in the South. Tennessee State was but one of many black-college football powers back then, joining the likes of Jackson State, Grambling, Florida A&M and Southern.
Even since integration became prevalent, black colleges have produced some of football's greatest players. The late Walter Payton, who retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, came from Jackson State. Jerry Rice, the NFL's all-time leading receiver, is from Mississippi Valley State. Rice played in the inaugural Circle City Classic, which Saturday pits Tennessee State against South Carolina State at the RCA Dome.
But overall the landscape for historically black colleges is considerably different than in its heyday. Historically black colleges and universities produce maybe a dozen NFL draft picks per year and certainly have no teams with 22 future professionals. No historically black school plays at college football's highest level, I-A, or receives major television exposure. In 2003, only nine players from such football teams were drafted by NFL teams.
"I think integration changed things a great deal," said Tennessee Titans 10th-year quarterback Steve McNair, who played at Alcorn State and is the last true NFL star to come from a traditionally black college. "Once the large state schools started to see how the black athlete could help their programs, the talent that was going to the historically black schools had more options."
The way it was
Before integration, historically black colleges were loaded with football talent.
Florida A&M had Bob Hayes, who won two Olympic gold medals as a sprinter and changed the way the NFL thought about speed in helping the Dallas Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season. Doug Williams, who quarterbacked the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl title after the 1987 season, and four Hall of Famers -- Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner -- played at Grambling under legendary coach Eddie Robinson.
Jackson State, in addition to Payton, had future NFL stars such as Jackie Slater and Robert Brazile. Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones played at Mississippi Valley State and Mississippi Vocational.
"I'm willing to bet that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Tennessee State, Jackson State, Grambling, Florida A&M and Southern University probably could have played with anybody in the country, bar none," said Williams, who now works in the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Marino Casem coached and later worked in the athletic departments at such black-college powers as Alcorn State, Alabama State and Southern. He said he considered the Southwestern Athletic Conference the fourth best league in the country from the 1950s through mid-1970s, behind the Big Ten, Pac-8 and SEC.
"We felt we could compete on any given Saturday with anyone," said Casem, 70. "We didn't have the facilities, the weight rooms and the training rooms that a Nebraska had, but we had talent."
In the pre-integration days, traditionally white schools and traditionally black colleges did not play each other. The closeness in talent between the two almost got a test in Baton Rouge, La., at a time when it was the college football capital of the world. In 1958, LSU was named the national champion by The Associated Press and Southern was the black college national champion. Plans were made for the two schools to meet in a scrimmage the next year.
"It was set up and everything but before we could leave campus, police came and told us the game had been canceled," said Charley Granger, a tackle at Southern who played briefly in the NFL and is now writing a book on team chemistry. "It would have been interesting. I think we had the same amount of talent on both teams."
Florida State is traditionally one of the top 10 teams in the country, but for decades, Florida A&M could look at its neighbor across Gaines Street in Tallahassee, Fla., and think, "We could beat them."
"We could have," said Roosevelt Wilson, the Florida A&M athletic director during part of the coaching tenure of Jake Gaither, who went 203-36-4 from 1945-69.
"Of course, we couldn't stay on the field with them now."
In 1979, Florida A&M beat Miami 16-13 in Tallahassee. Four years later, Howard Schnellenberger's Hurricanes won the national title. Last September, the Rattlers played Florida and lost 63-3.
Florida A&M coach Billy Joe said it's difficult to understand how much talent his school had before integration.
"Just take all the great black athletes off of Florida, Florida State and Miami, and that's what you had on FAMU's campus because they couldn't go to Florida, Florida State or Miami," Joe said.
What happened?
McNair was a highly sought prep recruit, but most big-time football programs wanted him as a defensive back. He wanted to play quarterback, and the only school offering that chance was Alcorn State.
Today, that misconception -- that black athletes are better at positions other than quarterback -- is fading into the integration that brought black athletes to traditionally white schools.
By the late 1970s, most big-time college football programs were recruiting black athletes.
"When Alabama and Alabama State come calling, who are you going to go with?" said USA Today's Roscoe Nance, who has written extensively on the subject. "The big schools have more to offer in terms of facilities, exposure and, dare we say, some under-the-table things. It was no contest really."
Football programs at historically black colleges are in NCAA Division I-AA or below and have no national television coverage on a regular basis. A few schools have explored the idea of playing Division I-A football but none has made the jump. It would require at least a $10 million athletic department budget, and most of these schools' budgets are about $5 million or less.
The prevailing thought from those at historically black colleges is that the shift in power was inevitable, and even good, with integration giving black players a chance to play on a bigger stage.
"You don't fault them," Wilson said.
"They just couldn't go before. That's why we were so deep in talent. They couldn't go anywhere else."
Said Joe: "I think it's a great thing for the country, great for racial harmony and is the right thing to do. It's great that it has taken place. During that transition, you had black principals and teachers and coaches who lost their jobs, but as far as diversity and racial harmony, there's no question integration was the best that that ever happened in this country."
Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.
Integration took black-college talent, gave football players opportunities
http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/182905-6930-P.html
Retired coach Eddie Robinson's Grambling teams won nine black-college national championships. He coached four NFL Hall of Famers and QB Doug Williams, who won a Super Bowl. -
- Associated Press file photo
Saturday's game
? Who: Tennessee State (3-1) vs. South Carolina State (2-1)
? Where: RCA Dome
? Kickoff: 4 p.m.
? Tickets: (317) 239-5151 or http://www.ticketmaster.com
All-time black college team
Here is the lineup chosen in 1992 to celebrate the centennial of black college football:
? Quarterback: Doug Williams (Grambling)
? Running backs: Walter Payton (Jackson State), Tank Younger (Grambling)
? Wide receivers: Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), Charlie Joiner (Grambling)
? Offensive linemen: Jackie Slater (Jackson State), Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Art Shell (Maryland State), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Ernie Barnes (North Carolina Central)
? Defensive linemen: Willie Davis (Grambling), Ed "Too Tall" Jones (Tennessee State), David "Deacon" Jones (Mississippi Vocational), L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas AM&N)
? Linebackers: Robert Brazile (Jackson State), Harry Carson (South Carolina State), Willie Lanier (Morgan State)
? Defensive backs: Mel Blount (Southern), Lem Barney (Jackson State), Everson Walls (Grambling), Donnie Shell (South Carolina State)
-- Team chosen by the Sheridan Broadcasting Network, which broadcast black college football on the radio.
Black-college dynasties
Here's a look at four of the top teams in black-college football history.
Grambling
? Home, founded: Grambling, La.; 1901
? Football started: 1941
? Best years: From 1941-97, all under coach Eddie Robinson, the Tigers went 408-165-15 and won nine black-college national championships. The team also won titles in 2001 and 2002.
? Players drafted into NFL: 217
? Pro Football Hall of Famers: Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Willie Brown, Charlie Joiner.
? Notable: Tank Younger, Ernie Ladd, Doug Williams
Tennessee State
? Home, founded: Nashville, Tenn.; 1912
? Football started: 1912
? Best years: From 1944-84, most under coach John A. Merritt, the Tigers went 323-69-13 and won 11 black-college national championships.
? Players drafted into NFL: 202
? Notable alumni: Ed "Too Tall" Jones; "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam, Claude Humphrey, Richard Dent
Florida A&M
? Home, founded: Tallahassee, Fla.; 1887
? Football started: 1906
? Best years: From 1945-69, all under coach A.S. "Jake" Gaither, the Rattlers went 203-36-4 and won six black-college national championships.
? Players drafted into NFL: 55
? Notable alumni: Bob Hayes, Ken Riley, Willie Galimore
Jackson State
? Home, founded: Jackson, Miss.; 1877
? Football started: 1911
? Best years: From 1971-90 the Tigers went 158-58, winning the black-college national title in 1985. The team also won titles in 1962 and 1996.
? Players drafted into NFL: 96
? Pro Football Hall of Famers: Walter Payton, Jackie Slater, Lem Barney
Information provided by the schools.
By Jeff Rabjohns
jeff.rabjohns@indystar.com
October 1, 2004
The 1966 Tennessee State football team was unstoppable. Untouchable, really.
The Tigers went undefeated, winning their 10 games by a combined score of 410-51. Six seniors were drafted by the NFL, and 22 players from that team eventually played professional football.
"We could have played with any team at that time," said Leo "Swamp Fox" Johnson, a wide receiver who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1968.
That's just one example of how good football was at historically black colleges before the 1970s, when integration began altering the makeup of rosters in college athletics, particularly in the South. Tennessee State was but one of many black-college football powers back then, joining the likes of Jackson State, Grambling, Florida A&M and Southern.
Even since integration became prevalent, black colleges have produced some of football's greatest players. The late Walter Payton, who retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, came from Jackson State. Jerry Rice, the NFL's all-time leading receiver, is from Mississippi Valley State. Rice played in the inaugural Circle City Classic, which Saturday pits Tennessee State against South Carolina State at the RCA Dome.
But overall the landscape for historically black colleges is considerably different than in its heyday. Historically black colleges and universities produce maybe a dozen NFL draft picks per year and certainly have no teams with 22 future professionals. No historically black school plays at college football's highest level, I-A, or receives major television exposure. In 2003, only nine players from such football teams were drafted by NFL teams.
"I think integration changed things a great deal," said Tennessee Titans 10th-year quarterback Steve McNair, who played at Alcorn State and is the last true NFL star to come from a traditionally black college. "Once the large state schools started to see how the black athlete could help their programs, the talent that was going to the historically black schools had more options."
The way it was
Before integration, historically black colleges were loaded with football talent.
Florida A&M had Bob Hayes, who won two Olympic gold medals as a sprinter and changed the way the NFL thought about speed in helping the Dallas Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season. Doug Williams, who quarterbacked the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl title after the 1987 season, and four Hall of Famers -- Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner -- played at Grambling under legendary coach Eddie Robinson.
Jackson State, in addition to Payton, had future NFL stars such as Jackie Slater and Robert Brazile. Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones played at Mississippi Valley State and Mississippi Vocational.
"I'm willing to bet that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Tennessee State, Jackson State, Grambling, Florida A&M and Southern University probably could have played with anybody in the country, bar none," said Williams, who now works in the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Marino Casem coached and later worked in the athletic departments at such black-college powers as Alcorn State, Alabama State and Southern. He said he considered the Southwestern Athletic Conference the fourth best league in the country from the 1950s through mid-1970s, behind the Big Ten, Pac-8 and SEC.
"We felt we could compete on any given Saturday with anyone," said Casem, 70. "We didn't have the facilities, the weight rooms and the training rooms that a Nebraska had, but we had talent."
In the pre-integration days, traditionally white schools and traditionally black colleges did not play each other. The closeness in talent between the two almost got a test in Baton Rouge, La., at a time when it was the college football capital of the world. In 1958, LSU was named the national champion by The Associated Press and Southern was the black college national champion. Plans were made for the two schools to meet in a scrimmage the next year.
"It was set up and everything but before we could leave campus, police came and told us the game had been canceled," said Charley Granger, a tackle at Southern who played briefly in the NFL and is now writing a book on team chemistry. "It would have been interesting. I think we had the same amount of talent on both teams."
Florida State is traditionally one of the top 10 teams in the country, but for decades, Florida A&M could look at its neighbor across Gaines Street in Tallahassee, Fla., and think, "We could beat them."
"We could have," said Roosevelt Wilson, the Florida A&M athletic director during part of the coaching tenure of Jake Gaither, who went 203-36-4 from 1945-69.
"Of course, we couldn't stay on the field with them now."
In 1979, Florida A&M beat Miami 16-13 in Tallahassee. Four years later, Howard Schnellenberger's Hurricanes won the national title. Last September, the Rattlers played Florida and lost 63-3.
Florida A&M coach Billy Joe said it's difficult to understand how much talent his school had before integration.
"Just take all the great black athletes off of Florida, Florida State and Miami, and that's what you had on FAMU's campus because they couldn't go to Florida, Florida State or Miami," Joe said.
What happened?
McNair was a highly sought prep recruit, but most big-time football programs wanted him as a defensive back. He wanted to play quarterback, and the only school offering that chance was Alcorn State.
Today, that misconception -- that black athletes are better at positions other than quarterback -- is fading into the integration that brought black athletes to traditionally white schools.
By the late 1970s, most big-time college football programs were recruiting black athletes.
"When Alabama and Alabama State come calling, who are you going to go with?" said USA Today's Roscoe Nance, who has written extensively on the subject. "The big schools have more to offer in terms of facilities, exposure and, dare we say, some under-the-table things. It was no contest really."
Football programs at historically black colleges are in NCAA Division I-AA or below and have no national television coverage on a regular basis. A few schools have explored the idea of playing Division I-A football but none has made the jump. It would require at least a $10 million athletic department budget, and most of these schools' budgets are about $5 million or less.
The prevailing thought from those at historically black colleges is that the shift in power was inevitable, and even good, with integration giving black players a chance to play on a bigger stage.
"You don't fault them," Wilson said.
"They just couldn't go before. That's why we were so deep in talent. They couldn't go anywhere else."
Said Joe: "I think it's a great thing for the country, great for racial harmony and is the right thing to do. It's great that it has taken place. During that transition, you had black principals and teachers and coaches who lost their jobs, but as far as diversity and racial harmony, there's no question integration was the best that that ever happened in this country."
Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.
