University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative
Exchange
Doctoral Dissertations
Graduate School
8-1994
Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation and the
University of Tennessee and the Transformation of
the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67
Robert Thomas Epling
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Recommended Citation
Epling, Robert Thomas, "Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the
Southeastern Conference, 1963-67. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1994.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2198
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been
accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more
information, please contact trace@utk.edu.
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Robert Thomas Epling entitled "Seasons of Change:
Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern
Conference, 1963-67." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content
and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy, with a major in Education.
Joan Paul, Major Professor
We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:
John Finger, Joy DeSensi, Clint Allison
Accepted for the Council:
Dixie L. Thompson
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
To the Graduate Counc i l :
I am submitt ing herewith a d i s serta t ion written by Robert
Thoma s Ep l ing ent i t l ed " Se a s ons o f Chang e : Footba l l
D esegregat ion at the Un ivers ity o f T enne s s e e and the
Trans f ormat ion o f the S outheastern Con f erenc e , 1 9 6 3 - 6 7 . "
I
h ave exam ined the f inal copy o f th i s d i s s erta t i on for f orm
and content and r ecommend that it be accepted in part i a l
f u l f i l lment o f the requ i rements for the degree o f Doctor o f
Ph i los ophy , w ith a maj or i n Educat i on .
We have read th i s d i s sertat i on
and recommend i t s acceptance :
Accepted for the Counc i l :
Assoc i ate V i ce Chance l lor
and Dean of the Graduate Scho o l
Seasons o f Change : Footba l l Desegrega t ion
at the Un iver s ity o f Tennes s e e
and t h e Trans f ormat ion o f the S outhea stern Conference ,
1963-1967
A D i s s erta t i on
Presented for the
Doctor of Phi lo sophy
Degree
The Un iver s ity of Tennesse e , Knoxv i l l e
Robert Thomas Ep l i ng
August 1 9 9 4
Copyright
1994
by Robert Thomas Epling
All rights reserved
ii
Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to
wonderful wife and friend,
(1943-1981),
Susan
Sams Epling,
and to Glenda Whorton Epling
my late mother.
I
Thank you both.
iii
love each of you so much.
my
Acknowledgements
I
wish to thank Dr.
the guidance,
assistance,
Joan Paul,
my major professor,
for
and friendship she provided d uring
my d octoral studies and dissertation work.
I
other committee members,
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Bill Morgan for their contributions
John Finger,
and Dr.
Additional ly,
to this project.
unofficial committee member,
friendship.
I
Clint Allison,
Dr.
and
I
a lso thank the
Joy DeSensi,
Andy Kozar served as an
appreciate his help and
would also like to acknowledge Dr.
Milton
K lein and his staff for transcribing the oral history
interviews.
Fina lly,
I
wish to acknowledge and express thanks to
several family members for their encouragement:
Judy Epling;
Johnson;
Ruth Epling and family;
Bill and
Carol Kisor and
Paulette Sams and family.
iv
Bobby and
family;
Bill and
Jamie
Melvin and
Abstract
The Un ivers ity o f Tenne s see f ootba l l program e xc luded
A f r i c an-Ame r i cans from
1891
to
1967.
Dur ing most o f that
span , Vo luntee r athle t i c te ams compete d in the S outhea s tern
Confe rence
( SE C ) , the l a s t ma j or interco l le g i a te athle t i c
le ague t o de se gregate .
Betwee n
1963
the univers i ty athle t i c department ,
and
1967,
change s i n
i n the confe rence , and
i n s o c iety at l arge prompted Te nne s see and severa l othe r SEC
membe r s to i nte grate athle t i c s .
The proce s s o f ra c i a l
desegre ga t i on ranks a s perhaps the le ast chron i c le d
s ign i f icant event in Un ive r s i ty o f Te nne s see f ootba ll
h i story .
I n addre s s i ng that void , th i s d i s sertat ion examine s the
de se gregat i on o f the Univers ity o f Te nne s see footba l l
program within the conte xt o f the
1963
to
1967
t ime pe r iod .
The l ack o f previous scho l a r l y attent ion made imperative the
use o f ora l h i story i nte rviews , and severa l part i c ipants
centra l t o the desegregat ion proce s s cont r i buted .
A
thorough se arch and ana lys i s o f pe rtinent archiva l mate r i a l s
and contemporary newspape r accounts o f the pe r i od prov i ded
addi t i ona l perspective , a s d id a re view o f the e x i st ing
l i te ra ture on Afri can-Ame r i can sports h i story and a th le t i c
inte grat ion .
A l bert Dav i s of Alcoa , Te nne s see , accepted a footba l l
sch o l arship o f fer from the Univers ity o f Te nne s see on Apr i l
v
14 , 1967 .
H i s s igning o f f i c i a l ly e nde d more than seventy
ye ars of rac i a l exclu s i on in Volunteer ath le t i c s .
When an
entrance score controversy kept Dav i s from atte n d i ng the
univers ity , actua l de se gre gat i on on the p l ay i ng f ie ld fe l l
to Le s te r McC l a in of Nashv i l le .
By e arn i ng a var s ity
f ootba l l le tter in 1 9 6 8 , McC l a in be came the f ir s t African­
Ame r i can to d o so in the Southe as tern Confe rence .
Footba l l
de se gregat ion procee de d f a i r ly smooth ly at Te nne s see ,
a lthough re sentments e xpre s se d by McC l a i n ne ar the end o f
h i s c o l le ge ye ars cre ated a s t i r .
The Unive r s i ty o f Te nne s see d i d not le a d the
Southe a stern Conference into footba l l de segregat i on , but the
Te nne s see case prove d v i t a l to a trans format i on i n the
confe rence .
Membe r inst itut i ons o f the SEC gradua l ly
accepte d athle t i c rac i a l integrat i on dur ing the l a te 1 9 60 s
and e a r ly 1 9 7 0 s ,
i n l a rge part be cause o f eve nt s a t the
Un ive r s ity of Te nne s see , and that acceptance transforme d the
Sou the a stern Conference into a more nat i ona l ly re cogn ized
and re spected ath let i c le ague .
vi
Tab le o f Contents
Chapte r One : The Right T ime .
.
1
A . A l bert Davi s : Forgotte n P i oneer .
1
B . A Ge ne r a l Framework .
c.
•
.
Out l ine .
Chapter Two : S outhern Trad i t i ons .
.
.
.
c.
19
22
A . or igins o f Co l le ge Footba l l and the S outhe a stern
. . . . . .
Confere nce
B . An Overview o f Afr i can-Ame r i can Sport i ng
I nvo lvement
. . . .
13
•
22
•
30
Se le cted Rac i a l Ep i sode s I nvo lving S EC Ath le t i c
Te ams .
. 41
Chapter Three : Volunteer Echoe s .
.
.
.
.
50
A . Ear ly Tenne s see Footba l l and the Arr iva l o f
Robert R . Ney l and . . . . . . .
.
50
B . Rac i a l Ep isode s at Tenne s see P r i or t o Footba l l
De se gregat i on . .
. . . .
.
58
C . Pre lude to Footba l l De se gregat ion a t Tenne s see .
Chapter Four :
Se asons o f Change a t Te nne s see .
A . A New Reg ime i n Te nne s see Ath le t i c s
64
71
. 71
B . Ath le t i c de segregat i on come s t o the S outhe a stern
Confe rence . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
81
C . S oc i a l Change i n the 1 9 60 s .
94
vii
Chapte r F ive : Afte rmath
105
A . Le ster McC l a in : Not Just Somebody' s Roommate .
.
105
B . A Transformation i n the Southe as tern Confe rence .
12 1
C . Ep i logue : A Summary and Re f lect i on .
B i b l i ography .
.
.
Vita .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
vi i i
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
132
.
.
.
.
.
.
137
.
157
Chapte r One
The R ight T ime
The Un iver s ity o f Te nne s see f ootba l l program excluded
Afr ican-Ame r i cans from 1 8 9 1 to 1 9 6 7 .
Dur ing most o f that
span , Volunteer ath le t i c te ams competed in the S outhea s tern
Confe rence
( S E C ) , the l a s t ma j or i nterco l le g i ate ath le t i c
le ague to de se gre gate .
Be twee n 1 9 63 and 1 9 6 7 , change s i n
the univers ity ath letic department ,
in the con fe rence , and
in society at l arge prompted Te nne s see and seve r a l other SEC
membe r s to integrate athle t i c s .
The proce s s o f rac i a l
de segregat ion ranks a s pe rhaps the le ast chron i c led
s ign i f i cant event in Univers ity o f Te nne s see f o otba l l
h i story .
A.
A l bert Dav i s : Forgotten P i onee r
Every ma j or col le ge in the country s ought A l be rt Dav i s
dur ing h i s se n i or ye ar i n h igh schoo l .
Approximate ly one
hundred and f i fty univers i t ie s courted h im betwee n the
autumn o f 1 9 6 6 and spr ing o f 1 9 6 7 , w ith more than h a l f
o f fe r i ng sch o l ar sh ips .
Notre Dame , I l l ino i s , Purdue ,
Kansa s , M i ami , and others of a s imi lar reputat i on cont acted
Davi s .
Le s ser known schoo l s d i d the s ame ,
A&M , Te xas We stern , and Tenne s see A & I .
inc lud ing F l orida
Each a sked A l bert
Davi s to v i s i t campus , to mee t students and f a cu l ty , to
1
cons ider matr i cu l at ing .
For an e ighteen year o l d f rom a sma l l town i n east
Tenne s s e e , such of fers created the opportun ity to trave l and
A lbert Dav i s took advantage .
He v i s ited s choo l s from the
northwest , the s outhwest , the midwest , and the east coast .
I n December o f 1 9 6 6 a lone , he p lanned and took t r i p s
tota l l ing n e a r l y 60 0 0 m i l e s .
than other s .
Some produced more thr i l l s
The Un iver s i ty o f Houston gave Dav i s a r ous ing
w e l come by f l a s h i ng his name on the scoreboard o f the
Houston Astrodome .
Popu lar pro f e s s i ona l footb a l l star G a l e
Sayers e s corted Davi s around the Un ivers ity o f Kansas
campus .
I n Knoxvi l l e , Univers ity o f Tenn e s s e e students
l oudly chanted "W e Want Albert , W e Want Albert " at h a l ftime
o f a Vo lunteer b a sk etb a l l game . '
The adu l a t ion conferred upon A lbert Davis ext ended
b eyond c o l lege recruit ing e f f orts .
In h i s hometown o f
A l coa , he even pres ided over an "Albert Dav i s Day , " g iven
h im in "regards for the recogn i t i on that A l coa and B l ount
' Author interview w ith Albert Dav i s , 9 August 1 9 9 2 , 17 .
A l s o s e e Ted R iggs , "Albert Dav i s (Who E l s e? ) I s No . 1 on
R e cru it ing L i st , " Knoxvil l e News -Sentinel , 1 3 November 1 9 6 6 , DB ;
Ted R i ggs , " I ngenu ity Helps R ecru i ters Lure G r i d Standout s , "
Knoxvil l e News -Sentinel , 4 December 1 9 6 6 , D6 ; "Dav i s St i l l
Shopp ing Among 1 0 0 C o l l ege B ids , " Knoxvil l e News -Sentinel , 1 9
January 1 9 6 7 , 2 9 ; "UT Ath l e t i cs Enters Gam e o f L i f e , " Dail y
Bea con ( Un iver s i ty o f Tenne ssee student newspaper ) , 1 5 Apr i l
1967 , 4 .
The author conducted a l l interviews .
Un l e s s otherw i s e
ind i cated , t a p e s and transcr ipt i ons are hou sed a t t h e Univers i ty
Numbers
o f Tennes s e e , O f f ice of the Univers ity H i stor i an .
f o l l ow i ng interv i ew references refer to transcr ipt page numbers .
2
County have rece ived from the adventures o f A lbert Dav i s . " 2
Those "adventure s " that inspired d i stant co l l eg e s to f ly i n
Davi s for campus v i s i t s a n d i nduced a sma l l s outhern town to
honor one o f i t s own teenagers with a spec i a l parade and
"day" came on the footb a l l f i e ld .
A lb ert Dav i s ran w ith a footb a l l better than any p l ayer
i n Tennessee h igh schoo l f ootb a l l h i story .
H e stood an inch
or s o over s i x feet ta l l and we ighed nearly 2 2 0 p ounds ,
impr e s s ive mea surement s for a back at any l eve l i n the
1 9 6 0 s , stunn i ng s i z e for a h i gh school runner.
Dav i s
covered o n e hundred yards i n j us t more than ten seconds ,
th i s speed enab l i ng h im to ama s s near ly 3 0 0 0 yards and score
more than t h i rty touchdowns by runn ing past def enders from a
back f i e l d pos i t ion , and wh i l e returning punt s and k i ck o f f s .
Davi s a l so p o s s e s s ed tremendous strength , a l l owing h im to
run through defens ive p l ayers when he f ound no room to e lude
them .
Coaches f rom the h igh schoo l , c o l l e g i at e , and
profe s s i ona l l eve l s heaped pra i s e on the budd i ng star.
Former Vanderb i lt Univer s ity head coach Jack Green called
A lbert Dav i s the b est h igh schoo l f ootb a l l p l ayer he had
ever s e en .
A h igh l ight f i lm o f the 1 9 6 6 A l coa Tornadoes ,
Davi s ' h igh school squad , spurred pos i t ive comments from
pro f e s s i ona l scouts.
The unusua l b lend o f s i z e , speed , and
2 "Albert Dav i s Day Set for Saturday , 11 Maryvi l l e -Al coa Times ,
6 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 1 1 .
3
power l ed then -Un iver s ity o f Tennes see head f ootba l l coach
Doug D i ck ey t o compare A l bert Dav i s to l egendary Nat i ona l
Footba l l L e ague star J im Brown .
Dav i s even wore the Brown
trademark , j ersey number 3 2 . 3
Acc o l ades and awards accumu l ated a s Dav i s neared
g raduat i on i n 1 9 6 7 .
State h i gh school coaches named h im the
top prospect i n Tennes see .
Newspaper co lumn i st s from across
the S outh des i gnated Davi s a s an " A l l - S outhern " p l ayer a fter
both h i s j un i or and sen i or seasons , the f i rst t ime a p l ayer
Parade Maga z ine named A l bert
earned the d i st inct ion twice .
Dav i s one o f the best e l even p l ayers i n the nat ion , an award
that resulted i n Davi s being ment i oned , a l ong w ith the other
honoree s , on the Ed Su l l ivan t e l ev i s i on program .
W ith h i s
ab i l ity unquesti oned , the only uncerta i nty surround ing Dav i s
dur i ng the spr ing of 1 9 6 7 i nvolved h i s futur e .
Spec i f i ca l ly , where wou l d A l bert Dav i s p l ay co l lege
footba l l ?4
The Univer s i ty o f Tennessee appeared to be the l o g i ca l
cho i ce , espec i a l ly i f the se lect i on rested s o l e ly on
3 I nterv i ew with Doug D i ckey , Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s e e
Ath l et i c D irector , 1 8 November 1 9 9 2 .
Doug D i ck ey served as head
footba l l coach at the Univers ity of Tennessee from 1 9 6 4 to 1 9 6 9 .
A l so see Ted R i ggs , " Davis . . . One i n Mi l l i on , " Knoxvil l e
News -Sentinel , 2 1 October 1 9 6 6 , 1 9 ; "Albert Dav i s Day S et for
S aturday , " 1 1 ; Jim Brown r emark from author conve r s a t i on w i th
D i ckey , 1 3 November 1 9 9 1.
4 See "Al bert Dav i s W a i t s ; U-K S igns 4 i n Area , " Knoxvil l e
News -Sen tin e l , 1 1 December 1 9 6 6 , D2 ; " A l bert Dav i s R epeats a s
Al l - S outhern , " Knoxvil l e News -Sentin e l , 1 8 December 1 9 6 6 D5 ;
" A l coa ' s A l bert Dav i s Makes A l l -Amer ica , " Knoxvil l e News­
Sen tinel , 2 2 December 1 9 6 6 , 1 8 .
4
ath l et i cs .
At home games , the school ' s footba l l squad , c l a d
i n orange and dubbed the Vo lunteers , p l ayed before large and
voci ferous crowds .
Nat i ona l ly t e l evi sed broadcasts featured
the team regu l ar l y , no sma l l ent i c ement for a loca l young
man w ith the credent i a l s and pro f e s s i ona l asp irat i ons of an
A l bert Davi s .
The Vo lunteers a l so boa sted a n energet i c
young coach i n D i ckey .
After only three years i n Knoxvi l l e ,
he had rej uvenated Tenne s see footba l l w ith consecut ive bow l
v i ctor i e s f o l l owing the 1 9 6 5 and 1 9 66 sea sons .
The
potent i a l for greater succ e s s e s seemed imm inent and the
add i t i on o f a p l ayer such as Al bert Dav i s cou l d conceivably
mean a nat ional champ i onsh i p . 5
The U n iver s i ty o f Tennessee be longed to the
Southea stern Con ference , another appea l ing f a ctor f or a h igh
s choo l footba l l p l ayer .
A popu l ar and pre s t i g i ous
interco l l egiate l eague made up pr imar i ly o f univers it i e s i n
t h e d e e p South , both ind ividua l a n d team ach i evements
symbo l i z ed the strength of the S EC dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s .
I n the
5 S evera l work s cover the genera l h i story o f f ootba l l at the
U n ivers ity o f Tenne s s ee , see Russ Bebb , The Big Orange : A S t ory
of Tennessee Footba l l ( Huntsvi l l e , A l a bama : Strode Pub l i sher s ,
1 9 7 3 ) ; Bud F i e lds and Bob Bertucc i , Big Orange : A Pictorial
His tory of Universi ty of Tennessee Foo tba l l ( W e s t Po int , New
York : L e i sure Press , 1 982 ) ; " 1 0 0 Years of Vo lunteers 18 9 1 - 1 9 9 0 , "
two vo lume video ( L exington , Kentucky : Host Commun icat ions ,
1 9 92 ) .
For more spec i f i c in format ion on Tenne s s ee footba l l i n the
1 9 6 0 ' s , see Rus s Bebb , The Big Orange , 3 1 1 - 3 4 7 ; Tom S i l e r ,
Tennessee ' s Daz z l ing Decade : 1960-1970 ( pub l i shed by the author ,
a l l r i ghts r e served , 1 9 7 0 ) ; M ik e S iroky and Bob Bertucc i , Orange
Ligh tning : Inside Universi ty of Tennessee Foo tba l l ( W e s t Po int ,
New York : L e i sure Pres s , 1 982 ) .
5
spr i ng o f 1 9 6 7 , conference members boas ted f ive o f the
previous ten co l l ege f ootba l l nat i ona l champ ionships
accord i ng t o Assoc i ated Pre s s po l l s .
York Jet s ,
Joe Namath o f the N ew
a former quarterba ck i n the S EC ,
l oomed a s the
most c o l or f u l and pub l i c i z ed p l ayer in pro f e s s i on a l footba l l
and owned perhaps the most lucrat ive contract i n sport .
Another Southeastern Conference quarterba ck ,
Steve Spur r i e r
o f F l orida , won the R e i sman Trophy s i gn i fy i ng t h e nat ion ' s
best c o l lege footbal l p l ayer i n 1 9 6 6 . 6
St i l l , even w ith so many pos it ive inducements favo r i ng
the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee , one fact generated more
pub l i c ity and overshadowed a l l others dur i ng the recruitment
of A lbert Davi s .
The pres t i ge o f the S outhea stern
C onf erence became secondary .
The growing exc itement
surround i ng the f ootba l l program at the Un i vers ity o f
T ennes s ee aroused l es s attent i on .
The proximity o f
Knoxv i l l e to A l coa , some f i fteen m i l e s , t h e r eputat ion o f
Davi s w i th the local fans , the g l owing words o f
sportswr iters a n d coaches , t h e s e a l l mattered n o t a s much a s
t h e s in g l e most memora b l e a spect o f the recruitment of
A l bert Davi s .
Al bert Dav i s was an Afr ican-Amer ican .
A
b lack p l ayer had never worn the orange f or a Tenne ssee
footba l l team .
The recru it ing saga concluded on Apr i l 1 4 ,
6 For an overv i ew of the S EC ,
1 9 6 7 , when
see John D . McC a l lum ,
Sou theastern Conference Foo tbal l : Ameri ca ' s Mos t Compe t i t i ve
Conference ( New Y ork : Char l e s Scr ibner ' s Sons , 1 98 0 ) .
6
A l bert Dav i s s igned a f ootba l l grant - i n - a i d to attend the
Univers ity o f Tenne ssee .
H i s s ign ing o f f i c i a l ly ended the
exc lus i on o f Afr i can-Ame r i cans f rom ath l et i c t e ams at the
un iver s ity .
The Dai l y Beacon , Tenne s s e e ' s s tudent
newspaper , app l auded the ath l e t i c department for f in a l ly
" enter ( ing ) the g ame o f l i fe . " 7
Coach D i ckey , a t the press
conference announcing the s i gning , sm i l ed when a sked what
p o s i t ion Dav i s m i ght p l ay , and wink ed that h e p l anned to
" p l ay A lbert where he can carry that ba l l . " 8
proc l a imed ,
Dav i s happ i ly
" I have had the privi l ege o f v i s i t i ng schoo l s
a l l over the country .
.
. ther e i s no p l ace l ik e home . " 9
After bre ak ing the c o l or l i ne w i th Dav i s , th e
Vo lunteers s igned a s econd b l a ck p l ayer i n 1 9 6 7 .
Lester
McCl a in , a rece iver f rom Nashv i l l e and a less hera lded
recru i t than A lbert Dav i s , agreed to scho l a r s h i p terms on
the 9th o f May , becoming the fort i eth and f in a l prep p l ayer
s i gned by the Vo lunteers that spr ing .
D i ck e y and the
T ennes see coach ing staff , fo l l owing the preva i l i ng l og i c i n
such cases , f e l t it imperat ive to have m o r e t h a n o n e b l a ck
p l ayer g o through th e desegregat ion proce s s .
I n e s sence ,
the Vo lunteers s i gned L ester McC l a in to be A lbert Davi s '
7 Tom Humphrey and Lou i s Gwi n , "Alcoa' s Dav i s S igns w ith
Volunteers , " Dai l y Bea con , 15 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 1; " UT Ath l et i cs Enters
Game Of L i fe , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 5 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 4 .
8Ted R i ggs ,
News -Sentine l ,
"U-T S i gns Alcoa ' s A l bert Davi s , " Knoxvi l l e
1 4 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , B 4 .
7
roommate , a lthough McC l a i n did not know i t a t the t ime and
wou l d eventua l ly far exceed tho s e meager expectat ions .
The
path to actua l desegregation on the footba l l f i e ld seemed
c l ear for the Vo lunteer s , with Dav i s l eading the way and
McC l a i n i n a support ing r o l e . 10
The pa i r ing o f Albert Dav i s and the Un ivers ity of
T enne s see r ema ined sat i s factory for only a br i e f t ime as
probl ems center i ng on the prep star ' s e l ig i b i l ity s oon
sul l i ed the r e l a t i onsh ip .
A newspaper account at the t ime
o f the s i gn i ng ceremony conta ined what s e emed a tr ivia l note
expl a i n i ng that Tenne ssee s igned Davi s after he scored
" surpr i s ingly h igh on h i s c o l l ege entrance exam , " the
S cho l a s t i c Apt i tude Test
( SAT ) . 1 1
Controversy concern i ng
that SAT score eventua l ly rui ned any poss i b i l ity o f Dav i s
p l ay i ng a t the Un iver s i ty o f Tenne s see .
Two week s a fter the s i gning , Dr . Ear l Ramer , a
univers ity professor , Tennessee ' s representat ive t o the
Nat i ona l C o l l e g i ate Ath l e t i c A s s o c i a t i on ( NCAA ) , and the
future pres ident o f that organi z at i on , s ent a l etter to
Tenne s s e e ath l et i c d i rector Bob W oodru f f suggest ing that
R amer , W oodru f f , and D i ck ey meet to d i scuss s ome ''prob l ems .
10 "Vo l s C l o s e ' 6 7 R ecru it ing Campa i gn W ith S econd Negro
Footba l l S ignee , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 0 May 1 9 6 7 , 7.
For comments about the preference of having more than one
" p i oneer , " see A l bert Davis interv i ew , 14-15; Doug D i ck ey
intervi ew , 2-4; i nterv i ew with Lester McCl a i n , 22 S eptember 1 9 9 2 ,
8.
1 1 Ted R iggs ,
" U- T S igns A l coa ' s Albert Dav i s , " B4 .
8
. on points o f recrui tment and admiss ions . "
R amer ,
apparent l y respond ing to inqu i r i e s from h i s co l l eagues on
the NCAA Counc i l , expected to face que s t i ons about the
e l ig i b i l i ty o f A l bert Dav i s a t an upcom i ng NCAA meet ing . 12
W i th i n a month , the controversy a bout the Dav i s t e s t
score became pub l i c .
Coaches from r iv a l c o l leges c l a imed
that a l ow score by Dav i s on a d i f f erent entrance exam , the
Amer i can Co l l ege Test ( ACT } , kept them from pur suing the
runn ing back even more strong ly .
The s e coaches wondered how
the Un iver s i ty o f Tennessee , operat ing under s im i l a r
entrance r equ i r ements , cou ld grant Dav i s adm i s s ion .
The
univers ity , and Davi s , responded that only one test had been
tak en , the SAT , and that the score was sat i s fa ctory for
admi s s ion .
Temporar i ly , the s i tuation ca lmed . 13
The Univers ity o f Tenne ssee norma l ly r ecogn i z ed and
a ccepted only the ACT , the entrance exam Dav i s did not t ak e
before s i gning w i th the Vo lunteers .
E l ig i b i l ity r u l e s
a l l owed s ome f l exibi l i ty , however , a n d t h e S outheastern
Conference approved SAT scores that converted i nto
adm i s s i b l e ACT scores ba s ed on a standard corre l a t ion s c a l e .
A l bert Dav i s ' converted SAT score met the r equ i r ements for
12 See " L etter from Ear l Ramer to Bob W oodru f f , " 28 Apr i l
1 9 6 7 , i n Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR - 9 3 , Box 4 , Fo lder 3 , Univers ity
o f Tenne s s ee Arch ives , Knoxv i l l e .
R amer served as pres i dent o f
the NCAA from 1 9 7 1 to 1 9 7 8 .
1 3 Steve C l a rk , "Davis S t i r s a Controver sy , " Atl anta Journal ,
2 May 1 9 6 7 , 4 5 & 4 8 ; "Dav i s Didn ' t Tak e A . C . T . , Coach Says , "
Atl anta Journal , 9 May 1 9 6 7 , 5 0; Dav i s i nterv i ew , 6 .
9
conference e l i g ib i l ity . 14
Add i t i ona l ly , Dav i s c l a ims
Un ivers ity o f Tennessee o f f i c i a l s a ssured h im the SAT score
wou l d suf f i ce dur ing a pr ivate meet ing between the Dav i s
f am i l y and univer s ity pres ident Andrew Holt .
Newspaper
accounts ver i fy that such a meeting did tak e p l a c e j us t days
b e fore the s igning ceremony . 15
Neverth e l e s s , Ear l R amer ' s l etter t o B ob W oodru f f on
Apr i l 2 8 ,
1967 ,
c l ear ly shows that the univers i ty p l anned ,
pr iva t e l y at least , to requ ire Dav i s to tak e the ACT test ,
even after s i gn i ng h im to a scho larship b a s ed on h i s SAT
s core .
Accor d i ng to R amer ,
" I t w i l l be to A lb ert ' s
advantage , a s we l l as ours , to conf orm a s c lo s e l y a s
pos s ib l e t o norma l Un ivers ity rout ine i n these matters .
1116
Davi s , r emember ing the a s surances about h i s SAT s core and
s ens i ng that the univers ity was reneg ing on a prom i s e ,
b a lked a t sugges t i ons that he enter summer schoo l at the
univers ity and t ak e the ACT test i n order t o be e l i g ib l e for
the f a l l term ( at the t ime summer schoo l was open to a l l
T ennes s ee h i gh schoo l graduates w i thout restr i c t i on because
o f sma l ler summer enr o l lment ) .
Am i d growing controversy over the test score s ituat ion ,
14 See L arry B ower s ,
Knoxvil l e News -Sent i nel ,
"We W ant Dav i s , Say D i ckey , Dunn , "
9 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , DJ .
1 5 See A lb ert Dav i s intervi ew ,
A l coa ' s A lb ert Dav i s , " B 4 .
6 and 1 9; Ted R iggs ,
"U-T S igns
16 "Letter from Earl Ramer to Bob W oodruf f , " Earl M . Ramer
Papers , AR 9 3 , Box 4 , Folder 3 .
-
10
the Univers ity o f Tennes s ee r e s c i nded the s cho l a r s h ip o f f er
to Albert Dav i s on June 1 5 , exact ly two months a fter the
much pub l i c i z ed s i gn ing ceremony .
The pub l i c s crut iny o f
the Dav i s a f f a i r and the r e fusa l o f Dav i s t o t ak e another
entrance exam cont r i buted to the dec i s ion , and the
determ i n i ng inf luence came when the Educat i ona l Test ing
Serv i ce , adm i n i strators o f the entrance exam ,
and then nu l l i f i ed Davi s ' SAT score .
inves t igated
No fu l l exp l anat ion
ever appeared , but rumor s that two scores e x i sted for A l bert
Dav i s arose and cont inue to pers i s t .
A lbert Dav i s d i s avows
any know l edge of someone e l se t ak ing the test in h i s name
and a s serts that he d i d take the exam .
Doug D i ck ey , wh i l e
expr e s s ing empathy for Davi s , s imp ly reca l l s a "m i x -up " and
that Dav i s "d idn ' t qua l i fy with the test ing scores that were
neces s ary . "1 7
The epi sode embarrassed both the Unive r s i ty o f
T ennessee and A l bert Davi s .
The un iver s ity hand led the
s ituat i on poor ly by not c l early st ipu l a t i ng that Dav i s wou l d
b e r equ i r ed t o t ak e a n add i t i ona l entrance exam .
A l l o f the
contemporary news accounts gave the impre s s ion o f Dav i s
be ing ful ly qua l i f i ed and eager to j o i n t h e fre shman team i n
17 See A l bert Dav i s interview , 4 ; Doug D i ck ey interv i ew , 3 .
For contemporary news accounts in 1 9 6 7 , see "Vo l S i gnee Dav i s May
Not Enrol l , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 15 June 1 9 6 7 , 3 5 ; "Albert
Dav i s May Not Enro l l At UT , " Knoxvi l l e Journ a l , 1 5 June 1 9 6 7 , 2 0 ;
"Dav i s ' G r i d Grant W ithdrawn by U-T , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen t i n e l , 1 6
June 1 9 6 7 , 1 7 ; Ed Harr i s , "Dav i s ' UT Grant - I n-Aid H e l d Up , "
Knoxvi l l e Journal , 1 6 June 1 9 6 7 , 2 2 ; "Vo l s W ithdraw Grant t o
Dav i s , " A t l a n t a Cons t i t u ti on , 1 6 June 1 9 6 7 , 4 2 ; Tom Anderson ,
"From Up C l ose , " Knoxvi l l e Journal , 1 7 June 1 9 6 7 , 6 .
11
the f a l l o f 1 9 6 7 .
D e f l ecting cr i t i c i sm by mer e l y c l a iming
that A l bert D a v i s f a i l ed to qua l i fy academ i ca l ly
overs imp l i f i ed the a f f a i r cons iderabl y .
Such a content ion
not only cast an a sper s ion on D av i s , but a l s o d i verted
attent ion from the ath l e t i c department ' s ro l e in the
controversy .
A l bert D a v i s resented the percept ion caused by the
r ecru it ing debac l e .
More than two decades l ater , he
commented on cont i nuing reports that he f a i l ed a test to
attend the Un iver s i ty of Tennessee :
d i d take the test to go .
you and your SAT . ' "18
.
"That ' s a l i e .
. the pres i dent s a i d ,
I never
' we accept
In August o f 1 9 6 7 , D av i s accepted a
s cho larship o f f er from Tennessee A & I ( now Tennessee State ) ,
a h i stor i ca l ly b lack c o l l ege in Na shv i l l e . 1 9
He
part i c ipated i n both bas eba l l and footba l l wh i l e comp l et ing
an undergraduate degree , then moved on to a pro f e s s iona l
career i n the Nat i ona l Footba l l League and the now defunct
Wor l d Footba l l League .
I r on i ca l ly , Albert D a v i s eventua l ly earned a master ' s
degree from the Un ivers i ty of Tennessee and returned to the
1 8A l bert D av i s interv iew ,
20.
1 9 See "A& I May Name Dav i s To '6 7 Gridiron Ro ster , " Dai l y
Bea con , 1 1 Ju ly 1 9 6 7 , 1 and 5 ; "D avis H a s N a shv i l l e Job , Po ints
t o A & I , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 1 June 1 9 6 7 , 3 7 ; "D a v i s Not
B itter About U-T Grant , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen ti n e l , 1 August 1 9 6 7 ,
12 .
D a v i s eventua l ly took the ACT test to qua l i fy for the
sch o l arsh i p a t Tennessee A & I ; he scored 1 5 , wh i ch wou l d have l e ft
him two po i nt s short o f the score neces sary t o attend the
Un iver s i ty o f Tennes s ee , see " Spencer Haywood M i s s e s on ACT
Test , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sentinel , 2 9 August 1 9 6 7 , 1 2 .
12
Knoxv i l l e area a s the f irst b l ack pub l i c schoo l
admin i strator h ired from outs ide the loca l system .
Although
he rema ins the most c e l ebrated h i gh schoo l f ootba l l p l ayer
in state h i story , Albert Dav i s has become a forgotten
p ioneer i n the des egregat i on o f Tennes see f ootba l l .
The
t a sk of i ntegrat ing Tennessee footba l l on the p l ay i ng f i e ld
f e l l to Lester McC l a i n .
He , not the more her a lded Davi s ,
wou l d go on t o become the f irst African-Amer ican i n the
S outheastern Conference to earn a vars i ty l etter i n
footba l l . w
B.
A General Framework
The s i gn i ng of A l bert Dav i s culm i nated a f ive year
period o f change i n the a th l e t i c department a t the
Univers ity o f Tennes see .
The changes that occurred between
1 9 63 and 1 9 6 7 provided the foundat i on for the eventu a l
d esegregat i on o f the Volunteer f ootba l l program , a
hereto f ore negl ected top i c o f study . Cons ider i ng the
turbu l ence o f the 1 9 6 0 s , and the pass i onate fee l ings i n the
S outh toward both footba l l and rac i a l i ntegrat ion , the
omi s s i on is s tr ik i ng .
I n address ing that vo i d , th i s d i s s erta t i on exam ines the
desegregat ion o f the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee footba l l
program with i n the context o f that 1 9 6 3 t o 1 9 6 7 t ime per i od .
W see Eric Vre e l and , ''Knox schoo l board to vote on h i r i ng
f i rst b lack out - o f - state adm i n i strator , " Knoxvil l e News -Sen tin e l ,
2 December 1 9 9 1 , 1 and 4 .
13
No extens ive s tud i e s on the top i c e x i st for Tennessee , or
f or any other ind ividua l schoo l i n the Southea stern
Conference .
The members o f the Southea stern Conf erence h e l d
the author i ty t o act i ndependent ly o n the des egregat i on
i s sue , thus the s ign i f i cant need for stud i e s o f spec i f i c
inst i tut i ons , a s opposed t o b l anket stud i e s o f the ent i r e
l eague .
I n i t i a l ly , s evera l quest i ons s erved a s a guide for the
research .
ath l e t i cs?
Why d i d the univers ity decide to desegregate
Wha t factors inf luenced the t ime frame f or
d esegrega t i on?
Who made the dec i s i ons?
How d i d the proce s s
compare w ith other instances o f ath le t i c desegregat ion ,
if
compara b l e a t a l l . What ram i f icat ions d id the exper i ences
hold for the Univer s i ty o f Tenne s s ee and other t eams w i th i n
the S outhea stern Conference?
I n addre s s ing such quest ions ,
a c a s e study evo lved . 2 1
21 The S outhea stern Con f erence was the l a s t ma j or
interco l l eg i ate conference to de segregate ath l et i cs , s e e Joan
Pau l , Richard V . McGehe e , and He len Fant , "The Arr iva l and
Ascendence o f B l ack Ath letes i n the S outhea stern Conf erence ,
1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 0 , 11 Phyl on 4 5 (December , 1 9 8 4 ) : 2 8 4 - 2 9 7 .
S ever a l
ques t i ons a r e posed at the conc lus i on o f that art i c l e ( p . 2 9 5 ) ,
suggesting a need for further research .
Thos e que st ions provided
the s tart i ng p o int f or th i s d i s sertat ion .
As can best be determi ned , one recent s tudy a ttempt s a
comp l ete overv i ew o f SEC footba l l des egregat ion , s e e Raymond
Hughes , "D e segregating the Holy Day : Footba l l , B l acks , a nd the
S outheastern Con ference , " unpub l i shed doctora l d i s s erta t i on , the
Oh i o State Univer s i ty , 1 9 9 1.
The work cont a i ns an impress ive b i b l i ography and notes
sect i on , but is o f questionab l e sch o l a r l y va lue .
Factu a l errors
tarn i sh the s tudy ; two examp l e s are the m i s - ident i f icat i ons o f
Lester M c C l a i n ( f i rst African-Amer ican footba l l l etterman for
Tennessee and the SEC) , and Godfrey D i l l ard ( an early b l ack
ba sketba l l p l ayer at Vanderb i lt ) .
Lester M cC l a i n i s m i staken for
14
Var i ous sources of inf ormat i on proved va luab l e .
The
l ack o f previ ous scho l ar l y attent ion made imperative the use
o f ora l h i story i ntervi ews .
S evera l part i c ipants centr a l to
the desegregat ion process expressed a w i l l ingn e s s t o
contr ibute .
The Univers ity o f Tenne s s ee housed three
pert i nent co l l ect i ons .
The Earl M . Ramer Papers inc lude
informa t i on on un ivers ity ath l et i c s between 1 9 5 1 and 1 9 7 8 .
The m inutes of Ath l e t i c s Board meet ings beg i nn i ng in 1 9 5 1 ,
prov ide only a h ighly s a n it i z ed o f f i c i a l vers ion o f the
proceedings , but do trace the imp ortant deci s i ons and
d i scus s ions that fa ced the ath l et i c department over the
decade s ,
inc luding the severa l years that D r . Ramer served
as pres i dent of the NCAA .
The C. E . Brehm Papers conta i n
mater i a l u s e f u l f or background and context , espec i a l ly w ith
r egard to the genera l integrat i on o f the student body .
Brehm s erved a s univers ity pres ident from 1 9 4 6 to 1 9 5 9 .
A
third comp i l a t i on , the Tom Sil er Col l ection , f e ature s papers
and corre spondence of the i n f luent i a l l ong-t ime Knoxvi l l e
f ormer NFL p l ayer D ewey McC l a in ( p . 7 2 ) , and s even pages o f text
( 1 1 9 - 1 2 5 ) are comm itted to a d i scus s i on of D i l l ard ' s f ootba l l
( rather than ba sketba l l ) career .
The s e and s im i l a r errors weaken
the study con s i derab l y .
For more i nf ormation on the desegregat ion o f ath let ics i n
the S outheastern Conference , s e e " P erry Wa l lace : Fear and
Loath i ng i n Oxf ord , " in Roy Nee l , Dynamite! 75 Years of
Vanderbil t B aske tbal l ( Nashv i l l e : Burr -Oak Pub l i sh i ng , 1 9 7 5 ) :
1 6 6 - 1 7 2 ; Cha r l e s H . Mart in , " J im Crow i n the Gymn a s i um : The
I ntegrat ion of C o l l ege Ba sketba l l in the Amer ican S outh , " The
Int erna tional Journal of the His tory of Sport 10 ( Apr i l , 1 9 9 3 ) :
6 8 - 8 6; Cha r l e s H . Mart in , " The I ntegrat i on o f S outhea stern
Conference Ath l et i c s , " unpub l i shed paper pres ented t o Annu a l
Mee t i ng o f t h e S outhern H i stor ica l Associat ion , 3 November 1 9 9 0 ,
New Or leans , Lou i s i ana .
15
sportswr i ter and addre s s e s a wide range o f top i c s ,
Tennessee footba l l .
inc lud ing
The Si l er Col l e ct i on is housed i n the
un iver s i ty ' s Spec i a l Co l l ections l ibrary , wh i l e the Ramer
and Brehm papers are in the univers ity archive s . 22
An exhaust ive search and ana lys i s o f contemporary
n ewspaper accounts of the desegregat i on proc e s s f ound
gener a l ly s ound , and reasonably thorough coverage , a lthough
cr it ica l exam inat i on o f the A lbert D a v i s a f f a i r wa s lacking .
The two loca l da i l ies , the Knoxvi l l e News-Sent inel and the
Knoxvi l l e Journa l , kept a near ly inces sant ,
but sympathet i c ,
ga z e toward the un ivers ity ath l et i c department .
The
Univer s i ty of Tennessee student newspaper , known unt i l 1 9 6 5
a s the Orange and Whi te , therea fter a s the Dai l y Beacon ,
supp l i ed useful mater i a l a s we l l , regu l a r l y comment ing on
ath l e t i c de segregat ion , o ften i n the form of l etters to the
ed itor from intere sted or concerned s tudent s .
A rev i ew and understand ing o f the sport ing i nvo lvement
of African-Amer i cans from a h i stor ica l p er spect ive was
e s sent i a l .
The ever- expand ing l i terature in th i s part i c u l a r
segment o f the sport h i story f i e l d a l l owed t h e opportun ity
22 P l e a s e r e f e r to the reference sect i on at the e n d o f the
d i s s ertat i on f or a comp lete l i st o f interv i ew cont r i butor s .
See
Earl M . Ramer Papers, 1951-1978, Un ivers ity o f Tennes s ee
Arch ives , AR- 9 3 ; C . E . Brehm Papers , Un i vers ity o f Tennes see
Archive s , AR 6 ; Tom Si l er Col l e c t i on , M S - 1 8 8 6 , Spec i a l
Col l e ct i on s , Univers i ty o f Tennessee .
The Ramer papers actua l ly
cont a i n some i n f orma t i on on Tennes s ee ath l e t i c s dat i ng back t o
1 9 0 8 , most l y i n t h e form o f department by- l aws and budget s .
Knoxv i l l e i s a l s o horne to the B eck Cu ltura l Exchange Center .
The B eck Center cont a i n s an extens i ve array o f i n forma t i on on the
h i story o f b lacks in Knoxv i l l e and the east Tenne s see region .
16
to deve l op appropr i ate context and background .
genera l overvi ews proved helpfu l . n
S evera l
A l s o bene f i c i a l were
the many stud i e s exam i n ing spec i f i c ind iv idua l s , event s , or
t op i c s perta i n ing to b l acks i n sport .
Rather than c i t ing
a l l o f them i n the form of a b i b l i ograph i c e s s ay , spec i f i c
ref erences throughout the d i s sertat ion s eemed more
p l aus i bl e .
Two part icular stud i e s do mer i t attent ion at th i s
point .
Ju l e s Tyg i e l ,
in Basebal l ' s Gre a t Experimen t ,
deta i l s the we l l known trava i l s o f Jack i e Rob inson dur ing
Rob inson ' s succe s s fu l , and o ften stormy , re integrat i on o f
ma j or l eague baseba l l i n the 1 9 4 0 s a n d 1 9 5 0 s . 24
Tyg i e l
exp l ores many o f the inf luences that surrounded the
23 For a recent overview of the h i story o f b l ack sporting
i nvo l vement s e e Arthur R . Ashe , Jr . , A Hard Road to Gl ory : A
His t ory of the Afri can -Ameri can Athl e t e ( New York : Warner Books ,
1 9 8 8 } , in 3 vo lumes ( 1 6 1 9 - 1 9 1 8 , 1 9 1 9 - 1 9 4 5 , s i nce 1 9 4 5 } ; see a l s o
Edwin B . Henderson , The Negro i n Sports (Wash ington , D . C . :
Assoc i ated Pub l i shers , 1 9 3 9 ) ; Art Rust , Jr . and Edna Rust , Art
Rust ' s Il l ustra ted Hi story of the B l a ck Ath l e te ( Garden City , NY :
D oubl eday and Company , 1 9 8 5 } ; A . S . "D o c " Young , Negro Firsts in
Sports ( Ch i cago : Johnson Pub l i sh i ng Company , 1 9 6 3 ) .
See a l s o
"The B l ack Ath l ete i n Amer i can Sport , " D avid K .
Wiggins ed i tor Journal of Sport History 1 5 ( W i nter , 1 9 8 8 } .
Th i s
spec i a l i s sue i s devoted ent i r e ly t o Afr i can-Amer ican sporting
h i story .
24Ju l e s Tyg i e l , Basebal l ' s Grea t Experimen t ( New York : Oxford
Un iver s ity Pre s s , 1 9 8 3 } .
The term " r e i ntegrat i o n '' is approp r i ate
becau s e Jack i e Rob inson wa s not the f irst Afri can-American to
p l ay maj or l e ague bas eba l l i n orga n i z ed wh ite l eagues .
For i n f ormat ion on early Afr i can-American bas eba l l p l ayers ,
see Larry B owman , "Moses F l e etwood Wa lker : The F i rst B l a ck Maj or
League B a s e ba l l P l ayer , " i n Peter Levine , Baseba l l Hist ory , ( New
York : Stadium Books , 1 9 9 0 } : 6 1 - 7 5 ; Robert Peterson , Onl y the B a l l
Was Whi te ( New York : Oxford Univers ity Pre s s , 1 9 7 0 ) : 1 6 - 5 1 ;
Harold Seymour , Basebal l : Th e Peopl e ' s Game ( New York : Oxf ord
Un ivers ity Pre s s , 1 9 9 0 } : 5 3 1 - 6 0 9 .
17
desegregat i on process .
Among those i n f luences were
compet i t ive con s iderat ions ,
l ega l rami f i cat i ons , media
pressures , and chang ing societa l atti tude s toward b l acks
w i th i n the context of post-Wor l d War I I Amer i c a .
Such broad
a n a ly s i s s erved as a goa l for examining the de segrega t i on o f
a th l et i c s at the Univer s ity o f Tennes s e e .
The Rob inson saga
rema i n s the most f amous instance o f rac i a l integrat i on in
Ame r i can sport . 25
Ron a l d Marce l l o c ited severa l s im i l a r i t i e s , and s ome
d i f ference s , t o the Robi nson expe r i ence i n research i ng the
de segrega t i on of the footba l l program at North Texa s State
Co l l ege .
NTSC a l l owed bl acks onto the squad for the f ir s t
t ime i n 1 9 5 6 .
perspect ive ,
A l s o p l ac ing events i n t o a broader
i n th i s i nstance the 1 9 5 0 s and the a ftermath of
the Brown Decisi on wh ich
out l awed de jure s egregat i on in
Ame r i can pub l i c s choo l s , Marce l l o provides i n f ormat i on on
one of the ear l i est cases o f ath l e t i c desegregat ion in a
southern ( southwe stern ) col l ege . u
No d irect compar i son between the des egregat ion of
f ootba l l at the Un ivers ity o f Tenness e e , the Rob i n s on saga ,
and the NTSC c a s e wou ld be appropr i ate .
Too many f a ctors
25 See Ju l e s Tyg ie l , Basebal l ' s Grea t Experi men t ,
3 0-7 0 .
26Ron a l d E . Marce l l o , "The I ntegrat i on o f I nterco l l e g i a t e
Ath le t i c s i n Texa s : North Texas S t a t e Co l l ege a s a Test Case ,
1 9 5 6 , " Journal of Sport His tory 1 4 ( W i nter , 1 9 8 7 ) : 2 8 6 - 3 1 6 .
For a recent s oc i a l h i story o f America dur i ng the 1 9 5 0 s , see
David Ha l ber stam , The Fi fties ( New York : V i l l ard Books , 1 9 9 3 ) .
Spec i f i c i n f orma t i on on the Brown dec i s i on may be f ound on pages
4 11-424 .
18
prec lude such a compar i s on : the d i f ferent t ime spans, the
d i f f erent geograph ic reg i ons , the d i f ferent l eve l s of
compet i t i on .
The use o f thes e stud i e s a s a mode l , however ,
eased the res earch proce s s , and a l lowed for a gener a l
f ramework from wh ich to beg i n .
C.
Out l ine
The d i s sertat ion proceeds chrono l og i c a l ly for the most
part .
Each chapter sets up much a s chapter one has , w i th a n
i ntroductory paragraph f o l l owed b y three d i st inct but
re l ated sect i ons .
Ch apter s two and three prov ide h i stor i ca l
background and perspect ive a imed at supp ly ing the reader
i n forma t i on e i ther d irectly or ind i rect l y r e l evant to the
factors that wou l d eventua l ly i n f luence Univers ity of
Tenne s s e e f ootba l l desegrega t i on .
More prec i s e ly , chapter
two traces the background o f interco l l e g i a t e f ootba l l and
the deve l opment o f the Southea stern Conf erence in s ect ion A ,
provides an overvi ew o f Afri can-American sport ing
exper i ences i n s ect i on B , and spec i f ica l ly examines severa l
rac i a l ep i sodes invo lving S EC ath l e t i c teams other than
Tennes s ee i n s ect i on c.
Chapter three beg ins by br i e f ly sketching the we l l ­
documented h i story o f footba l l at the Un ivers i ty o f
Tennes s ee .
The second sect i on o f the chapter chron i c l e s
r ac i a l epi sodes invo lving Volunteer ath l et i c teams pr i o r t o
1963 .
The chapter ends by estab l i shing the tra d i t i ona l
19
rac i a l att i tudes embraced within the univers ity
adm i n i strat ion and ath l e t i c department .
Those i n it i a l chapters br i ng the i s sue rough ly up t o
1963 ,
j ust two years a fter b l ack undergraduate s w e r e f ir s t
a l lowed t o attend the Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s e e . 27
Chapter
f our cont a i n s the most d irect examina t i on of Vo l unteer
footba l l desegregation to date and spans the " s ea s ons o f
change , " 1 9 6 3 to 1 9 6 7 .
The g o a l o f the chapter i s to
ana l y z e the i n f luences that led the Univers ity of Tennes se e
t o do what coach D oug D i ckey ca l l ed , "absolutely the r ight
thing at the r ight t ime . " 2 8
Var ious forces came together
dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s to create th i s " r i ght " t ime .
The d i s sertat ion concludes i n chapter f ive .
Lester
McC l a in desegregated Tennes s ee footba l l on the p l a y ing
f i e l d , h i s career succes s fu l , and occas i ona l ly
controver s i a l .
Ra c i a l tran s f ormat i on i n the S outhea st ern
Conference occup i e s the second s ect i on o f chapter f ive , and
the f ina l s egment of the study is a summat i on and
27 For a genera l h i story o f the Un ivers i ty o f Tennes see , s e e
James R . Montgomery , Stanley J . Fo lmsbee , a n d L e e S . Greene , To
Fost er Knowl edge : A His tory of The Universi ty of Tennessee,
1970
1794-
( Knoxvi l le : Un ivers ity o f Tennessee Pres s , 1 9 8 4 ) .
A brief
synop s i s o f student body integrat i on a n d the i ntegrat ion o f
a th le t i c s i s inc luded , s e e pages 2 6 7 - 2 6 9 .
Also see ,
"D e segregat ion at UT : The Beg inn ings , " Con t ext ( UTK Chance l l or ' s
News l etter ) , 2 1 S eptember 1 9 8 9 , 5 ; " B l a ck Ath letes at UTK , "
Con text , 2 9 March 1 9 9 0 , 3 .
For genera l information on b l acks i n Knoxvi l le , s e e Robert
J . B ooker , Two Hundred Years of B l a ck Cu l ture in Knoxvil l e,
Tennessee, 1791 to 1991 ( Virg i n i a Beach , VA : The D on n i ng Company ,
1993 ) .
no oug D i ckey i nterv iew , 3 .
20
r e f l ec t i on .
F o l l owing the text , a reference s ect i on c it e s
i ntervi ew contr ibutors , a s we l l a s a l l pert i nent books ,
arch i va l mater ia l s , j ournal c i tat i ons , newspaper artic l e s ,
and correspondence .
21
Chapter Two
Southern Tradit ions
By 1 9 6 7 , when the Univers i ty o f Tenn e s s ee desegregated
ath let i c s , the sport o f c o l l ege f ootba l l neared i t s
c entenn i a l ann iversary .
The f irst interco l l eg i ate footba l l
game p itted Rutgers aga inst Pr inceton on November 6 ,
1869 .
I n it i a l ly a student - l ed sport p l ayed i n e astern c o l l eges ,
f ootba l l s oon expanded to the West and t o the S outh .
As
footba l l came t o b e the dom i nant campus sport , organ i z at i ons
cons i s t ing o f faculty groups , adm i n i stra t i ve bodi e s , and
prof e s s i ona l coaches , wre sted control o f the game away from
student s .
Within th i s context o f growth and an evo lving
organ i z at i ona l structure , ath l e t i c leagues such a s the
Southea stern Conference eventu a l ly deve l oped .
A.
Origins o f Co l l ege Footba l l and the S outhea stern
Conf erence
Footba l l and severa l other extracurr icular a ct i v i t i e s
orig inated o n Amer ican c o l lege campuse s i n the 1 8 th and 1 9 th
centur i e s . 1
At Harvard , freshmen enter ing schoo l i n the
1 For an extens ive s tudy o f the d eve l opment o f
interco l l eg i ate athl e t i cs , s e e Rona l d A . Smith , Sport s and
Freedom : The Ri s e of Bi g-Time Col l ege Ath l e t i cs ( New York : Oxford
Un i vers ity Pre s s , 1 9 8 8 ) .
Early footba l l on c o l lege campu ses wa s
a rough k i ck i ng game more c l o s e ly resemb l i ng modern soccer than
Amer i can f ootba l l .
22
1 73 0 s f o l l owed some twenty-two guide l ines ,
inc lud i ng a
r equ i rement that the newcomers supp ly sport ing supp l i e s t o
upperc l a s smen .
Prior to the Revo luti onary War , o f f i c i a l s a t
what was then c a l l ed Laws o f Y a l e Col l ege warned o f
pun i shment f o r any students caught endanger i ng a bu i ld ing ' s
g l a s s through the use o f a " foot- ba l l . "
By the 1 83 0 s ,
s tudents at D artmouth Co l l ege p l ayed a k i ck i ng game known a s
f ootba l l a lmost d a i ly o n autumn a fternoons .
Co l l ege
students a l s o made ef forts a t ba s eba l l , c r i cket , hors e
rac i ng , wre s t l ing , and other sport s .
A s with footba l l ,
part i c ipat ion was norma l ly spontaneous and unorgan i z ed .
The s e extracurricular act iv i t i e s o r i g i nated among students
a s a r e sponse to the st i f l ing atmosphere that preva i l ed on
col l ege campuses prior to the C i v i l War . 2
One such extracur r i cu lar d ivers ion known a s the " rush , "
an i n i t i a t i on r ite for col lege freshmen , became entrenched
on co l l ege campuses i n the 1 8 0 0 s as a c l a s s versus c l a s s
r itua l .
Rushes took var i ous f orms , w i th f ootba l l contests
between newly arr ived fre shmen and the ir sophomore
counterparts be ing most common .
At Harvard , the annu a l
event became known a s "B l oody Monday " becaus e the c la s h
occurred o n t h e f irst Monday o f f a l l term .
The phrase a l so
vividly symbo l i z e s the intens ity and roughn e s s o f the
2Ibid , 3 -2 5 .
Co l l ege pres ident s , most ly c l ergymen , enforced
str ict gu i d e l ines f or student behavior , usua l ly m a i nt a in ing a dim
v i ew o f a th l et i cs .
See a l s o , John A . Lucas and Rona ld A . Smith , Saga of
Ameri can Sport ( Ph i l adelph i a : Lea & Febiger , 1 9 7 8 ) : 1 9 1 - 2 4 9 .
23
batt l e s .
An 1 8 8 6 account o f a c l a s s rush at Y a le deta i l s
the s e r i ous preparat i on :
" put on our canvas j ackets & o l d
trousers , s ewed the s l eeves & l e g s t i ght s o tha t n o one
could grab us , & then s ewed our canvas j ackets onto our
trousers & of course wore no hats . " 3
The s e unorga n i z ed
game s and r itua l i z ed c l a s s strugg l e s s erved a s f orerunners
t o the sport o f col lege footba l l .
The i n tercol l egi a t e a spect o f that 1 8 6 9 RutgersPr inceton game marks the encounter as h i stor i c .
Footba l l
became the fourth interco l l egiate sport , f o l l owing crew
( 1 8 5 2 ) , baseba l l { 1 8 5 9 ) , and cricket { 1 8 6 4 ) .
Rutgers
preva i l ed over the v i s itors from Pr inceton i n that i n it i a l
contest by a score o f 6 t o 4 us ing soccer -type ru l e s that
c a l l ed for a goa l anyt ime a p l ayer sent the ba l l between
goal posts s ituated e i ght paces apart .
The game was hot l y
contested , but a re laxed atmosphere preva i l ed before and
a fter the a f f a i r a s teams and fans meandered around town and
p l ayed b i l l iards prior to the contest .
Fo l l owing the game
the combatants enj oy ed d i nner and song t ogether . 4
3 John F . Mars z a l ek , " The C l a s s Rush-A D e s cr ipt ion , " Journal
(W inter , 1 9 9 0 ) : 3 6 6- 3 68 .
of Sport History 17
4 For accounts o f the f i rst interco l legi ate f ootba l l game ,
s e e Ron a l d A . Smith , Sports and Freedom , 6 9 - 7 2 ; John A . Luc a s and
Ron a l d A . Smith , Saga of Ameri can Sport , 2 2 9 - 2 3 2 ; B etty Spears
and R i chard A . Swanson , His tory of Sport and Physi cal Educa t i on
i n the Uni t e d S t a tes 3 rd Ed i t i on (Dubuque , I owa : W . C . Brown
Pub l i sher s , 1 9 8 8 ) : 1 3 8 .
A l i s t o f the f irst interco l l egiate conte sts i n var i ous
sports can be f ound i n Ron a l d A. Smith , Sports and Freedom , 2 1 9 220.
24
Harvard Univer s i ty o f f ered a contrast to the s occer
sty l e o f f ootba l l in the 1 8 7 0 s by p laying what was dubbed
the Boston game .
The B oston sty l e a l lowed p layers to run
with the ba l l ( as l ong as the oppo s i t i on pursued them ) , a
s igni f i cant d i f ference to soccer footba l l .
Harvard students
held out for the B oston s ty l e , even when s ever a l other
pres t i g i ous schoo l s sought to meet and cod i fy s occer ru l e s .
Harvard ' s i ndependence d i rect ly inf luenced the future o f
Ame r i can footba l l as soccer footba l l eventua l ly faded .
A
s er i e s o f games i n 1 8 7 4 between Harvard and McG i l l
Un ive r s i ty o f Montrea l a l so proved important .
McG i l l p l ayed
rugby , and the Harvard team enj oyed the sty l e s o much that
they eventua l ly adopted i t , never going back to the Boston
game .
When Y a l e , craving the opportunity to compete aga i nst
her most esteemed r iva l , agreed to p l ay Harvard i n 1 8 7 5
us ing mod i f i ed rugby ru l e s , the a scendence o f rugby - sty l e
f ootba l l i n Amer ica was a s sured . 5
W i th Y a l e , Harvard , and Pr inceton , the s o - ca l l ed " B i g
Thre e " o f intercol leg i ate sport , prov i d i ng l eadersh ip ,
col l ege f ootba l l rose to great popu larity between the 1 8 8 0 s
and the early 1 9 0 0 s .
Wa lter Camp o f Ya l e , the most
important f igure i n the early era o f the game , he lped put
i nto p l ace ru l e s changes that gave the rugby game a d i st inct
Ameri can styl e .
Among the most important o f the change s
5 See John A . Luca s and Ron a l d A . Smith , Saga of Ameri can
Sport , 2 3 2 - 2 3 5 ; Rona ld A . Smith , Sport s and Freedom , 7 4 - 7 8 .
25
were the establ i shment o f a scr i mmage ( or snapp ing of the
ba l l to i n i t iate p l ay ) , the i ntroduct i on of the down system
for m a i nta in ing or rel inqu i sh i ng ba l l pos s es s ion , and
s cor ing changes that empha s i z ed p o i nt s for the touchdown
more than for the kicked goa l .
The s e i nnovat i ons he lped
In
cat apu l t the sport into prominence and pro f i t ab i l ity .
turn , the game cont inued an expans i on t o other reg i ons ,
i ncluding the South, and a l so attracted greater s crut iny . 6
The f irst intercol l eg i ate f ootba l l game p layed in what
was to become the Southea stern Con ference area took p l ace in
1881 .
Kentucky A &M ( l ater the Un ivers i ty o f Kentucky )
defeated Kentucky State ( later Transy lvan i a Co l l ege )
2 t o O,
i n a game p l ayed before Walter Camp e f f ected scor ing
change s . 7
The expans i on o f the game s outhward f o l l owed a
s imp l e pattern at most schoo l s ; the Univer s ity o f Georg i a
60n the gener a l h i story o f col l ege footba l l , s e e Parke H .
Dav i s , Foo tbal l : The American In tercol l egia t e Game ( N ew York :
Cha r l e s S cr i bner ' s S ons , 1 9 1 1 ) ; A l l i son Dan z ig , History of
American Footba l l ( Eng l ewood C l i f f s , NJ : Prent i c e Ha l l , 1 9 5 6 ) ;
A l exander M . Weyand , The Saga of American Footba l l ( New York :
Macm i l l an , 1 9 6 1 ) ; Guy M . Lew i s , "The Amer ican I nterco l l eg i ate
Footba l l Spectac l e , 1 8 6 9 - 1 9 1 7 , " unpub l i shed doctor a l
d i s s ertat ion , Univers ity of Mary l and , 1 9 6 4 ; I van N . Kaye , Good
Cl e an Viol ence : A His tory of Col l ege Foo tbal l ( Ph i l ad e l ph i a :
L ipp i ncott , 1 9 7 3 ) ; Tom Perr i n , Footbal l : A Col l ege His tory
( Je f f erson , NC : McFar l and , 1 9 8 7 ) .
For add i t i on a l informa t i on on Wa lter Camp , s e e Hart ford
Powe l l , Jr . , Wal ter Camp ( Boston : Litt l e , Brown , and C o . , 1 9 2 6 ) ;
John s . Mart in , "Wa lter Camp and H i s Gr i d i ron Game , " American
Heri t age 1 2 ( October , 1 9 6 1 ) : 5 0 - 5 5 , 7 7 - 8 1 ; "Wa lter Camp " entry i n
Ra lph H i ckok , The En cyclopedia o f North American Sports Hist ory
( New Y ork : Oxford , 1 9 9 2 ) : 9 0 - 9 1 .
7 See Nathan w. Dougherty , Edu ca tors and Athl e tes : The
Sou theastern Conference, 1894-1972 ( Knoxvi l l e : Univers ity o f
Tennessee Ath l et i c Department , 1 9 7 6 ) : 2 0 .
26
Dr . Cha r l e s B erty ,
s erves a s a typ i ca l examp l e .
fresh from
h i s Ph . D . program at Johns Hopkins , j o ined the Georg ia
f acu lty i n 1 8 9 1.
Having p i cked up the rud iments o f footba l l
a s a s tudent , and a l l egedly pos s e s s ing the only ru l e book in
Athens , Georg i a , B erty orga n i z ed the univers ity ' s f irst
squad and became the team ' s f irst coach .
the S outh , s im i l ar ci rcumstances appl ied .
At s cho o l s across
A s tudent ,
f acu lty member , or admini strator with a northea stern or
m idwestern ( usua l ly northea stern )
educa t i ona l background
moved south and brought the f l edgl ing sport a l ong . 8
The growing popu larity o f c o l l ege f ootba l l r esulted in
c l oser scrut iny for the sport .
Cr itics turned the ir
attent ion to the bruta l nature o f f ootba l l a s d i rty tact i c s ,
l imited s a f ety equ ipment , and the r i s e o f dangerous ma s s
momentum p l ays l ed t o h i gh numbers of inj ur i e s .
The most
infamous p l ay i n f ootba l l h i story , Harvard ' s " f ly i ng wedge , "
c a l l ed for two groups of moving p l ayers in a "V'' f ormat i on
t o converge s imu ltaneou s ly at the a s s igned point o f impact .
The d eva stat ing p lay was banned within two years o f its 1 8 9 2
d ebut . 9
Cri e s for re form reached a peak i n 1 9 0 5.
Theodore
Roos eve lt hosted a hi gh ly v i s i b l e Wh ite House conf erence
8 See Nathan w. Dougherty , Edu ca tors and Ath l e tes , 2 3 - 2 6 ;
John F . Stegeman and Robert M . W i l l ingham , Jr . , Tou chdown : A
Pi ctori a l Hi story of the Georgi a Bul l dogs (Athens , GA: Agee
Pub l i shers I nc . , 1 9 8 3 ) : 1 - 2 2 .
9 See S cott A . McQu i lk in and Rona l d A . Smith , " The Rise and
F a l l o f the F ly ing Wedge: Footba l l ' s Most Controver s i a l P l ay , "
Journal of Sport History 2 0 ( Spr ing , 1 9 9 3 ) : 5 7 - 64 ; John A . Lucas
and Rona l d A . Smith , Saga of Ameri can Sport , 2 3 9 - 2 4 2 .
27
w ith members o f the " B ig Three" that a ccomp l i shed l itt l e
with regard to actua l reform , but d i d garner pos i t ive
pub l i c i ty .
The death o f a Union C o l l ege p layer i n a game
with New York Univers ity in late 1 9 0 5 prompted NYU
chance l l or Henry McCracken to ca l l for meet ings on the
future o f c o l l ege footba l l .
The group o f c o l l ege
repr e s entatives that met in December o f 1 9 0 5 formed a
permanent orga n i z at i on that eventua l ly came t o be known a s
the National Co l l egiate Ath l etic Associat ion ( NCAA )
.10
I n the S outh , the i s sues o f contro l l ing and re forming
c o l l ege f ootba l l began in the 1 8 9 0 s and eventua l ly resulted
i n the f orma t i on o f the Southea stern Conf erence in the
1 9 3 0s .
Concerns over e l i g i b i l ity o f ath l ete s , part icu l ar ly
the pract ice o f us ing " tramp " athl etes and " r inger s "
prompted the f ormat ion o f the Southern I nterco l l eg i ate
Ath l e t i c Assoc i a t i on ( S IAA )
in 1 8 9 4 .
Ringers were
i ne l i g i b l e p l ayers brought in f or spec i f i c game s , wh i l e
tramp ath letes might use up e l ig i b i l ity p l ay i ng a t one
s choo l , then move on to compete for another c o l l ege .
Dr .
W i l l iam L . Dud l ey , dean o f the med i c a l s chool at Vanderbi l t
Univers ity , was the ma in force in e stab l i sh i ng the SIAA ,
wh ich s ought the " deve l opment and pur i f i c a t i on o f c o l l ege
10See John A . Lucas and Rona l d A . Smith , Saga of American
Sport , 2 4 2 - 2 4 5 ; Rona l d A . Smith , " Harvard and Co lumbi a and a
Recons iderat i on o f the 1 9 0 5 - 0 6 Footba l l Cr i s i s , " Journal of Sport
His tory 8 ( W inter , 1 9 8 1 ) : 5 - 1 9 ; Rona l d A . Smith , Sports and
Freedom , 1 9 1 - 2 0 8 ; John S . Watters on , " The Footba l l Cr i s i s o f
1 9 0 9 - 1 9 1 0 : The Response o f the Ea stern " B i g Three , " " Journal of
Sport His t ory 8 ( Spr ing , 1 9 8 1 ) : 3 3 - 4 9 .
28
a th l etics i n the S outh . " 11
Severa l members among the S I AA broke away in 1 9 2 0 and
1 9 2 1 t o f orm what came to be known as the S outhern
Conference .
The pr ime f actor i n the breakup o f the S IAA
i ron i ca l ly centered on e l ig ib i l ity ru l e s , w ith the l arger
col l eges seek i ng to t i ghten requ i rement s , a mea sure opposed
by the l eague ' s sma l l er i n s t i tut i ons .
By the end o f 1 9 3 2 ,
the S outhern Conference inc luded an unw i e ldy twenty-three
member s , cover ing an area from Maryland to Lou i s i ana .
In
February o f 1 9 3 3 , the th i rteen members west and s outh o f the
Appa l a ch i ans f ounded the Southea stern Conference .
S imp l e
geography p l ayed an important part in the d ec i s i on , as d i d
the determinat i on o f the ma j or c o l l eges i n the deep South t o
p l ay f ootba l l on a nat i ona l l eve l . 12
S outhea stern Con ference teams wou l d compete
succes s f u l ly on a nat i ona l l eve l , but they wou l d do it
w i thout a l l ow i ng b l acks onto the ir squads for many years .
The h i story o f Afri can-American sport ing i nvo lvement began
dur i ng the t ime of s l avery .
From the s l ave era to the
1 1 Nathan W . Dougherty , Edu cators and Ath l e tes ,
31.
12 See Nathan W. Dougherty , Edu ca tors and Ath l e tes , 5 9 -7 0 and
9 1 - 1 0 0 ; John D . McCa l lum , Sou theastern Conference Footba l l , 3 1 4 3 ; 1 9 9 3 S outheastern Conference Brochure , B i rm i ngham , A l abama .
A spec i a l thank s to Lane Estes for prov iding i n f ormat i on from the
S EC o f f ice .
The 1 3 or i g i na l members o f the S EC were A l a bama , Auburn ,
F l or ida , Georg i a , Georgia Tech , Kentucky , Lou i s i ana Stat e ,
M i s s i s s ipp i , M i s s i s s ipp i State , S ewanee , Tenne s s ee , Tu l ane , and
Vanderb i l t ( Sewanee w ithdrew in 1 9 4 0 , G eorg i a Tech i n 1 9 6 4 , and
Tu lane i n 1 9 6 6
Arkansas and S outh Caro l i na j o ined the
conference in 1 9 9 1 ) .
.
29
modern quest f or c iv i l r i ghts in the mid- 1 9 0 0 s , the p l i ght
o f b l a cks within sport often r e f l ected broader r a c i al themes
in American society .
B.
An Overview o f African-American Sporting I nvo lvement
African-American sport ing exper i ence s o r i g inated i n
s l avery .
The oppress ive nature o f the " pecu l i ar
institut i on " d i d not ent irely e l iminate opportunit i e s f or
s l aves to take part in recreat ion , sport , and p l ay .
Adu l t
s l aves typ i ca l ly l abored i n the f i e lds o r worked in the
homes of s l aveowners , but at cert a i n t imes they contro l l ed
the i r own activit i es .
Usua l ly freed from chore s a fter dark ,
s l aves spent many evenings trapp ing game and f i shing , o ften
a l ong wi th the ir chi l dren .
The s e activit i e s produced
add it i ona l food for s l ave fami l i e s , and a l so a l l owed s l ave
parents a rare chance to teach the ir ch i l dren a ski l l or
craft , or t o s imp ly spend t ime together w ith the ch i ldren a s
a fami ly .
Spec i a l work-r e l ated events such a s l og ro l l ings ,
corn shuck ings , barn ra i s ings ,
and hog k i l l ings granted
s l aves f e s t ive a f f airs that supp l i ed recrea t i on and created
s ome sense of commun ity .
Likew i s e , Sundays and h o l idays
meant a few prec i ous uninh i bited hours for s l aves and
a f forded them t ime for sport ing enj oyment a s we l l .
S l aves
treasured the s e d iver s i ons from the everyday drudgery of
s l ave l i fe and they " fro l i cked , danced , run race s , p l ayed
30
game s , and v i s ited around" on such day s . 1 3
The spec i f i c
amount o f l e i sure t ime ava i l a b l e t o s l aves depended on
ind ividua l masters .
Sport ing exerc i s e s and pure l y p l ea sura b l e endeavors
were popu l a r w i th s l ave s .
S l aves boxed , wre s t l ed , ran f oot
races , p l ayed b a l l , raced horses , and danced .
Str i ct l aws
aga i ns t gamb l ing d id not prevent s l aves from wager ing on
cock f ights , horse races , and other conte sts .
S l aveowners
attempted to restr ict those act iv i t i e s deemed most
d i sruptive or dangerous to the system , part i cu l ar ly gamb l ing
and hunt ing , but f or the most part a l l owed a t l ea st some
sport and recreat i on .
The p l anters who encouraged sports
larg e l y v i ewed them a s another too l to m a i nt a i n a subm i s s ive
work force .
A l l owing sport ing part ic ipat ion fostered s oc i a l
contro l and he lped keep s l aves hea lth i er .
H i stor ian David
K . Wiggins c ites a mu l t i tude o f statements from former
s l aves , p lanters , and scho l ar s acknow l edg ing that sport and
p lay s erved as an ef fect ive means to deter s l ave rebe l l i on
1 3 See David K . Wiggins , " The P l ay o f S l ave Ch i ldren in the
P l anta t i on Commun i t i e s of the O l d South , 1 8 2 0 - 1 8 6 0 , " Journal of
Sport His tory 7 ( Summer , 1 9 8 0 ) : 2 1 - 3 9 ( quote on page 3 0 ) ; David
K . Wiggins , " Good T imes on the Old P l antat ion : Popu l a r
Recreations o f the B l ack S l ave i n Antebe l lum S outh , 1 8 1 0 - 1 8 6 0 , "
Journ a l of Sport His tory 3 ( Fa l l , 1 9 7 7 ) : 2 6 0 - 2 8 4 .
Genera l l iterature on s l avery i s vo luminous , see John B .
B o l e s and Eve lyn Thomas No l en editors , In t erpre ting Sou thern
His tory : His toriographical Essays in Honor of sanford W .
Higginbotham ( Baton Rouge : Lou i s iana State Un ivers i ty Pres s ,
1987 ) : 1-198 .
The phrase " pecu l iar inst itut i o n " comes from
Kenneth M . Stampp , The Pecul iar Ins titu tion : Sl avery in the An te­
Bel l um Sou th ( New York : Random Hous e , 1 9 5 6 ) .
31
and unrest . 14
S l aveowners a l so used the ir most ta l ented s l aves a s
means o f sport ing enterta inment .
S l aves hand l e d l ivestock
on p l antat i ons , and many became expert horsemen .
In
arrang ing hors e races with neighbors o r r iva l l andowner s ,
the p l anters o ften entrusted the r i d ing o f the horses t o
thos e l ivestock hand lers .
Th i s arrangement resulted not
only f rom the r id ing abi l i t i e s of African-Ame r i cans , but
a l so becaus e sport ing be l i e f s of the day p l aced an emph a s i s
o n the hor s e ; f ew thought the rider t o b e an important part
o f a race .
The most f amous hors e race o f the 1 8 0 0 s wa s a n
1 8 2 3 match between a northern hors e , Amer ican E c l ipse , a n d a
s outhern riva l , S i r Henry .
That confrontat i on ,
surrounded
by growing regiona l f r i ct i on between the N orth and South ,
reported ly f eatured an Afri can-American j ockey aboard the
l o s ing S ir Henry . 15
Boxing proved another popu lar sport f or owners to
ut i l i z e s l aves .
P lanters common ly staged f ights between
the i r own s l aves , and set up conte sts with other s l ave
owner s .
Substant i a l wager ing h i nged on the f i ght ing
abi l it i e s o f the toughest s l aves on competing p l antat i ons .
A f amous A f r ican-Amer ican f ighter o f the e a r ly 1 8 0 0 s named
Tom Molyneux supposedly earned his freedom by winn ing for
14 See David K . Wigg ins ,
2 6 1 -2 6 6 .
" Good T imes on the O ld P lantat ion , "
1 5 See Arthur R . Ashe Jr . , A Hard Road t o Gl ory vo l ume 1 ,
53 .
32
43-
h i s master a lucrat ive bout aga inst a r iva l ' s s lave .
In
1 8 1 0 , Mo lyneux g a i ned prominence f o r two f amous a n d bruta l
f ight s aga i ns t Eng l i sh box i ng champ ion Torn C r i bb .
In the
f irst o f thos e encounters , accounts suggested Mo lyneux
dom inated the match only to be robbed of the v i ctory by
Cribb ' s hand l ers . 16
Not surpr i s ingly b l acks enj oyed succ e s s i n certa i n
sports a fter the C ivi l War .
A f r ican-Ame r i can j ockeys
dom inated horse rac ing unt i l the turn o f the twen t i eth
century , pr imar i ly becaus e of the precedent estab l i shed
dur ing s l avery .
The f irst Kentucky Derby in 1 8 7 5 counted
f ourteen b l ack j ockeys o f the f i fteen t ot a l r iders ,
inc lud i ng O l iver Lew i s aboard the w i nn i ng horse Ar i stedes .
The most succ e s s f u l j ockey of the late 1 8 0 0 s wa s I s aac
Murphy , an Afr i can-American who won an astound ing 4 4 % o f the
1 4 1 2 races he entered .
three t imes .
He a l so captured the Kentucky Derby
Att i tudes o f wh ite r ac i a l super i o r i ty and a
more g l amorous and f inanc i a l ly reward ing status t oward the
pos i t i on of j ockey drove bl acks from the sadd l e around the
turn o f the twenti eth century . 17
Other Afri can-Ame r i can ath l etes a l s o won a cc l a im dur ing
16 I b i d ,
1 7 - 2 1 ; John A . Lucas and Rona l d A . Srni th , Saga of
64 and 2 6 8 .
American Sport ,
1 7 See Arthur R . Ashe Jr . , A Hard Road to Gl ory vo l ume 1 , 4 3 5 3 ; John A . Lucas and Ronald A . Smith , Saga of American Spor t ,
2 7 8 ; David K . Wiggins , " I saac Murphy : B l ack Hero i n N i neteenth
Century Ameri can Sport , 1 8 6 1 - 1 8 9 6 , " Canadian Journal of Sport
His tory 1 0 ( May , 1 9 7 9 ) : 1 5 - 3 2 .
33
the late 1 8 0 0 s .
Marsha l l " Ma j or " Taylor g a i ned
internat iona l fame and regu l ar l y reigned as a wor l d champ ion
cyc l i s t between 1 8 9 6 and 1 9 0 4 .
Severa l b l a ck boxers
attracted attent i on and won champ i onsh ips dur ing the era .
Joe " the O ld Master " Gans became the f ir s t recogn i z ed
African-American wor l d champ ion by winn i ng the l ightwe ight
boxing t i t l e i n 1 9 0 2 .
The most f amous b l ack a th l ete p r i or
t o 1 9 0 0 was boxer Peter Jackson o f the Virgin I s l ands , a man
denied the chance to f i ght for the heavywe ight champ i onship
because o f h i s c o l or .
B lack boxers in l ighter we ight
d iv i s i ons obta ined t i t l e f ight s more read i ly than l arger
f ighters as Ameri cans p l aced more importance on the heavi e s t
we ight c l a s se s .
Orga n i z ed wh ite baseba l l l eagues f eatured
African-Americans as we l l .
George Stovey , F l eet Wa lker ,
Frank Grant , and others achi eved some notor i ety . 1 8
Most g a i n s made by Afri can-Americans in the immediate
a ftermath o f the c iv i l War d i s appeared a s a renewed sense of
Amer i can r a c i sm surfaced in the 1 8 8 0 s and 1 8 9 0 s .
With
regard to sport , th i s rac i sm drove many A f r i c a n -Americans
out o f the organi z ed wh ite sports structure s and ushered in
an era o f segregated compet i t i on .
Segregat i on i n sport
1 8 See Larry Bowman , "Moses F l eetwood Wa lker , " in Peter
Levine , Basebal l Hi s tory, 6 1 - 7 5 ; Robert Peter s on , Onl y the B a l l
Was Whi te , 1 6 - 5 1 ; Andrew Ritch i e , Major Tayl or ( San Franc isco :
Kampmann Book s , 1 9 8 8 ) ; Harold Seymour , Baseba l l : The Peopl e ' s
Game , 5 3 1 - 6 0 9 ;
David K . Wiggins , " Peter Jackson and the E l u s ive
Heavywe ight Champ i onship: A B l ack Ath lete ' s Strugg l e Aga inst the
Late N ineteenth Century Co lor Line , " Journal of Sport Hi s tory 1 2
( Summer , 1 9 8 5 ) : 1 4 3 - 1 6 8 .
34
matched the separation o f the races occurr ing in gener a l
society f o l l owing the landmark Pl essy v . Fergu son " s eparate
but equa l " Supreme Court ru l ing of 1 8 9 6 .
A consp i cuous
examp l e of the strong rac i sm t ook p l ace in horse racing .
B lack j ockeys apparent ly have not r idden i n the Kentucky
D erby s ince 1 9 1 1 , th i s f o l l owing a per i od tha t s aw A f r icanAmericans w i n thirteen o f the f irst twenty- s even Derby s . 1 9
S im i l ar l y , A f r ican-Americans were dr iven from wh ite
baseba l l l eagues in the 1 8 9 0 s , a s itua t i on not r emed ied for
f i fty years .
I n respons e , these p layer s were f orced t o
deve l op g imm icks such as performing stereotyp ica l com i c
r out ines dur ing games , often rendering the acts wh i l e i n
coat a n d t a i l s .
O f f i c i a l s in the maj or l eagues occa s i ona l ly
tried to skirt the ban on b l ack p l ayers , a s w i th the we l l known case o f New York G i ant manager John McGraw attemp t i ng
to pres ent b l ack s econd baseman Char l i e Grant a s an Indian
named Tokohoma .
Ultimate ly , the dearth o f opportun i t i e s for
b l acks in wh ite baseba l l caused A f r i can-Ame r ican sport ing
f igure s such a s Rube Foster and Gus Gree n l e e to f orm the
c e l ebrated Negro Leagues in the 1 9 2 0 s and 1 9 3 0 s . 20
1 9 See John A . Lucas and Rona l d A . Smith , Saga of American
Sport , 2 7 8 .
For a study of rac i sm f o l l owing the C ivi l War , s e e
c . Vann Woodward , The Strange Career o f Jim Crow 3 rd Revised
Ed i t i on ( New York : Oxford Un ivers ity Pres s , 1 9 7 4 ) .
2° For informa t i on on baseba l l ' s Negro Leagues , s e e Arthur R .
A she , Jr . , A Hard Road to Gl ory : A Hi s t ory of the Afri can ­
Ameri can Ath l e te vo lumes one and two ; John B . Ho lway , Voi ce s from
the Gre a t B l a ck Baseba l l Leagues ( New York : Dodd , Mead and
Company , 1 9 7 5 ) ; John B . Ho lway , Bl a ckba l l S t ars : Negro Leagu e
Pi oneers ( We stport , CT : Meckler Books , 1 9 8 8 } Robert Peterson ,
35
Jack Johnson was one Afri can-Amer ican who overcame the
stark r a c i sm o f the early 1 9 0 0 s to tr iumph i n sport .
The
f irst b l ack heavyweight box ing champ ion , Johns on a rgua b l y i s
the most inf luent i a l African-American athlete i n h i story .
He struggled for years t o secure a heavywe ight champ ionship
f ight , only gett ing his chance when Tommy Burns o f Canada
won the t i t l e and re luctant ly agreed to face the b l ack
cha l l enger .
Even then , Johns on had to l i tera l ly cha se Burns
around the g l obe , chast i s ing the champ ion a t every
opportun ity , before f i na l ly rece iving a bout i n Austra l i a in
1 9 08 .
Johnson pumme l l ed Burns and ret a ined the t i t l e unt i l
1915 .
I n add i t i on to h i s c o l or , wh ich a l one was enough t o
create prob l ems dur ing that era , Johnson pursued a
f lamboyant l i festyle dur ing h i s reign that made h im even
more of a threat to wh ite Amer ica .
Johnson f l ed the United
States in 1 9 1 3 a fter be ing conv i cted o f Mann Act v i o lat i ons ,
charges most obs ervers now be l i eve were s imp l y " trumped " up
t o e l im inate the champ i on .
When Johnson l o st the t i t l e i n
1 9 1 5 , the c o l or l ine aga in descended on box ing ; an AfricanAmer ican d i d not have a nother heavyweight t i t l e shot unt i l
the mid- 1 9 3 0 s . 21
Onl y the Bal l Was Whi te ; Donn Rogos in , Invi sibl e Men : Li fe i n
Baseba l l ' s Negro Leagues ( New York : Antheneum Pub l i shers , 1 9 8 3 ) .
21 For the most comprehens ive a ccount of America ' s f irst b l ack
wor l d heavywe ight box i ng champ ion , see Randy Robert s , Papa Jack :
Jack Johns on and the Era of Whi te Hopes ( New York : The Free
Pres s , 1 9 8 3 ) .
The Mann Act , or White S l ave Tra f f i c Act , forbade interstate
transportat ion o f women for " purposes o f pro s t i tut ion or
36
Wh ite att itudes toward b l acks in sport became somewhat
more t o l erant beg inning in the 1 9 3 0 s and e a r l y 1 9 4 0 s .
Lou i s and Jesse Owens helped foster the change .
Joe
Lou i s
became the second Afri can-American t o g a i n t h e heavywe ight
box i ng t i t l e when he knocked out J ames J . Braddock in 1 9 3 7 .
Lou i s had prev i ou s l y ga ined some measure o f atten t i on from
wh ite Amer ica , unusual f or a b l ack ath lete at the t ime ,
matches with f oreign f ighter s .
in
H i s win over the I ta l i an
Pr imo Carnera in 1 9 3 5 , shortly a fter f a s c i s t I t a l y ' s
i nva s ion o f Eth i op i a , was v i ewed a s an embarras sment for
Benito Mus s o l in i .
Lou i s lost a 1 9 3 6 bout w ith Germany ' s Max
S chme l ing , but in the stor ied 1 9 3 8 rematch destroyed
S chme l ing in one round , strik ing a b l ow at Ado l f H itl er ' s
not i on o f Aryan suprema cy .
Lou i s further endeared h ims e l f
t o many Amer icans , bl ack and wh ite , with patr i ot i c gestures
and m i l itary s ervice dur ing Wor l d War I I . 22
debauchery , " see Roberts { p . 1 4 4 - 1 4 6 ) ; and W i l l i am Seagl e , " The
Twi l ight o f the Mann Act , " Ameri can Bar Associ a t i on Journal 5 5
( 19 6 6 ) : 6 4 1-64 7 .
The government rarely pursued c a s e s u n l e s s
pro f it w a s t h e c lear mot ive , but made an exception for John s on ,
whose we l l -known proc l ivities for wh ite women made h im that much
more unaccepta b l e to wh ite Amer ica ( see Robert s , 1 3 8 - 1 5 4 ) .
22 See Ger a l d Astor ,
" .
. . And a Credi t to Hi s Race " : The
Hard Li fe and Times of Joseph Lou i s Barrow, a . k . a . Joe Lou i s ( New
York : E . P . Dutton and Co . , I nc . , 1 9 7 4 ) ; Dom i n i c J . Capec i and
Martha Wi lkerson , "Mu l t i fa r i ous Hero : Joe Lou i s , Ame r i ca n S o c i ety
and Race Re l a t i ons Dur ing Wor l d Cr i s i s , 1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5 , " Journal of
Sport Hi s tory 10 ( W inter , 1 9 8 3 ) : 4 - 2 5 ; Chr i s Mead , Champi on : Joe
Lou i s , B l a ck Hero in Whi te Ameri ca ( New York : Char l e s S cr ibner ' s
S ons , 1 9 8 5 ) .
For a compari son o f att itudes toward Jack Johnson and Joe
Lou i s , s e e W i l l iam H . Wiggins , Jr . , " Box ing ' s S ambo Twins: Rac i a l
Stereotype s in Jack Johnson and Joe Lou i s Newspaper Cartoon s ,
1 9 0 8 - 1 9 3 8 , " Journal of Sport Hi s tory 1 5 ( W inter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 2 4 2 - 2 5 3 .
37
Jesse Owens f i rst ga ined nat iona l prominence at the
1 9 3 5 B i g Ten track champ ionship by winning f our events
( break ing 3 wor l d records and ty ing a 4 th )
in one a f ternoon .
The Ber l in O lymp ics o f 1 9 3 6 furn i shed a much greater stage .
Owens dominated the " Na z i " O lymp i c s , c l a iming f our g o l d
meda l s a n d upstaging H i t l er ' s German ath l et e s .
d i spe l l ing the Aryan myth once more , Owens
In
( l ik e Lou i s )
ga ined more popu lar ity among blacks and wh ites than was
customary f or an Afri can-Amer ican in the 1 9 3 0 s and 1 9 4 0 s . 2 3
owens and Lou i s both ga ined nat iona l stature a t the
beg inn ing of a growing wor l d cr i s i s .
The i r exp lo i t s ,
compr i s ing both s ymbo l i c and actua l rac i a l advancement ,
he lped foster an increas ing t o l erance toward b l acks in sport
and s o c i ety in many reg ions o f the country .
Other f actors a l so created a changing o f Ame r i can
a tt i tudes toward blacks in sport .
A gradua l recognit i on o f
civi l r ights i s sues outs ide the South beg inn ing i n the 1 9 3 0 s
f orced s outherners t o def end the i r carefu l ly estab l i shed
system o f segregation and wh ite supremacy .
Wor l d War I I
further awakened publ ic sent iment to the rea l ity that b l a cks
were denied r ights wh i l e l iving in a nat ion that was
f ight ing for freedom abroad .
The s e sh i ft s brought greater
23 See W i l l i am J . Baker , Jesse owens : An Ameri can Li fe
( Detro i t : The Free Pres s , 1 9 8 6 ) ; Richard D . Mande l l , The Naz i
Olympi cs ( New York : Macm i l lan Pres s , 1 9 7 1 ) ; David K . Wiggin s ,
" The 1 9 3 6 O lymp ic Games in Ber l in : The Respons e o f Ame r i ca ' s
B l ack Press , " Research Quarterl y for Exerci se and Sport 5 4
( 198 3 ) : 2 7 8 -292 .
38
sport ing opportun i t i e s for African-Ame r i can ath l et e s a fter
the war . �
Jack i e Robinson and the Brook lyn Dodgers provided the
most obv i ous examp l e o f expanding sport ing opportun i t i e s ,
but ma j or league profess i on a l f ootba l l and basketba l l a l so
r eopened to b l acks between 1 9 4 6 and 1 9 5 0 .
I n 1 9 4 6 , Kenny
Wash i ngton and Woody Strode became the f i rst b l acks a l l owed
into the NFL s i nce the early 1 9 3 0 s , whi l e Mar i on Mot l ey and
B i l l Wi l l i s broke the c o l or l ine i n the A l l -America Footba l l
Conference , a r iva l footba l l l eague .
Nat C l i fton , Chuck
Cooper , and Ear l Lloyd became the f irst b l a ck p l ayers in the
f l edgl ing National Ba sketba l l Assoc iat ion ( NBA)
in 1 9 5 0 .
S ign i f icant l y , each o f thes e des egregat ion e f f orts preceded
the 1 9 5 4 Brown Deci sion that ended l ega l segregat ion . 25
24 See David Ha lberstam , The Fi fti es , 4 1 1 - 4 2 8 ; David
McCu l lough , Truman ( New York : S imon and Schuster , 1 9 9 2 ) : 2 9 7 - 2 9 8
and 5 8 6 - 5 9 1 ; Harvard S itko f f , A New Deal for Bl acks : The
Emergence of Ci vi l Righ ts as a Na t i onal Iss u e ( New York : Oxf ord
Univers ity Pre s s , 1 9 7 8 ) .
For more spec i f i c l i terature on b lacks
dur ing th i s p e r i od , s e e Dan T . Carter , " From Segregat i on to
I ntegrat ion , " i n John B . B o l e s and Eve l yn Thoma s Nolen ,
In terpre ting Sou thern Hi story , 4 0 8 - 4 3 3 .
25 For i n f ormat i on on Jack i e Robinson and ma j or l eague
baseba l l genera l l y in the 1 9 4 0 s , see Char l e s C . A l exander , Our
Game : An Ameri can Basebal l Hi s tory ( New York : Henry H o l t and Co . ,
1 9 9 1 ) : 1 8 7 - 2 1 6 ; Jack i e Rob inson , I Never Had It Made ( New York :
G . P . Putnam ' s S ons , 1 9 7 2 ) ; Ju l e s Tyg ie l , Basebal l ' s Gre a t
Experimen t .
For i n f orma t i on on the integrat i on of pro f e s s i ona l footba l l
i n the 1 9 4 0 s , s e e W i l l i am A . Brower , " H a s Pro f es s i on a l Footba l l
C l osed the Door ? " Opportuni ty 1 8 ( December 1 9 4 0 ) : 3 7 5 - 3 7 7 ; Thoma s
G . Smith , " Outs ide the P a l e : The Exclus ion o f B la cks f rom the
Nat i o n a l Footba l l League , 1 9 3 4 - 1 9 4 6 , " Journal of Sport Hi s t ory 1 5
( W i nter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 2 5 5 - 2 8 1 ; Woody Strode and S am Young , Goal Dus t
( Lanham , Mary l and : Madi son Books , 1 9 9 0 ) .
On profe s s i on a l ba sketba l l des egregat i on , s e e Robert W .
39
Res i stance to integration rema ined strong in the S outh
in the a ftermath of Brown and th i s att i tude a f fected
s outhern c o l l eg i ate sport .
A f r ican-Ame r i can ath l etes f ir s t
p l ayed a t predominant ly wh ite c o l l eges and un ivers it i e s i n
the late 1 8 0 0 s .
As interco l l eg i ate sport , e spec i a l ly
f ootba l l , grew i n popu l ar ity in the twent i e th c entury ,
s outhern schoo l s common ly refused to compete a g a i n s t
i ntegrated a th letic teams .
Northern inst itut i ons
accommodated thes e demands by withho ld ing the i r b l ack
p layers in games with southern schoo l s , thereby perpetuat i ng
the pract i ce .
Such arrangements became known a s
'' gent l emen ' s agreement s . "
Wh i l e s ome b l a cks and wh ites had
regu l ar l y protested the agreements ear l ier , the chang ing
rac i a l c l imate a fter Wor l d War II strengthened oppo s it ion . 26
By the early 1 9 6 0 s , s outhern un iver s i t i e s ,
inc luding thos e
o f t h e S outhea stern Conference , found themse lves i s o l ated
w ith r egard to s egregat ion in ath l e t i c s .
Fac ing advers i ty
Peterson , Cages t o Jumpsho ts : Pro Basketba l l ' s Early Years ( New
York : Oxford Un iver s ity Pres s , 1 9 9 0 ) : 9 5 - 1 0 7 and 1 7 0 - 1 7 4 .
26 See Ocania Cha lk , B l a ck Col l ege Sport ( New Y ork : Dodd , Mead
& Company , 1 9 7 6 ) ; Patr i ck B . Mi l ler , " Harvard and the Co lor Line :
The Case o f Luc i en A l ex i s " in Rona ld Story ed itor Sport in
Massachuse t ts : Hi s tori cal Essays ( Westf i e l d , MA : I nst itute for
Ma s sachusetts stud i e s , 1 9 9 1 ) ; Dona l d Sp ivey , " ' End J im Crow in
Sports ' : The Protest at New York Un ivers ity , " Journ a l o f Sport
Hi s tory 1 5 ( Winter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 2 8 2 - 3 0 3 ; Dona ld Sp ivey , " Th e B l a ck
Ath l ete i n B ig-T ime I nterco l l egiate Sports , 1 9 4 1 - 1 9 6 8 , " Phyl on
4 4 ( June , 1 9 8 3 ) : 1 1 6 - 1 2 5 ; David K . Wiggins , " Pr i z ed Perf ormer s ,
but Frequent l y Over l ooked Students : The Involvement o f B l ack
Ath l etes i n I nterco l l eg i ate Sports on Predom i nant ly Wh i t e
Campuses , 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 7 2 , " Research Quarterl y for Exerci se a n d Sport
6 2 ( June , 1 9 9 1 ) : 1 6 4 - 1 7 7 .
40
i n a th l e t i c race r e l a t i ons was not an unusua l c ircumstance
for the conference by that point .
C.
S e l ected Rac i a l Epi sodes I nvolving S EC A th l e t i c Teams
A s the Un ivers ity o f Georg i a f ootba l l squad prepared to
v i s i t New York Univer s i ty f or an inter s ect i ona l game in
1929 ,
a d i l emma f a irly common to such occa s ions arose .
The
New York Un ivers ity team inc luded a n A f r i can-Amer ican ,
outstanding quarterback Dave Myer s .
Georg i a ,
The Un ivers ity o f
l ike m o s t southern schoo l s o f t h e era , r e fused t o
partake in interracia l contests .
What was t o become a
fami l iar reso lution ensued .
A coup le o f weeks prior to the game , the A s sociated
Press quoted Dean S . V . Sanf ord o f Georg i a a s proc l a iming a
" gent l eman ' s agreement " exi sted between the schoo l s , an
agreement that wou ld bar Myers from p lay ing .
on ,
Sanf ord went
" the matter has been amicably adj usted and we ant i c ipate
no unp l e a santness what soever . " n
These trad i t ional
gentl emen ' s agreements a l lowed s outhern schoo l s to f o l l ow
estab l i shed rac i a l pract ices o f not competing aga inst
A fr i can-Amer icans , wh i l e a l so providing northern
univer s i t i e s the cont inued opportun ity of s chedu l ing
lucrative i ntersect iona l batt l e s .
27NAA CP A dm i n i s trat ive F i l e , " D i scr iminat i on Educat i on , NYU , "
2 3 O ctober 1 9 2 9 , Library o f Congress .
A spec i a l thanks to Dr .
David K . Wiggins , George Mason Un iver s ity , for comp i l ing and
prov i d ing th i s documentat ion .
41
Most often such arrangements proceeded qu i et l y , but the
Dave Myers a f f a ir created a s i z ea b l e d i spute .
Student s , the
b l ack pres s , and the Nat i o n a l Associat ion for the
Advancement o f C o l ored Peop l e ( NAACP ) a l l protested the
dec i s ion to bench Myer s .
The NAACP negot i ated with
un iver s i ty o f f i c i a l s i n the days l ea d i ng up to the game ,
with Secretary Wa lter Wh ite f ir ing o f f s evera l l etters t o
t h e s choo l d enounc ing the agreement .
I n the end , a l l the
obj ect i ons were t o no ava i l , as New Y ork Un i vers ity coach
John " Ch i ck " Meehan s at out Dave Myer s .
the game by a score of 2 7 to 1 9 . D
NYU t r i umphed i n
The acqu i e s cence o f
northern co l l eges t o southern ra c i a l demands , a s i n the
Myers a f f a ir , ref l ected vestiges o f the severe rac i sm
confront i ng b l acks , both i n sport and gener a l soc i ety ,
the early twent i eth century .
in
The w ithho l d ing o f Dave Myers
from the 1 9 2 9 Georgia -NYU game occurred within th i s context
o f ra c i st sent iment .
The controversy surround ing the a f f a ir
was one o f the ear l i est invo lving a co l l ege be l ong i ng t o
what wou l d s oon become t h e Southeastern Conf erence .
Wh i l e
the dec i s i on by New York Univer s i ty o f f i c i a l s t o bench Myers
dur ing the Georg i a contest c l early fit into a n age of overt
segrega t i on i st attitude s , the amp l e pre s s coverage given the
28 For i n f orma t i on on the Myers a f f a ir , see O can i a Cha lk ,
B l a ck Col l ege Sport , 1 8 6 - 1 8 7 ; NAACP Adm i n i strat i on F i l e
" D i scriminat i on , " 2 3 October 1 9 2 9 ; David K . W i gg i n s , " Pr i z ed
Performers . . . , " 1 6 9 ; Raymond Wo lters , The New Negro on Campu s :
B l a ck Col l ege Rebe l l i ons of the 1 92 0 ' s ( Pr inceton , NJ : Princeton
Un ivers ity Pre s s , 1 9 7 5 ) : 3 1 7 .
42
i nc ident s erved a s a portent o f evo lving rac i a l emot i ons .
A
second ep i s ode invo lving a Southea stern Con f erence footba l l
t eam does the s ame .
I n a scene rem i n i scent o f other North- South footba l l
batt l es , S EC member Georg i a Tech trave l l ed t o Ann Arbor ,
M ichigan ,
i n 1 9 3 4 for a game w i th the Wo lver ines o f the
Un ivers ity o f M i ch igan .
The Y e l l ow Jackets coach i ng s ta f f
ful ly expected M i ch igan t o comp ly w ith the standard
" gent l eman ' s agreement " between intersect i ona l r i va l s and
thus keep end W i l l i s Ward , an Afri can-Amer ican , out of the
b a l lgame .
When a squabb l e arose concerning the bench i ng o f
Ward , one o f Mich i gan ' s best p l ayers , a un i que arrangement
f o l l owed .
To ensure that the game wou l d take p l ace , Tech
coach B i l l A l exander acceded to M i ch igan ' s concerns and
benched h i s own star p l ayer , end E . H .
" Hoot " G ibson .
The
game went on w i thout the two p l ayers , M i ch i gan defeat ing
Geor g i a Tech 9 to 2 .
The d e c i s ion to bench Ward , a popu l ar footba l l and
track star who once def eated Jesse owens i n a s ixty-yard
dash , r a i sed a furor s im i l a r to that wh i ch accompan i ed the
1 9 2 9 Georg i a -NYU game .
The Mi chi gan Dai l y , the s choo l ' s
student newspaper , argued that the idea l s o f the Univers ity
o f M i ch i gan were " incompat i b l e with the S outh ' s pos i t ion on
r ac i a l d i f f erences . " 29
Aga i n the NAACP vo i ced concern .
29Quote from John Behee , Hai l to the Vi ctors ! : B l a ck Athl e te s
a t t h e Uni versi ty o f Mi chigan ( Ann Arbor , MI : U l r i ch ' s B ooks ,
1 9 7 4 ) a s c ited i n Arthur R . Ashe , Jr . , A Hard Road to Gl ory vo l .
43
A s s i stant Secretary Roy Wi lkens wondered ,
" what a bout the
f ee l i ngs o f Negro ath l etes who have carr ied the name and
f ame .
.
. o f Mich igan to the ends of the e arth with O lymp i c
v i ct or i e s ? " �
O n l y two years ear l i er , Edd i e T o l a n o f
M i ch igan had spr inted to O lymp i c g o l d meda l s i n Los Ange l e s .
However , most o f these protestat i ons took p l a c e a fter the
event , too late to keep Ward from be ing w i thh e l d .
Like the Dave Myers a f f a i r be fore i t , the Georg i a TechM i ch igan controversy took p lace in a chang ing rac i a l
a tmosphere .
The reciproc a l bench ing o f Hoot G i bson f or
W i l l i s Ward , wh ich rece ived substant i a l press coverage , carne
as wh ite att itudes toward blacks in sport were becom ing a
bit more t o l erant .
Wh i l e the Georgia Tech-M i ch igan meet ing
certa i n ly was o f l imited nat i ona l s ign i f icanc e , and the
bench ing o f a wh ite p l ayer a sma l l conso l a t i on , other events
in sport dur ing the 1 9 3 0 s and 1 9 4 0 s ind i cated the growing
acceptance o f Afr ican-Amer icans in sports .
The
accomp l i shments o f Joe Lou i s and Jesse Owens aga inst the
backdrop of strong g l oba l tens ions are broader examp l e s o f
th i s theme .
The Georg i a Tech-Michigan game o f 1 9 3 4 , the
controversy it st irred , and the rej ect ion of prev i ous ly
2,
94 .
For other accounts of the 1 9 3 4 M i ch igan-Geor g i a Tech
encounter , see Char l es H . Mart i n , " J im Crow i n the Gymnas ium : The
I ntegrat i on o f Col l ege Basketba l l in the Amer ican S outh , " 6 8 - 8 6
( esp . p . 7 0 } ; Cha r l e s H . Mart in , " The I ntegrat i on o f S outhea stern
Conference Ath l et i c s , " 3 ; David K . Wiggins , ' ' Pr i z ed Performer s .
. . , " 168 .
30Arthur R . Ashe , Jr . , A Hard Road to Gl ory vo l .
44
2,
94 .
a ccepted rac i a l norms i t produced , f it s we l l i n the context
o f such s h i f t i ng att i tudes .
Perhaps the ep i s ode even s erved
as a subt l e harbi nger of th i s com i ng change .
The expand i ng r o l e o f Afri can-Americans i n sport
intens i f i ed in the aftermath o f Wor ld War I I .
The three
preeminent pro fess i ona l sports ( ba s eba l l , basketba l l ,
f ootba l l ) a l l des egregated , or r e i ntegrated , a t the maj or
l eague l eve l between 1 9 4 6 and 1 9 5 0 .
I n the S outh however ,
cont i nu ing res i s tance to integra t i on nul l i f i ed any softening
o f rac i a l att itudes among S outheastern Conference f ootba l l
members , and a s sured that desegregation i n SEC ath l e t i c s
woul d n o t occur be fore the 1 9 6 0 s .
S outhern states passed laws i n the late 1 9 5 0 s a imed at
d e fy ing or c ircumvent ing integrat ion .
extended into the arena of sport .
Th i s l e g i s l a t ion
A Lou i s i ana l aw
prevent ing b l a cks from part ic ipat i ng i n the annua l Sugar
Bowl footba l l game wa s enacted after a b l a ck p l ayer had
competed in the game for the f i rst t ime , a qu i rk r e su l t i ng
from the grow ing southern response to the Brown d ec i s i on .
The ep i sode took p lace at the 1 9 5 6 Sugar Bowl between
P ittsburgh and Georg i a Tech . 3 1
3 1 See " Segregat ion he l d sugar back f or many years , " New
Orl eans Times -Pi cayune , 1 January 1 9 8 4 , sec . 8 , p . 7 .
For i n f ormat i on on southern rac i a l att itudes t oward c o l l eg e
sport i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d 19 6 0 s , see Rona l d E . Marce l l o , " The
I ntegrat ion o f I nterco l l eg i ate Ath l et i c s i n Texa s : North Texas
State C o l l ege as a Test Case , 1 9 5 6 , " 2 8 6 - 3 1 6 ; Char l e s H . Mart i n ,
" Jim Crow i n the Gymna s ium , " 6 8 - 8 6 ; Joan Pau l , R i chard V .
McGehee , and He l en Fant , " The Arr iva l and Ascendence o f B l ack
Ath letes i n the Southeastern Conference , 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 0 , " 2 8 4 - 2 9 7 .
45
The Un iver s ity o f P i ttsburgh footba l l squad i nc luded
an A f r i can-Amer ican , second team runn ing back / d e f ens ive back
Bobby Grier .
I n it i a l ly the Sugar Bowl ' s i nvitat i on to
P ittsburgh generated l it t l e str i f e , but s egrega t i on i s t
Geor g i a governor Marvin Gr i f f in i n f l amed t h e i s sue by
ca l l ing on h i s state ' s Board of Regents to f orbid the
interrac i a l meet i ng .
Du ly r i l e d , the New O r l eans ( wh ite )
C i t i z en ' s Counc i l rid i cu l ed the Sugar B ow l f or inv i t ing
P i ttsburgh in the f irst p l ace .
The nat i ona l med i a j umped
i nto the fray , dep icting New O r l eans " a s a c ity br i s t l ing
w i th guns in ant i c ipation o f a s ing le subst itute
fu l lback . " 32
The uncerta inty of Georg i a Tech ' s
part i c ipat i on ended when the Georg ia Board o f Regents voted
1 0 - 1 t o l et the team p lay .
Georgia Tech won the footba l l g ame 7 t o
o,
and no
rac i a l prob l ems occurred , a l though a p a s s interference c a l l
against Grier d i d lead t o the game ' s only t ouchdown .
S oon ,
new l eg i s l at i on prevent ing integrated spor t i ng contests
wou l d go into e f f ect across states in the deep South .
In
Lou i s i ana , Act 5 7 9 , wh ich proh i b ited interrac i a l a th l e t i c
compet it i on , w a s one o f more than a do z en s egregat i on l aws
p a s s ed in the state in 1 9 5 6 .
Another A f r ican-Ame r i can d i d
not compete i n the Sugar Bow l unt i l 1 9 6 5 .
Th i s strong ant i ­
i ntegrat i on back l a sh i n f l uenced S outhea stern Conference
32 See " Segrega t i on held Sugar back for many years . "
46
ath l e t i c s into the 1 9 6 0 s , when s ome cracks began to
appear . 33
The l aws aga inst interra c i a l ath l et i c compet i t i on
produced a spate o f ep i s odes i nvo l ving S outhea st ern
Conf erence teams i n the late 1 9 5 0 s and e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s .
Footba l l teams cou ld comp ly w i th such bans rather e a s i ly , a s
they contr o l l ed the ir s chedu l ing a n d bow l appearance s .
Basketba l l tournaments created a pred i cament however ,
because p a i r ings depended upon seedings and r e su l t s .
Such
uncerta inty caused severa l SEC ba sketba l l t eams to dec l ine
nat i ona l tournament opportun i t i e s .
The Un ivers ity o f Kentucky usua l ly spared conference
basketba l l teams the dec i s i on on whether to compete in
integrated tournaments by dom inat ing the S EC .
t h e W i l dcat s ,
The coach o f
l egendary " Baron o f the B luegr a s s " Ado lph
Rupp , was no rac i a l progre s s ive , but he was w i l l ing to
compete for nat iona l t it l e s , even if i t meant fac ing b l a ck
p l ayers . 34
However , when other con ference teams won the
l eague t it l e , the d i l emma rema ined .
The Univers i ty of
A labama chose not to p l ay i n the 1 9 5 6 NCAA t ournament a fter
winn ing the S outheastern Conference t it l e .
D r b id ; s e e a l so Joan Pau l , et a l ,
2 8 4 -2 8 5 .
Auburn
"Arr iva l and Ascendence , "
� See Cha r l e s H . Mart in , " The I ntegrat i on o f S outhea stern
Conference Ath l e t i c s , " 5 ; Cha r l e s H . Mart i n , " J im Crow i n the
Gymnas ium , " 7 1 - 7 2 .
47
Un ivers ity reached the same dec i s i on i n 1 9 6 0 . 35
No school suf fered more from the ra c i a l a tmosphere than
M i s s i s s ippi State Univer s ity .
The basketba l l squad m i ssed
both the NCAA and the Nat i ona l I nvitat i ona l Tournament ( NI T )
in 1959 ,
1 9 6 1 , and 1 9 6 2 , the l a s t two years w ith out s tand i ng
teams that won 2 4 games and lost 1 each sea son .
the Bu l ldogs had had enough .
By 1 9 6 3 ,
Cha l l enging M i s s i s s ipp i
governor Ros s Barnett , a staunch segregat i on i st , and the
state ' s unwr itten ban on interra c i a l compet it ion , the t e am
entered the NCAA basketba l l tournament .
After v irtua l ly
sneak i ng out o f the state , M i s s i s s ipp i State lost 6 1 - 5 1 t o
eventua l champ i on Loyo l a o f Ch i cago , a team f eatur i ng four
b lack starter s . M
The M i s s i s s ippi State ep i sode marks another step i n the
maturat i on o f rac i a l perspect ive surround ing S outhea stern
Conf erence ath l et i cs .
The b l atant host i l ity i n s outhern
states toward interra c i a l compet i t i on s l ow l y began to
change .
Expand i ng opportun i t i e s for bl acks i n sport ,
dera i l ed i n the South a s the reg i on clung t o s egregat ion ,
wou l d f ina l l y reach the Southeastern Conf erence i n the
1960s .
The s e var i ous ep i sodes , ranging from the Dave Myers
a f f a ir i n the 1 9 2 0 s t o the probl ems fac ing SEC ba sketba l l
35 For a f u l ler account o f SEC basketba l l teams fac ing the
i s sue o f i nterra c i a l competit ion i n the 1 9 5 0 s and 1 9 6 0 s , see
Char l e s H . Mart i n , " The Integration of Southeastern Conf erence
Ath l e t i cs , " 5 -7 ; Cha r l e s H . Mart i n , " J im Crow i n the Gymnas i um , "
7 4 -7 7 .
36 I b i d .
48
teams i n the 1 9 6 0 s , r e f l ect not only on ath l e t i c s i n the
S outh , but a l so on the cours e o f African-Amer ican sport ing
part i c ipation genera l ly .
The s evere rac i sm o f the l ate 1 9 th
and early 2 0th c entury y i e lded to a grudg ing acceptance o f
b l acks i n sport i n the 1 9 3 0 s and 1 9 4 0 s i n most o f the
country .
After Wor ld War I I , more avenues i n sport opened
to b l acks , w i th Jack i e Rob inson and ma j or l eague ba seba l l
p lay i ng a h i gh ly publ i c i z ed ro l e .
However , i n the South ,
l i nger ing rac i s t s ent iment , exacerbated by the end of l ega l
s egregat i on i n the 1 9 5 0 s , squelched progr e s s at most
southern c o l l eges unt i l the 1 9 6 0 s .
49
Chapter Three
Volunteer Echoes
Events at the Un ivers ity o f Tennes s ee m irrored thos e
taking p lace a t other S outheastern Conference i n s t i tut ions .
Footba l l deve l oped into an organ i z ed sport at Tennes s e e i n
the 1 8 9 0 s , but the schoo l ' s early squads rema i ned mos t l y
und i st ingu i shed unt i l t h e arr iva l o f Robert R e e s e Ney l and i n
1925 .
Ney l and dom inated un iver s ity ath l e t i c s for near ly
f our decade s , his long career at Tennes s ee conclud i ng when
he d i e d i n 1 9 6 2 .
Like other Southeastern Conference
member s , the Volunteers confronted var i ous sports - r e l at ed
rac i a l epi sodes dur ing the middle decades o f the twent i eth
century .
By 1 9 6 3 , the pre lude to f ootba l l de segregat ion a t
t h e Un ivers ity o f Tenne ssee neared a n end , and t h e factors
that wou l d eventu a ll y lead to desegregat ion were f a l l ing
into p l ace .
A.
Ear ly Tenne ssee Footba l l and the Arr iva l of Robert R .
Neyl and
The f i rst th irty - f ive years o f interco l l e g i a t e footba l l
a t the Un ivers ity of Tennes s ee never brought the s choo l
nat i ona l acc l a im , and only occa s i ona l ly produced good teams .
Wh i l e a thorough h i story o f early Tenn e s s ee f ootba l l need
not be covered here , s ever a l nota b l e exper i ences and
50
persona l it i e s des erve attent i on .
compe t i t ion on November 2 1 ,
189 1 .
Tennes s e e entered footba l l
The team l o s t 2 4 - 0 t o
S ewanee i n a game p l ayed at Chattanooga .
H . K . Denl inger ,
d i rector o f the un ivers ity ' s YMCA a th le t i c program and a
f ormer Princeton p layer , orga n i z ed that f ir s t t eam , d ir ected
the a rr angements for the S ewanee contest , and p l ayed i n the
game .
S evera l members o f the univers ity team a l s o opp o s ed a
squad from Harr ima n , Tennessee , that f a l l , but the encounter
with S ewanee was the only o f f i c i a l game of 1 8 9 1 . 1
Two p l ayers from the pre - 1 9 0 0 era o f Tenn e s s e e footba l l
f igured prominently i n the career o f Robert Ney l and .
S amue l
Strang N i ck l i n helped l ead the 1 8 9 6 team t o f our wins and no
l osses ; a Univers ity o f Tennessee f ootba l l team wou l d not go
unde feated aga in unt i l 1 9 1 4 .
Strang N i ck l in later s erved a s
baseba l l coach at the Un ited States M i l itary Academy .
There
h e coached young Bob Ney l and , a star p itcher from Texa s .
In
1 8 9 7 , ta l ented fre shman runner Char l e s B . Moran arr ived on
Tennes see ' s campus .
Better known a s ''Unc l e Char l ey , " Moran
went on to a c o l orful p l aying and coach ing career ,
inc lud ing
1 For informat i on on the early years of footba l l a t the
Un ivers ity of Tennes see , see Rus s Bebb , The B i g Orange : A S tory
of Tennessee Footbal l , 1 7 - 1 2 1 ; Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box
6 , Fo lders 1 - 3 ; Torn S i ler , The Vol unteers ( Knoxv i l l e , TN :
Pub l i shed by the author , a l l r ights res erved , 1 9 5 0 ) . 10 0 Years of
Vol unteers 1891-1990, vo lume 1 .
On the f irst UT f ootba l l game , see Rus s Bebb , The B i g
Orange , 2 3 - 2 6 .
On t h e Harr iman game o f 1 8 9 1 , s e e " Letter from
Fred Ehrne to Tom S i l er , '' 12 December 1 9 5 7 , Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on ,
MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 1 .
51
a st int a t Texas A&M where he too coached Ney l and . 2
Co l l ege
f ootba l l fans best remember Moran for l eading the " Pray ing
Co l one l s " of Centre Col l ege to a f a b l ed upset of Harvard in
192 1 .
The Tennes see backgrounds o f N i ck l in and Moran
a s s i sted the Volunteers in the 1 9 2 5 hir i ng of Ney l and .
I n c i denta l ly , the n i ckname "Vo lunteers , " f ir s t app l ied
t o the un iver s ity footba l l team by an At l anta n ewspaper in
1 9 0 2 , or iginated with the trad i t i onal w i l l ingne s s o f
Tennes seans to vo lunteer for m i l i tary duty .
The s choo l
yearbook appeared in 1 8 9 7 and was labe l l e d the Vol unteer ,
but Knoxv i l l e newspapers d i d not regu l ar l y u s e the term i n
conj unct ion with ath l e t i c s unt i l 1 9 0 5 .
The popu l a r ity on
campus o f the 1 8 9 8 Spani sh-American War resu l ted in
Tennes see s tudent s aga in " vo lunteer ing " eager ly and a l s o
prompted use o f the expre s s i on .
Prior t o Vo lunteers , the
most frequent n i cknames f or univers ity f ootba l l p l ayers and
teams inc luded " orange and wh ite , " " vars ity , " " Tenn e s s ee
boys , " and " H i l l ites . " 3
Footba l l moved forward at Tenne s s ee in 1 9 0 7 .
The team
p l ayed ten games for the f irst t ime , w inning s even , and
2 See Bob G i l bert , Neyl and : The Gri diron General ( Savannah ,
Georgia: G o l den Coast Pub l i sh ing Company , 1 9 9 0 ) : 1 6 - 3 4 .
Ney l and
attended Texa s A&M in 1 9 1 0 / 1 1 , then accepted an app o intment to
West Po int where he reported in June o f 1 9 1 2 .
3 See " Letter from Stan ley J . Fo lmsbee t o Ju l i an Harr i s s , " 1 1
May 1 9 5 1 , Tom Si l er Col l ecti on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 1 ; James
R . Montgomery , Stanley J . Fo lmsbee , and Lee S . Greene , To Fos t er
Knowl edge : A Hi s tory of The Uni versi ty of Tenne s s e e , 1794-1970,
350.
52
featured ste l l ar performer s such a s Walter Leach , Roscoe
'' P iggy " Word , and guard Nathan Dougherty , a l egendary f i gure
a t Tennessee and in the Southeastern Conference .
The team
a l so f ound a s em i -permanent home a t Wa ite F i e ld , wh ich
eventua l ly provided 2 0 0 0 seats for spectator s .
Former coach
Z ora C l evenger reca l l ed Wa ite a s be ing " tremendous ly hard"
and awash with grave l at t imes , wh i l e Jake N i ch o l son
l amented p l ay ing on " the j agged concrete- l ike sur f a ce when
.
. Oh ! the scratches , char l ey horse s , and
twi sted ank l e s . ''
The Vo lunteers moved to S h i e l d s -Watk i n s
i t dr ied out .
f ie l d , where they sti l l p l ay ,
in 1 9 2 0 , but t e a m member s
cursed that Wa ite p l ay ing sur face decades later . 4
By 1 9 2 5 , c o l l ege f ootba l l popu larity s oared a s sport
basked in a " Go l den Age , '' and the nation reve l ed i n the
'' Roar ing Twent ie s . "
The Un iver s ity of Tenne s s ee , s eeking
nat i ona l status in footba l l , needed an a s s i stant coach who
could e n l iven the program .
Dr . Nathan Dougherty , a t th i s
t ime dean o f eng ineer ing and head o f the un ive r s i ty ' s
ath l e t i c counc i l ,
led the s earch .
He contacted Unc le
Char ley Moran , who suggested West Po int a s s i stant Bob
4 See '' Letter from Jul i an Harr i s s to Tom S i l er , " 18 Apr i l
1 9 5 0 , Tom Si l er Col l e ction , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o lder 1 ; " Letter
from Z ora C l evenger to Tom S i l er , '' 1 1 Apr i l 1 9 5 0 , Tom Si l er
Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 2 ; " Letter from J . H . N i ch o l s on
t o Tom S i l er , '' Tom Si l er Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o l der 2 ;
Rus s B ebb , The B i g Orange , 1 0 4 - 1 0 7 .
For more informa t i on on Nathan Dougherty , s e e Rus s Bebb , The
B i g Orange , 7 1 - 7 7 ; Nathan Dougherty , Edu cators and Athl e tes : The
Sou theastern Conference , 1894-1972 .
*The f ormer Vo lunteer footba l l f i e ld i s a l s o often
i dent i f ied a s Wa it F i e ld ( a s opposed to Waite ) .
53
Ney l and , h i s f ormer p l ayer at Texas A&M .
Ney l and ,
the man
dest i ned to be the most important f igure i n the anna l s o f
Tennessee ath l et i c s , accepted and arr ived i n Knoxvi l l e for
the 1 9 2 5 season . 5
Robert Rees e Ney land ( pronounced knee l and ) grew up i n
Texa s .
I n many ways , h i s presence exuded the aura
a s so c i ated with the Lone Star state .
Larg e , vigorous , and
conf ident , Ney l and wa s an impos i ng man .
A robust ath lete ,
Ney land exce l l ed in var i ous sports dur ing h i s c o l l ege years
at West Po int .
He lettered in f ootba l l a s an end .
He
p i tched f or the Army bas eba l l team , comp i l ing a record of 3 5
w i ns and j ust f ive losses ,
inc luding f our stra i ght v i ctor i e s
over arch-riva l Navy from 1 9 1 3 to 1 9 1 6 .
S evera l baseba l l
teams later o f f ered Neyl and chances for a pro f e s s i ona l
career , o f f ers he spurned to rema in a s o l d i er .
Ney l and a l s o
reigned a s the academy ' s heavywe ight box ing champ ion f or
three consecut ive years . 6
S oon a fter graduat ing f rom West Po int , Neyl and s ett l ed
into dua l r o l e s a s s o l d i er and coach .
I n 1 9 2 1 , a fter act i on
5 See Bob G i l bert , Neyl and : The Gri diron Genera l , 6 1 - 6 3 .
For an informa l h i story o f the " roaring " 1 9 2 0 s , s e e
Freder ick Lew i s A l l en , Onl y Yes terday 1 st Perenn i a l L i brary
Ed i t i on ( New York : Harper & Rowe Pub l i shers , 1 9 6 4 ) .
6 For i n f ormat i on on Ney land ' s ear ly career , s e e Rus s Bebb ,
1 2 2 - 2 4 3 ; Bob G i l bert , The Gri diron General , 9 - 5 7 ;
Andrew J . Ko z ar , "War and the S ing l e W i ng , " Tenne s s e e Al umn u s
Magazine ( Fa l l , 1 9 9 1 ) : 4 0 - 4 2 ; Andrew J . Ko z ar , " And t h e B i g
Orange Ca i ssons Went Ro l l ing A l ong , " Now a n d Then pub l i shed by
Center for Appa l achian Stud i e s and Services 9 ( Fa l l , 1 9 9 2 ) : 4 0 4 2 ; Z ipp Newman , The Impact of Sou thern Foo tbal l ( Montgomery ,
A l abama : M-B Publ i sh ing , 1 9 6 9 ) : 1 5 0 - 1 5 2 .
The B i g Orange ,
54
in Wor l d War I , he returned to the academy a s an a ide to
superintendent Doug las Ma cArthur .
MacArthur supported
a th l e t i c endeavors , and part o f Neyl and ' s dut i e s inc luded
coach i ng .
Neyl and rema ined at West Po int unt i l tak ing the
Tennes see pos it i on in 1 9 2 5 .
The mix o f coach ing and
s o ld i er ing cont inued however , a s Army regu l a t i ons o f the era
a l lowed Ney l and t o serve in the regiona l Corps o f Eng i neers
i n Tennessee , wh i l e a l so coach ing footba l l .
H e d i d not
retire from the m i l itary unt i l 1 9 3 6 , and even then was
c a l l ed back to a ct ive duty dur ing Wor l d War I I .
combination proved vex ing to Ney l and .
The
At West P o i nt , h e was
a super ior cadet to contempora r i e s such a s Dwight E i s enhower
and Omar Bradley , and as h i stor i c event s unf o lded , Ney l and
pondered whether he had p a s s ed over a broader , more
important ca l l ing .
Nonethe l es s , he attained the rank o f
brigad ier genera l . 7
Any l inger ing doubt s about m i s sed m i l i tary
opportun i t i e s d i d not app ly to h i s footba l l l egacy .
Ney l and
coached the University o f Tennessee f ootba l l team for
twenty-one years .
After a l one season a s an a s s i stant , he
a scended to head coach in 1 9 2 6 .
l a sted unt i l 1 9 5 2 ,
H i s tenure a s head coach
and con s i sted o f three d i st inct stages
s tructured around mi l i tary tour s .
Ney l and led the
7 See Lindsey N e l son , Hel l o Everybody, I ' m Lindsey Nel son
( New Y ork : Beech Tree Books , 1 9 8 5 ) : 3 7 - 6 9 and 2 8 5 - 2 8 8 .
N e l s on ,
the l egendary sports broadcaster , attended the Un ivers ity o f
Tennessee and had a l ong , c lose f r i endship w ith Neyl and .
55
Vo lunteers from 1 9 2 6 to 1 9 3 4 , when an Army a s s ignment in
Panama forced him to res ign his pos ition for a year .
He
returned to coach the team from 1 9 3 6 t o 1 9 4 0 before being
c a l l e d away for Wor ld War I I .
F i na l ly , h e resumed the h e lm
in 1 9 4 6 , coached unt i l the end o f the 1 9 5 2 s e a s on , then
retired from coach ing for hea lth reasons .
H e rema ined a s
Tennes see a th l et i c d irector unt i l h i s death i n 1 9 6 2 .
Ney l and t ook footba l l to new he ights a t the Un ivers ity
o f Tennessee .
A master o f defense and the k ick i ng game , h i s
teams ama s s ed 1 7 3 wins , only 3 1 l o s s e s , and 1 2 t i es .
Noteworthy m i lestone s inc luded 2 Southern Conference t i t l es ,
f ive Southe a stern Conf erence champi onsh ips , and a crown ing
moment : the 1 9 5 1 nat iona l champ ionship .
His inf luence on
The fame o f Tenne s s e e
c o l l ege footba l l was mammoth .
f ootba l l brought attent ion to e a s t Tennes s e e a n d the
Appa l a ch i an region . 8
Many modern coaches trace the i r
methods back to Neyl and coach ing princip l e s .
F ormer Neyl and
p l ayers a s sumed coach ing pos i t i ons across the country ; a
part i a l l i s t count s John Barnh i l l o f Arkan s a s , Bobby Dodd o f
Geor g i a Tech , Beatti e Feathers o f North Caro l ina State ,
Herman H i ckman o f Y a l e , Murray Warmath o f Minne s ot a , and
B owden Wyatt o f Wyoming , Arkansas , and Tennes see . 9
8 0n the impact o f Ney l and and Vo lunteer footba l l t o the
mounta in S outh , see Andrew J . K o z ar , " And the B i g Orange Ca i s s ons
Went Ro l l ing A l ong , " 4 0 -4 2 .
9 See Vince Doo l ey w ith Loran Smith , Dool ey ' s Dawgs : Twen ty­
Fi ve Years of Winning Footba l l at the Univers i ty of Georgi a
( At lanta , GA : Longstreet Pres s , 1 9 8 9 } : 8 5 ; Bob G i l bert , Neyl and :
56
Ney land commanded respect from those p l ayers f or l i fe .
As l egend goe s , Wyatt and Warmath , by then f amous coaches in
the i r own r i ght , once stood enj oying a c igar a t a bowl game .
Wyatt frant ica l ly snuf f ed out h i s c igar when he saw the
Genera l approach ing .
man .
.
Warmath .
" Why d i d you do that?
You ' re a grown
. he doesn ' t have any contro l over you now , " l aughed
Wyatt s a id ,
" I know that , and you know that , but
I ' m not sure that he knows that . "
his own stogey . 10
Warmath qu ickly ditched
The accomp l i shments o f Ney l and are
perhaps best shown by the resu lts o f a 1 9 6 9 po l l c e l ebra t ing
the centenn i a l anniver sary o f c o l l ege footba l l .
After 1 0 0
years o f interc o l l eg i ate compet i t i on , experts at that t ime
ranked Ney l and a s the sport ' s s econd greatest coach , beh ind
only the more h ighly pub l i c i z ed Knute Rockne o f Notre
Dame . 1 1
A n unexp l ored facet o f the Ney l and era a t the
Univers ity o f Tennessee is the i s sue o f race a s i t pert a ins
t o f ootba l l desegregat ion .
No Afr i can-Ame r i can part ic ipated
The Gri diron General , 3 - 6 ; Johnny Ma j ors with Ben Byrd , You Can
Go Home Agai n ( Na shvi l l e , TN : Rut l edge H i l l Pres s ) : 8 6 ; Lindsey
Ne l son , Hel l o Everybody, I 'm Lindsey Nel son , 5 6 .
1 0L indsey N e l son , Hel l o Everybody , 4 5 .
The c igar story takes
d i f f erent forms and sometimes invo lves other coaches ( see Rus s
Bebb , The Bi g Orange , 2 4 3 ) , but the domineer ing cha r i sma o f
Ney l and r ema ins t h e focal po int o f t h e t a l e .
1 1 For p o l l resu lts , see Tom S i l er , Tennessee ' s Daz z l i n g
Decade ,
4.
For gener a l stat istics and information on Ney l and ' s career ,
see Bob G i l bert , The Gri diron General , 2 5 6 - 2 5 8 ; Andy Ko z ar , " Wa r
a n d t h e S ing l e Wing , " 4 0 a n d 4 2 ; Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e Sports
I n format i on Department .
57
i n a th l etics at Tennes s ee before 1 9 6 7 , not an unusua l deta i l
cons ider ing that blacks were exc luded from a l l S outhea stern
Conf erence teams we l l i nto the 1 9 6 0 s .
A recount o f rac i a l
matters i nvolving Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e a th l e t i c teams
l ead i ng up to f ootba l l desegregation suggests a f am i l i ar ,
and s omewhat dubi ous , record on r ac i a l matters f or Neyl and ,
the a th l e t i c department , and the Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e a s
a who l e .
B.
Rac i a l Epi sodes at Tennes s ee Pr ior to Footba l l
Desegregat ion
The 1 9 4 1 Sugar Bowl matched the Tennessee Volunteers
against the Boston Co l l ege Eag l e s .
Tennessee , soon to s e e
B o b Ney l and l eave f o r Wor ld War I I , headed into t h e bowl
fresh o f f an unde feated regu lar s ea son in 1 9 4 0 .
cons ecut ive years ,
For three
1 9 3 8 - 1 9 4 0 , the Volunteers did not l o s e a
regu l a r s e a s on game , and only f ive of th irty opponent s
managed to s core on them .
Ney l and teams .
The span marks the z en ith o f
Boston C o l l ege a l s o f eatured an unbeaten
team led by coach Frank Leahy ,
h imse l f .
l ater a l egendary f igure
Boston Co l l ege upset Tennes s ee 1 9 to 1 3 .
Quarterback " Chuck in" Char l ey O ' Rourke starred for the
Eag l e s , and the win l aunched Frank Leahy t o a new p o s i t ion
at Notre Dame , where he qu ickly returned the F ight i ng I r i sh
58
t o em inence . 12
One Boston Co l l ege p l ayer did not get t o p l ay in tha t
1 9 4 1 Sugar Bow l .
Lou Montgomery , a runn ing back and the
team ' s l one African-Amer i can , accompan ied h i s squad to New
O r leans , but then faced prob l ems .
Bowl o f f i c i a l s " made i t
qu ite c lear that a Negro wou l d n o t b e a l lowed t o p l ay " i n
t h e contes t . 13
teammates .
He cou l d not even stay i n t h e hot e l w ith h i s
A l oca l b lack fam i ly with t i e s t o Boston Co l lege
t ook Montgomery i n , and sponsors o f an a l l - star g ame between
b l ack p l ayers at nearby Xavier Un ivers ity o f f ered h im a n
invit a t i on to p lay , wh ich h e accepted .
Dur i ng the Sugar
Bowl , Montgomery was a b l e to v i ew the Eagl e s ' win from the
press box ; he was given a j ob providing stat i s t i c s to
reporters .
Even those meager arrangements marked
improvement for Lou Montgomery .
The previ ous s e a s on he was
not a l l owed to make the trip to the Cotton Bow l . 14
The Un ivers ity of Tennessee cannot be d irect l y b l amed
1 2 For accounts of the 1 9 4 1 Sugar Bow l , see Rus s Bebb , The B i g
Orange , 1 9 8 - 2 0 0 ; John D . McCa l lum , Sou theas tern Conferen ce
Footba l l , 8 3 - 8 8 ; Z ipp Newman , The Impact of Sou thern Foo tba l l ,
7 3 - 7 4 ; Tom S i ler , The Vol unteers , 9 0 - 9 2 .
On Frank Leahy , see We l l s Twomb l ey , Shake Down the Thunder :
The Offi cial Bi ography of Notre Dame ' s Frank Leahy ( Radnor , PA :
Ch i lton Pub l i sh ing , 1 9 7 4 ) .
1 3 " Segrega t i on h e l d Sugar back for many years , " New Orl eans
Times -Pi cayune , 1 January 1 9 8 4 , sec . 8 , p . 7 .
14 I b i d .
Lou Montgomery holds the unenv i a b l e d i s t i nction o f
be ing exc luded from more games than any black p l ayer i n co l lege
footba l l h i s tory ; see David K . Wiggins , " Pr i z ed Performers , but
Frequent ly Ove r looked Students : The I nvo lvement of B l ack Ath letes
in I nterc o l l eg i ate Sports on Predominantly Wh ite Campu s e s , 1 8 9 0 1972 , " 169 .
59
for the exc lus i on o f Lou Montgomery .
The Sugar Bowl
enforced the ban against b lacks , and cont inued to do s o for
another f i fteen years .
Tennessee coache s , p l ayers ,
adm i n i s trator s , and fans probab l y gave very l itt l e ,
i f any ,
thought t o what was a we l l -establ i shed trad i t i on o f southern
footba l l teams refus i ng t o compete aga inst b l ack p l ayer s .
The Knoxvi l le newspapers p a id no attent ion t o the omi s s ion
o f Montgomery , even though he had been prom i nent l y a l luded
t o in art i c l e s previewing the upcoming showdown .
When
Boston C o l l ege sat him out of a late sea son game with
Auburn , no ment ion had been made then e ither .
s imp ly became an " invi s i b l e man . "
Montgomery
As deta i l ed in the
preceding chapter , the scene was not unusua l . 1 5
A more a ccurate indication o f Tenne s s e e ath l et i c
department att itude s came i n 1 9 4 6 .
The basketba l l team ,
coached by John Mauer , trave l l ed to McKeesport ,
Pennsy lvan i a , for a December meeting with Duquesne
Un ivers ity .
Mauer fu l ly expected the Duquesne coaches t o
1 5 Knoxvi l l e p r e s s coverage l eading u p t o t h e 1 9 4 1 Sugar Bowl
menti oned Lou Montgomery s evera l t imes , see Harry Grayson ,
" Boston C o l l ege-Georgetown V i ctor Shou l d Tack l e Texas Aggi e s i n
Bow l , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sentinel , 1 2 November 1 9 4 0 , 1 4 ; Harry
Grayson , " Boston Co l l ege Smashed I t s Strongest Opponents
. . ,"
Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 1 December 1 9 4 0 , B 2 ; Frank Leahy ,
" Thumbna i l Sketches o f Boston Coach and P l ayers , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 8 December 1 9 4 0 , B 2 .
Lou Montgomery was not i n the l ineup f or the Auburn game ,
see Tom Noonan , " Boston Co l l ege . . . W a l l op s S tubborn Auburn 3 3 7 , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 4 November 1 9 4 0 , B 3 .
No ment ion
was made o f his absence .
The " invi s ib l e man " phras e comes from Ra lph E l l i son ,
Invi sibl e Man ( New York : Random Hous e , 1 9 5 2 ) .
.
60
withho l d f orward Chuck Cooper from the game .
f e l t no such i n c l inat ion .
H i s opponents
The Duquesne s t a f f a s sured Mauer
that Cooper , the i r team ' s s o l e b l ack p layer , wou l d p la y only
i n the event of a c l ose f in i sh , but decl ined t o comp l ete l y
rul e out h i s part ic ipat ion .
Duquesne thereby refused t o
succumb to t h e usua l " gent l eman ' s agreement , " an a c t
r e f lect ive o f t h e growing d i sapprova l for o l d r ac i st
standards i n sport that arose i n the 1 9 4 0 s .
be canc e l l ed before Cooper wou l d b e benched .
The game wou l d
Comi ng j us t
hours be f ore t h e schedu led t ip - of f , th i s stern stance l e ft
coach Mauer , and the Tennessee team ,
in a pred icament .
Tenne s s ee refused to budge and for f e i ted the basketba l l
game .
Accord ing to reports Mauer pol led the Tennes s ee team
wh ich voted not to p l ay .
Vo lunteer co-capt a i n Ted Cook
stres sed that the squad feared breaking an unwr itten code ,
in e f f ect for the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee and other SEC
members , proh ibit ing interra c i a l compet i t i on .
Mauer s ought
to e xp l a in the forfe iture , say ing " When there was no
a s surance the Negro p l ayer wou l d not appear , my boys s a id
they wou ldn ' t p l ay .
confronted me . " 16
.
. you understand the s ituat i on wh i ch
That rather equ ivoca l statement h inted a t
Mauer ' s own persona l concerns .
To a l l ow h i s team f u l l o f
s outherners to take the court aga inst a n integrated opponent
16 "Mauer Upholds S tand Aga inst P l ay ing Game , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tin e l , 2 4 December 1 9 4 6 , 1 2 .
See a l s o , Dan Danie l , " Dan i e l
S ays : Vo l s ' Refus a l t o P l ay Duquesne Due t o Negro Br i ng s Letters
o f Protest to Ned I r ish of Garden , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen ti nel , 2 6
December 1 9 4 6 , 1 2 .
61
m i ght we l l have endangered h i s coach i ng pos i t ion . 17
The Chuck Cooper d i l emma arose in part because the
Duquesne a th l e t i c department never responded to a l etter
from Mauer , s ent s ome two weeks e ar l ier .
I n the l etter ,
Mauer " set f orth our p o l icy" and l et the Duquesne coach e s
know that Tennessee teams d i d n o t compete a g a i n s t b l acks . 1 8
H e a l s o c ited other instances o f e astern c o l l eges who " very
grac i ou s l y w ithhe ld" b lack p l ayers when fac ing Tenne s s e e . 1 9
Rece iving no reply , the Tennessee mentor erroneou s l y a s sumed
Duquesne ' s comp l i ance .
incident .
No great uproar f o l l owed the
John Mauer and the Volunteer ba sketba l l team
s imp ly acted a s most southern schoo l s d i d dur ing the era ,
o n ly th i s t ime an opponent refused to cooperate .
Chuck
Cooper apparent ly never a l l owed the a f f a ir to h inder h im ; i n
1 9 5 0 t h e Boston C e l t i c s made Cooper the f irst Afr ican-
Amer i can drafted into the Nat iona l Basketba l l Assoc iat ion . 20
I n 1 9 6 1 , two more ep i sodes occurred i nvo lving the
Tennessee ath l et i c department and African -Ame r ican ath l ete s .
1 7 See " H i stor i c a l Vignette-B l ack Ath l etes at UTK , " Con text
( UTK Chance l l or ' s New s l etter ) , 2 9 March 1 9 9 0 , 3 .
For more informat i on on Un ivers ity o f Tennes see ba sketba l l ,
see Ben Byrd , The Baske tba l l Vol s rev i s ed e d i t i on ( Huntsvi l l e ,
A l a bama : Strode Publ i sh ing , 1 9 8 0 ) ; pages 6 7 - 8 2 cont a i n spec i f i c
informa t i on on the John Mauer years .
1 8 "Mauer Upholds Stand .
December 1 9 4 6 , 1 2 .
.
. , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel ,
19 I b i d .
20S e e Robert w . Peterson , Cages to Jumpshots : Pro
Baske tbal l ' s Earl y Years ,
171 .
62
24
The f i rst i nvolved a track meet .
Ney l and cance l l ed a
s chedu l ed meet dur i ng the spr i ng o f 1 9 6 1 , a fter the v i s i t i ng
team had arr i ved i n Knoxv i l l e , because the oppos ing squad
inc luded b l a cks .
By th i s t ime , Tennessee a th l e t i c p o l i cy
was t o compete aga inst integrated teams away from home , but
not to host such contest s .
Theot i s Robinson , Jr . , a
un iver s ity undergraduate at the t ime , wondered why such a
fuss surrounded a s imp l e track meet .
track meet .
The ( ath letes ' ) g i r l fr i ends d i dn ' t even go
. you m i ght s e e twenty peop l e .
r emembers .
" Nobody attended a
.
.
i t was r id i cu l ous , " he
Rob i nson understandably kept an eye on such
matter s ; he and two other students desegregated the
undergraduate student body at the Univers ity of Tennes se e i n
January o f 1 9 6 1 . 2 1
O n e other b l em i sh a l l egedly marred Tenne s see ath l e t i c s
in 1 9 6 1 .
That October , a b lack undergraduate named Avon
Ro l l in s tr i ed out for freshman basketba l l at the un iver s ity ,
thus becom ing the f irst Afri can-American t o v i e for a spot
on any S outheastern Conference ath l e t i c team . 22
Ro l l ins
21 See James R . Montgomery , Stanley J . F o lmsbee , and Lee S .
Greene , To Fos ter Knowl edge : A Hi s tory of The Un i vers i ty of
Tennessee , 1794-1970, 2 6 9 ; I nterv i ew w i th Theot i s Robi ns on , Jr . ,
7 october 1 9 9 2 , 9 .
22 "Aust i n H igh Guard I s Frosh Cand idate , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen t i n e l , 1 7 October 1 9 6 1 , 1 4 ; Joan Pau l , R i chard V . McGehee , and
H e l en Fant , " The Arr iva l and Ascendence o f B l a ck Ath l et e s in the
Southea stern Conferenc e , 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 0 , " 2 8 4 .
Austin H igh School s erved Knoxv i l l e ' s b l ack commun i ty for
many years , see Robert J . Booker , Two Hundred Years of B l a ck
Cul ture in Knoxvi l l e ,
Tennesse e , 1791 to 1991,
63
3 7-57 .
reca l l s pract ic ing without incident for severa l days unt i l
Genera l Neyland pas sed through the gymna s i um and not iced
h im .
Accord ing t o Ro l l ins , a n ugly encounter ensued ,
cons i st ing p r imar i ly o f Ney l and verba l ly l amba s t i ng Ro l l in s
out s ide the dres s ing r oom .
After cont i nuing t o pra ct i ce for
a few days , Ro l l ins was cut from the squad .
F o l l ow ing
Ro l l ins ' tryout , the pos s i b i l ity of black s competing for
Univers ity o f Tennessee ath l etic teams l a y mos t l y dormant
unt i l the A lbert Dav i s recru i tment in 1 9 6 6 - 6 7 . 2 3
c.
Pre lude t o Footba l l Desegregat ion at Tennes see
I n a s s e s s ing rac i a l po l i cy in Tenn e s s ee ath l et i c s
l ead ing to the 1 9 6 0 s , the importance o f Genera l Ney l and t o
the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee s imp l y cannot be overstated .
A
v i s i t to the Knoxv i l l e campus makes a bundant ly c l ea r the
spec i a l aura surround ing the Ney land name .
A huge footba l l
stad ium , a maj or thoroughfare running beside the Tennessee
r iver , and an indoor sports comp lex a l l honor the coach .
Likew i s e , a substant i a l a cadem ic scho larship , awarded on
Ney l and ' s beha l f , provides educat iona l fund ing for worthy
s tudent s each year .
Ney land i s revered and exa l ted by
23 See I nterview with Avon Ro l l ins , 1 4 O ctober 1 9 9 2 , 2 - 3 and
8 - 9 ; Theot i s Rob inson , Jr . interv i ew , 9 .
P r i or t o A lbert Davis
s ign ing w ith the Volunteer s , f our African-Americans t r i ed out for
Tennes see ath l e t i c teams a s non-scho l ar ship p l ayers .
Apparent l y
none o f t h e f our made a team .
See " N egro Back s J o i n Tennes see
Frosh , " Dai l y Bea con , 29 S eptember 1 9 6 5 , 7 ; " Negro Ath l etes May
Try For O ther Tennessee Teams , " Dai l y Beacon , 3 0 September 1 9 6 5 ,
7.
64
thousand s o f Tennesseans .
S t i l l , the Genera l was a man o f h i s t ime and p l ace .
Born i n 1 8 9 2 , he came o f age dur ing the e a r ly 1 9 0 0 s , years
spann i ng the most v i c i ous era o f rac i sm i n Ame r i ca s ince
before the C iv i l War .
For near ly h i s ent ire l i f e , the
Un ited States s anctioned a l ega l separat ion of b l a cks and
wh ite s .
The South , more vehement ly than any other reg i on o f
the country , supported such ideo l ogy , a n d Ney l and ' s heart
b e l onged t o h i s nat ive Texas .
" I am a Texan by b irth , born
of nat ive Texans , and cher i sh the Texas be l i e f that there i s
no p lace i n the wor ld t o equa l Texas , " h e boasted . 24
Wh i l e
h e kept po l it i c s pr ivate , Ney land pr ivate ly a cknow l edged
conservat ive views , once c l a im ing ,
" i f you must s ay I have
po l i t i c a l l ean ings , p l ace me as f o l l ows : We l l t o the R i ght
o f the Far Right . " 25
Wh i l e ne ither statement means Ney l and
was a raci st , they both provide ins ights to h i s v i ews .
Spec i f i c documentation scarcely e x i s t s concerning
Ney l and ' s v i ews on race .
In a recent Ney l and b i ography ,
b lacks are ment ioned , only in p a s s ing , three t imes .
The
f irst p a s s age c it e s the f act that young Bob Neyl and grew up
i n a f am i ly that owned property wh ich inc luded " two cab i n s
for b l ack s ervants . " M
24Andrew J . Koz ar ,
Along , " 4 2 .
A second excerpt n o t e s that
"And the B i g Orange Ca i s s ons Went Ro l l ing
25 Bob G i l bert , Neyl and : The Gri diron General , 2 0 2 .
26 Bob G i lbert , Neyl and : The Gri diron Genera l ,
65
11.
Neyl and ' s f irst year a s head coach at Tenne s s ee ,
192 6 ,
marked the arr iva l of J . M . Forgey , a b l ack mut e who s erved
for many years as a s ort o f j ack- o f - a l l -trades and mascot
for the f ootba l l team .
F i na l ly , the book describes an a l l -
star team Ney l and coached duri ng Wor l d War I I .
Ney l and , a s
was h i s custom , refused to let a v i s itor addr e s s h i s squad
a t h a l ft ime o f a game .
That v i s itor happened t o be
heavywe ight box ing champ i on Joe Lou i s .
"Nobody t a lks to my
p layers but me , " Ney l and exc l a imed at the t ime . n
J.M.
" Dummy " Forgey des erves ment i on .
S ever a l p l ayers ,
i n correspondences with Knoxvi l l e sport swr iter Tom S i l er ,
reca l l ed Forgey .
Ni ckname notwithstand ing , he appears t o
have b e e n a popu l ar member o f t h e Volunteer program .
Lenox
D . Baker , a tra iner for early Neyl and teams and l ater a
f amous orthoped ist , remembered the squad sneak i ng Forgey
onto tra ins and h id ing h im on trips ( presuma b l y from
r a i lroad o f f i c i a l s ) .
Mos t l y , Baker thought " what a great
s p ir i t he [ Forgey ] was . "
Another former Vo l unteer , Jake
N i ch o l son , thought Forgey had " an uncanny a b i l ity t o s i z e up
a f ootba l l p l ayer . "
Forgey was poss ibly the only African-
Amer ican who can be cons idered tru ly a part o f Tennessee
ath l et i c teams prior t o 1 9 6 7 . 28
27 See Bob G i l bert , The Gri diron General ,
1 5 4 - 1 5 5 ( Lou i s story ) .
28 See ,
64-65
( Forgey )
and
" Letter from Lenox D . Baker t o Tom S i l er , " 2 3 Ju l y
1 9 6 9 , Tom Si l er Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Folder 4 ; " Letter
from J . H . N i ch o l s on to Tom S i l er , " Tom Si l er Col l e ct i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 ,
Box 6 , Folder 2 .
66
The ath l e t i c department record on rac i a l i s sue s dur ing
the Neyland reg ime is not good , but is compara b l e to other
S EC member s .
Vo lunteer teams refused t o compete aga inst
integrated oppos i t ion .
They even forfe ited a game when
cha l l enged on the stance .
Ney la nd persona l ly cance l l e d a
s chedu l ed event aga inst an integrated track squad , and
a l leged ly b l asted a b l ack student verba l ly for s imp ly trying
out for the Tennes see ba sketba l l team .
For thos e f a i lure s ,
Neyl and , the ath l et i c department , and the Univers ity o f
Tennes see share b l ame and deserve condemna t i on .
However , such events d i d not t ake p lace i n a vacuum .
Between 1 9 0 1 and 1 9 5 4 , the state o f Tennes see proh ibited the
m i xing o f races i n pub l ic and pr ivate schoo l s .
Moreover ,
the Univers ity o f Tennessee f ought the desegregat i on o f i t s
graduate a n d undergraduate student bod i e s f or decade s .
Ear ly e f f orts t o desegregate the un iver s ity came i n the
1 9 3 0 s when W i l l i am B .
Redmond sought adm i s s ion to the S ch o o l
o f Pharmacy at t h e univer s ity , but wa s denied . 29
T h e state
o f Tennes s e e then made a preempt ive move aga inst such
e f forts by estab l i sh ing s cholarships that ca l l ed for b l ack
Tennesseans to a ttend out- o f - state inst itut ions if bl ack
2�i l l i am B . Redmond II v . Uni versi ty of Tenne s s e e , e t al i n
" Tennessee Supreme Court Dec i s ion- September 1 9 4 2 , " A R 6 , B o x 9
( AR denote s Un ivers ity of Tennessee Arch ives ) ; " Letter from H . B .
W i l l i ams t o J . H . Moore , " 2 1 October 1 9 3 8 , AR 8 , Box 2 1 , F o l der
2 0 9 ; J ames R . Montgomery , Stan l ey J . F o lmsbee , and Lee s . Greene ,
To Fos ter Knowl edge , 1 9 9 , 2 2 8 - 2 3 0 , 2 6 7 - 2 6 8 .
67
co l l eges with in the state d i d not o f fer a needed program . 30
A s im i l a r response f o l l owed a 19 3 9 attempt t o
d esegregate t h e un ivers ity .
S oon a fter s ix A f r ican-Amer ican
appl i cants f a i l ed to g a i n admittance to Tennes see , the state
passed l eg i s l a t i on requ i r ing " ins truct i on for negro c it i z en s
o f Tennessee equ iva l ent to that provided a t t h e Univer s ity
o f Tenne s s ee for wh ite students . "
Th i s pronouncement meant
addi t i on a l fund ing for b l ack c o l l eges i n the state , not the
integration o f the Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s ee . 3 1
The state a n d the univers ity could s ta l l , but not stop ,
desegregat ion .
Gene Gray and three other A f r i c an-Americans
were den ied graduate school adm i s s ion in 1 9 5 0 and f i led
s u it .
Judge Robert L . Tay l or ru l ed in the ir favor in u . s .
D i strict Court , but f a i l ed to str ike down state s egregat i on
l aws genera l ly .
The prospect ive students appe a l ed to the
United States Supreme Court s eeking to overturn thos e
broader l aws , but lost the appea l when Univers ity o f
Tennessee attorney John J . Hooker announced that the
univers i ty wou l d admit the student s . n
3�ubl i c Acts of 193 7,
As the ru l ings
chapter 2 5 6 .
For quote , s e e l etter
31Publ i c Acts of 1941, chapter 4 3 .
from Tenne s s ee Attorney Genera l Roy H . Beeler to Governor Gordon
Brown ing and Un ivers ity of Tenne s s e e President C . E . Brehm , 2 5
S eptember 1 9 5 0 , page 4 , in " Negro Lawsu i t 1 9 5 0 - 5 2 , " AR 8 , Box 2 1 ,
Folder 2 0 9 .
Th i s lengthy l etter { 2 1 pages ) provides a thorough
account of the state ' s pos i t i on in the 1 9 3 0 s and 1 9 4 0 s t oward
desegregat ion in h igher educa t i on .
32Gene Mi t ch e l l Gray e t al v . Uni versi ty of Tennessee e t al ,
D i strict Court No . 1 5 6 7 ( 2 0 Apr i l , 1 9 5 1 } ; Gene Mi t ch e l l Gray
e t a l v . The Board of Trustees of the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee e t
u.s.
68
app l ied only to the spec i f i c c ircumstances o f the f our
s tudents in quest ion , univers ity admini strators and
attorneys v i ewed the dec i s ion as at least a part i a l
v ictory . 33
Gene Gray became the f irst Afr i can-Amer i can
s tudent t o attend the Un ivers ity of Tenne s s e e i n January o f
1952 .
The f in a l step i n student body de segregat ion came i n
S ince 1 9 5 5 , the univers ity had kept the i s sue o f
1961 .
undergraduate desegrega t i on bott l ed up ,
i n the gu i s e o f a
spec i a l commi ttee , for fear that i ntegrat i on m i ght o f f end
the state l eg i s l ators who
contro l l ed educat i ona l fund ing .
However , aga i n fac ing the threat o f legal act ion , the
univer s i ty a brupt ly changed course in l a t e 1 9 6 0 and voted to
admit b l ack undergraduates .
On January 3 ,
1 9 6 1 , three
A f r i can-Amer icans regi stered for winter quarter c l a s ses a nd
the f in a l restriction b l ock i ng bl acks from attend i ng the
Univers ity o f Tennessee ended . �
Rac i a l matters in ath l etics changed a l s o ,
s l owly .
but more
Genera l Ney l and ' s hea lth , wan ing for years ,
deter iorated great ly .
al , U . S . Supreme Court No .
March 1 9 5 2 ) .
The impend ing end o f the Ney land
1 2 0 and No .
1 5 9 -0ctober Term 1 9 5 1
(3
33 S ee correspondence between Hooker and c . E . Brehm i n "US
Supreme Court Dec i s i on , " AR 6 , Box 9 .
� S ee AR 9 , Box 1 2 .
Those i n i t i a l African-Ame r i can
undergraduates were Theot i s Robi nson Jr . , Char l e s Edgar B l a i r ,
and Mrs . W i l l i e Mae G i l l esp i e , a l l o f Knoxv i l l e .
By the fa l l o f
1 9 6 1 , thirty - f ive b l acks had been admitted .
69
reg ime carr i ed strong ram i f i ca t i ons for the eventua l
desegrega t i on o f f ootba l l at the un ivers ity .
The a dmittance
o f Theot i s Rob i nson , Avon Ro l l ins , and other b l ack
undergraduates i n 1 9 6 1 indicated coming mod i f i c a t i ons in
race r e l a t i on s a t the univers ity dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s , another
f a ctor impacting upon the footba l l program .
These theme s ,
and others , provide � , ana lyt ica l ba s i s for the f o l l owing
chapter .
70
Chapter Four
S ea sons of Change at Tenne s s e e
Why d id the Univers ity o f Tennes s ee a th l e t i c department
decide to desegregate the footba l l program i n 1 9 6 7 ?
What
factors surfaced in the 1 9 6 0 s to create th i s opp ortun ity and
d id these f actors inf luence the d ec i s i on t o desegregat e ?
D id the un iver s i ty take a
Who were t h e dec i s i on makers?
l eading r o l e i n S outheastern Conference f ootba l l
de segregat i on?
Three broad themes emerged i n seek i ng
answer s to such questions .
F irst , a new reg ime t ook command
of the a th l e t i c department in late 19 6 3 , a l l owing for a more
t o l erant att i tude toward des egregat ion .
S econd , the s t i gma
o f ath l et i c desegregat ion subs ided between 1 9 6 3 and 1 9 6 7
when S outhea stern Conference teams ini t i a l ly broke precedent
and a ccepted i ntegrat ion .
F i na l ly , and perhaps most
s ign i f icant ly , t imes s imp ly changed dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s , and
the changes touched many area s ,
inc lud ing c o l l ege sport and
nati ona l rac i a l atti tudes .
A.
A New Regime in Tennessee Ath letics
Robert Reese Ney land d i ed on March 2 8 ,
1962 .
Ney l and
s pent the l atter part of 1 9 6 1 p l ann ing an expans i on of the
Tenn e s s ee f ootba l l stad ium , h i s dominance of univers ity
ath l e t i c s extend ing to the end .
71
Short ly before he p a s s ed
away , the univers ity honored Ney l and by naming the footba l l
stad ium a fter h im .
Bowden Wyatt , Tennes see ' s head footba l l
coach s ince 1 9 5 5 , bid h i s mentor an emo t i ona l farewe l l
proc l a iming ,
" Genera l Robert Ree s e Neyl and now becomes a
l egend . " 1
B owden Wyatt began h i s tenure a s Tenn e s s ee head coach
by rep lac ing Harvey Rob inson , the man g iven the unenv i a b l e
t a s k o f succeed ing Bob Neyl and .
Robinson l asted only
through the 1 9 5 3 and 1 9 5 4 sea sons before he and his coach ing
s ta f f were d i sm i s sed .
Dur ing those two sea sons , Tenne s s ee
qu ickly fe l l from among the e l ite in co l l ege f ootba l l .
Wyatt , a char i smatic , popu l ar , and hand s ome man , s e emed the
perfect choice t o restore Tennessee to footba l l prom inence .
Wyatt ha i led from east Tennessee and had capta ined the
1 9 3 8 Vo l unteer team to an undefeated s e a s on and a trip t o
t h e 1 9 3 9 Orange Bowl , Tenne ssee ' s f irst bow l v i s it .
His
coach ing c areer before return ing t o Knoxvi l l e i nc luded
s t ints a s head coach at Wyoming and Arkansa s , where he
coached teams at both scho o l s to conferenc e champ ionsh ip s .
Wyatt comp l eted h i s tenure at Arkansas by l ead ing the
Ra z orbacks to the 1 9 5 5 Cotton Bowl .
Short l y a fter that
game , he accepted the head c oaching pos i t i on at Tenne s s e e .
W ith h i s credent i a l s a s a f ormer Volunteer star p layer , a
winning c o l l e g i ate head coach , and a loca l -boy-made -good ,
the h i r ing o f Wyatt aroused univers a l acc l a im from Tenne s s e e
1 Bob G i l bert , Neyl and : The Gri diron General , 2 1 0 .
72
supporters when he took the helm in 1 9 5 5 . 2
Bowden Wyatt ' s e ar l iest s ea sons a s footba l l coach a t
Tenne s s e e d i d bring renewed succes s to t h e program .
His
f irst year resu l ted in a prom i s ing s i x v i ct or i e s , and then
i n 1 9 5 6 expectat i ons soared w ith a Southea stern Conference
champ i onship .
That 1 9 5 6 team ,
l ed by t a i l back Johnny
Ma j or s , ach i eved a rank ing of s econd in the nat i on by
march ing through an unde f eated regu lar season .
A thr i l l ing
6 - 0 v i ctory over Georg i a Tech in November , w ith Tech ranked
s econd and Tenne ssee th ird at the t ime , r ema ins one o f the
most c e l ebrated encounters in Vo lunteer footba l l h i story .
The team l ost t o Bay l or in the Sugar Bow l ,
but Ma j ors
f in i shed s econd in ba l l ot ing for the 1 9 5 6 Hei sman Trophy and
Bowden Wyatt was named nat i ona l coach o f the year .
A r eturn
to the g l ory days o f susta ined Volunteer footba l l e xce l l ence
appeared imm inent . 3
Ironica l ly , the burden o f h i gh expectat i ons e xpedited
the f ir ing o f Wyatt , as Tenne ssee f ootba l l team s n ever aga i n
reached such he ights under h i s d i rect i on .
After a s o l id
e ight w i n season and Gator Bow l vi ctory i n 1 9 5 7 , the r e s t of
the decade s aw Tennessee gradua l ly s l ide t oward med iocr i ty .
2 For more informat ion on Bowden Wyatt , s e e Bowden Wyatt
F i l e , Univers ity o f Tennessee Sports I n f ormat ion Department ;
" Bowden Wyatt" entry in the f orthcom ing Bi ograph i ca l Di ctionary
of American Sports , 1 9 9 2 -1 9 9 4 Suppl emen t David L . Porter ed .
( Westport , CT : Greenwood Pub l i shing Group , 1 9 9 4 ) .
3 For i n f orma t i on on Tenne ssee f ootba l l teams dur ing the
Bowden Wyatt era , see Rus s Bebb , The Bi g Orange , 2 5 1 - 3 0 5 ; Johnny
Maj ors with Ben Byrd , You Can Go Home Again , 4 5 - 8 7 .
73
Spectacu l a r tr iumphs , such a s a 1 9 5 9 vi ctory over defending
nat ional champ ion LSU , were overshadowed by i ncon s i s tent
p l ay and a growing number o f l o s s e s .
The most embarr a s s ing
defeat in Tennessee f ootba l l h i story occurred in 1 9 5 8 when
Chattanooga came t o Knoxvi l le and beat the Vols 1 4 - 6 ,
a fterward the f irst c l amors a bout Wyatt ' s coach i ng abi l it i es
were s ounded . 4
Wyatt ' s i n s i stence upon us ing the s ing l e ­
wing o f fens ive f ormation exemp l i f ied the d e c l ine o f
Tennes see f ootba l l .
Virtua l ly a l l maj or c o l l eg e f ootba l l
t eams and most h i gh scho o l squads used s ome var i a t i on o f the
more open and aggress ive " T '' a l ignment by 1 9 6 0 , but the
Vo lunteers stuck w ith the s ing l e -wing .
As a r e s u l t o f
substandard p l ay and what to the common fan s e emed an
outdated sty l e , both Wyatt and Tennessee f ootba l l began t o
s eem ant iquated , an image that soon carr ied over to the
ent ire ath l e t i c department .
Probl ems away from the p l ay ing f ie ld combined with
those l ackluster s easons to reinforce the percept ion o f an
embatt l e d ath l e t i c program .
By the t ime o f Genera l
Ney l and ' s death in 1 9 6 2 , many in the un ivers ity community
resented the independence and abso lute power that Ney l and
w i e lded , and s ought to br ing the ath l e t i c department under
more d irect univers ity contro l .
Knoxvi l l e c o l umn i st Tom
S i ler acknow l edged the need for a better rapport between
a th l e t i c department and faculty , but admoni shed tha t
4 See Rus s Bebb , The B i g Orange , 2 8 7 .
74
" unf ortunat e l y the ath l e t i c department h a s never gone in for
rapport on any l eve l . " 5
Ney l and h ims e l f con f i ded t o a l ong-
t ime f r i end that the Ney land era was deter iorating and " on
[ the ] way down" unless changes occurred . 6
The d i spute over ath l e t i c d epartment i ndependence
r eached a head when B owden Wyatt approached i nd ividual
members o f the un ivers ity ' s Board o f Trustees t o comp l a i n
a bout interf erence and t i ghten ing academ i c scrut iny from the
admi n i strat i on o f univers ity pres ident Andrew H o l t .
At a
c l ima ct i c , but unpub l i c i z ed board meeting , a tense debate
p i tted those support ing Holt aga inst trustees sympathet i c to
the ath l e t i c department .
Accord ing to Dr . Edward B o l ing ,
then a v i ce-pres ident and l ater pres ident o f the univers i ty ,
a strong speech i n favor o f greater univers ity control by a
previ ous ly waver ing trustee turned the meet ing in Holt ' s
f avor and eventua l ly resu lted in a new ba lance o f power
between th e ath l et ic department and the Un ivers ity o f
Tennes s ee adm i n i strat i on . 7
5Tom S i ler , " Ney l and , St i l l the Bos s , Must Lead Ath l e t i c
Sta f f i n B ig Hou s e c l ean ing Job , " in Tom Si l er Col l e ct i on , M S 1 8 8 6 , B o x 6 , Fo lder 1 4 .
B o x 9 , Fo lder 2 4 o f t h e Si l er papers
cont a ins a substant i a l amount o f correspondence from those
concerned a bout the ath l et i c department dur ing the ear l y 1 9 6 0 s .
6 See " Letter from W . H . Br itton to Tom S i ler , " 2 5 June 1 9 6 9 ,
Box 7 , Fo lder 4 .
B i l l Br itton wa s
a c l a s smate o f Ney l and ' s at West Point and h i s l ong-t ime
a s s i stant a t Tenne s see .
Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 ,
7 I nterview with Dr . Edward B o l ing , 6 November 1 9 9 2 , 2 -4 .
B o l i ng s erved a s pres ident o f the Un ivers i ty o f Tennes se e from
1 9 7 0 t o 1 9 8 8 ; dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s , he was vice -pres ident for
deve l opment and a ttended Ath l e t i c s Board meet ing s .
75
Thos e cr i t ica l o f the ath le t i c department a l so scorned
the dom inat ing pos ition o f the f ootba l l program and the
m i n ima l empha s i s p laced on other sport s . They hoped for a
more we l l - rounded ath le t i c program w i th exce l l ence i n a l l
sport s .
Tom S i ler aga i n summed up the probl em succ inct l y :
" The track team i s a travesty on the sport .
br ings up the rear .
S o does the tenn i s t eam .
p a inful to watch the baseba l l team .
team a t a l l . " 8
The go l f t e am
I t ' s been
There i s no swimming
B owden Wyatt , t o his cred i t , heeded the
concerns about footba l l dom inance and began the proces s o f
upgrad ing other sports dur ing h i s br i e f t ime a s a th l et i c
d i rector , but the impres s i on o f a wan i ng , sta l e athlet i c
d epartment rema ined . 9
Wyatt , st i l l popu l a r w i th i n f luent i a l Tennes see
supporters , m i ght have surv ived those cr i t i c i sms , but
a l leged bouts of a lcoho l abuse f ina l l y caused the univers ity
t o d i sm i s s h im i n 1 9 6 3 . 10
I n a temporary s o lution ,
8 Tom S i ler , "Ney l and S t i l l the Boss ,
Col l e ction , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 1 4 .
. , " Tom Si l er
9 See James R . Montgomery , Stan l ey J . Fo lmsbee , and Lee s .
Greene , To Fos ter Knowl edge : A Hi s tory of The Uni vers i ty of
Tennessee, 1794-1970, 3 6 1 - 3 6 3 .
For comp l a ints from Tennes see fans about ath l e t i c department
apathy toward sports other than footba l l , see var i ous l etters i n
Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on , Box 6 , Fo lder 1 4 .
1 �ontgomery , Fo lmsbee , and Greene , To Fos ter Knowl e dge , 3 6 2 .
A l cohol probl ems a l l egedly p lagued both Wyatt and Ney l and , s e e
" Letter from Bobby Dodd to Tom S i l er , " 2 7 O ctober 1 9 6 2 , Tom Si l er
Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 9 , Fo lder 1 7 ; " Letter from W . H . Br i tton
to Tom S i l er , " 2 5 June 1 9 6 9 , Tom Si l er Col l e c t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box
7 , F o l der 4 .
76
Tennes see promoted a s s i stant coach J im McDon a l d t o int e r im
head coach and Bob Woodruf f to act ing ath l e t i c d irector .
Under d i f f i cu l t c ircumstances McDon a l d l ed the 1 9 6 3
Vo lunteers t o a season o f f ive wins and f ive l o s s e s .
H e and
Woodruf f a l s o trave l led across the state seeking t o restore
enthu s i a sm among the d i s grunt l ed Tennes s ee f a ithfu l .
At the
end of the 1 9 6 3 season , a b i tter strugg l e ensued between
f a ct i ons o f the a th l et i c board w i sh ing t o reta i n McDon a l d
and thos e seeking a c l ean break from the past .
A compr om i s e
resulted in the univers ity reta in ing McDona l d a s a n
a s s i stant ath l e t i c d irector , hir ing Woodruf f a s permanent
a th l e t i c d irector , and naming Doug Dickey a s new head
f ootba l l coach . 1 1
Thos e maneuvers marked the beg inn i ng o f a new era i n
the ath l e t i c department a t the Univers ity o f Tenne s see , a nd
repres ent one o f the ma j or changes that eventua l ly l ed t o
f ootba l l desegregation in 1 9 6 7 .
The decl ine o f a th l e t i c s at
the un ivers i ty i n the late 1 9 5 0 s and early 1 9 6 0 s a l l owed the
fresh adm i n i strat ion more lat i tude in reg a i n ing
r e spectab i l ity , and the new head footba l l coach appeared
l e s s bound by past inh i b it ions w ith regard to rac e .
Doug
D i ckey arr ived in Knoxvi l le at only th irty-one years of age ,
but p o s s e s s ing a persona l and ath l e t i c background more
conduc ive , when compared w ith prev i ous department l eaders ,
1 1 S ee " M inute s o f Jo int Meetings o f the Ath l e t i c s Board and
the Ath l et i c s Comm ittee of the Board o f Trustees , " 3 0 November- 2
December 1 9 6 3 , Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 2 3 .
77
t o gu i d i ng the f ootba l l program through desegrega t i on .
Among tho s e i n the Tennessee ath l e t i c department , D i ckey
p l ayed the most prominent role i n the f ootba l l desegregat ion
proce s s .
The s on o f a un ivers ity prof e s sor , Doug D i ckey grew up
in the s outhern c o l l ege towns o f Baton Rouge , Lou i s i ana ,
G a inesvi l l e , F lor ida .
and
A l though he reca l l s being " around
b lack peop l e a l l my l i fe , " D i ckey f irst entered a true
integrated s etting when he en l i sted i n the Army i n 1 9 5 5 . 1 2
I n add i t i on to tra in ing w i th African-Ame r ican s o l d i er s , h e
coached a service footba l l team made u p o f rough l y an even
number of b l a ck and wh ite p l ayers .
D i ckey l at er worked a s
an a s s i stant footba l l coach a t the Un ivers ity o f Arkans a s
from 1 9 5 7 to 1 9 6 3 , notable because of event s i n Arkansas
dur ing that t ime per i od .
I n 1 9 5 7 , Arkansas governor Orva l
Faubus attempted to b l ock pub l i c scho o l i ntegrat i on in
Litt l e Rock by us i ng the Arkansas nat i ona l guard , prompt ing
the E i senhower adm i n i stra t i on to send i n f edera l troop s . 1 3
Un l ike previous Tennessee f ootba l l coaches , Doug D i ckey came
o f age a s America grapp l ed w i th rac i a l integra t i on , and he
was much better prepared to hand l e the i s sue than were h i s
12 I ntervi ew w i th Doug D ickey , 1 8 November 1 9 9 2 , 1 .
D i ckey , s e e a l s o Rus s Bebb , The B i g Orange , 3 1 1 - 3 1 6 .
On
1 3 Doug D i ckey i nterview , 1 - 2 .
On the L i t t l e Rock s i tuat ion ,
s e e Da i sy Bates , The Long Shadow of Li t t l e Rock ( Fayettevi l l e ,
AR : Univers ity o f Arkansas Pres s , 1 9 6 2 } ; David Ha l berstam , The
Fi f t i e s , 6 6 7 - 6 9 2 ; E l i z abeth Huckaby , Cri s i s a t Cen tra l Hi gh :
Li t t l e Rock, 1 9 57-58 ( Baton Rouge : LSU Pres s , 1 9 8 0 } .
78
predece s s or s .
D i ckey qu ickly changed the image o f the f ootba l l
program .
Under h i s gu idance , the Volunteers estab l i shed or
renewed s ymbo l ic gestures that fans admired .
The t eam wore
orange j er s ey s at home for the f irst t ime in s evera l years ,
D i ckey p laced a " T " on he lmets and had the p l ayers
drama t i ca l ly enter Ney l and Stadium by runn ing through a
g i ant " T " f ormed by the march ing band .
The end z ones o f the
f ootba l l f i e l d soon acquired the un ique l ook of an orange
I n 1 9 6 8 , Tennes see insta l l ed
and wh ite checker board .
" Doug ' s Rug , " one of the nat i on ' s f irst art i f i c i a l turf
p l ay ing surf aces , a dec i s ion scorned decades l ater
( Tennessee rep l aced the art i f ic i a l tur f f o l l ow i ng the 1 9 9 3
f ootba l l s e a s on ) , but one cons idered progr e s s ive by many a t
t h e t ime .
M o s t important ly , Un ivers ity o f Tennes se e
f ootba l l teams improved o n the f i e l d . 1 4
D i ckey she lved the s ingle-wing format i on and opened up
the Vo l unteer o f fense .
The 1 9 6 4 team strugg l e d t o only f our
w i ns aga inst f ive losses and a t i e , but observers s ensed an
improvement i n overa l l performance .
steve D eLong earned
A l l -Amer ican honors and won the Out land Trophy as the
nation ' s best l ineman , and the defense only once a l l owed
more than ni neteen points .
games ,
I n 1 9 6 5 , the t e am won e ight
inc lud i ng the B luebonnet Bow l , Tenne s see ' s f i rst bowl
14 See One Hundred Years of Vol un teers , 1 8 91-1990 video ,
volume 2 ( Lexington , KY : Host Commun icat ions , 1 9 9 2 ) .
79
trip s ince 1 9 5 7 .
By 1 9 6 6 , the Volunteers were s o l idly back
among the upper t i er o f c o l l ege footba l l t eams a fter another
season of e ight w ins , th i s t ime captur i ng a Gator B owl
victory .
The trans f ormation o f the ath l e t i c d ep artment invo l ved
more than j us t a rej uvenated footba l l program as the change s
e ar l i er imp l emented by Bowden Wyatt began to have an impact
i n other sport s .
Energetic and f l amboyant basketba l l coach
Ray Mears arr ived in 1 9 6 2 and immed iate l y transformed a
mor i bund program into a cons i stent winner w i th an exc i t ing
b l end of showmansh ip , s a lesmansh ip , and s p l endid teams .
He
co ined the phra s e " B ig Orange Country , '' wh i ch qu ickly caught
on among Tennessee supporters .
Chuck Rohe , near l y as
f l amboyant a s Mears , began churn ing out champ i onship track
teams s oon after his arr iva l in 1 9 6 2 .
B i l l Wr i ght came
aboard as baseba l l coach and academ ic counse l or , produc ing
s o l i d ly in both rea lms .
The footba l l team rem a i ned the
foca l point of the ath l e t i c program , but a new sense o f
i nvigorat i on exi sted across Tennessee ath l et ic s . 1 5
Th i s theme , the change from an ol der , more trad it i ona l
athl etic department to a younger , more energet i c reg ime
o f fered an i ncreased opportun ity for the Univers i ty o f
Tennes see t o desegregate i t s f ootba l l program .
Nonethe l e s s ,
a change in l eadership a l one d i d not spur immedi ate footba l l
15 S ee Montgomery , Fo lmsbee , and Greene , To Fos ter Knowl e dge ,
3 59-3 6 3 .
For more on Ray Mears , see Ben Byrd , The Baske tbal l
Vol s ,
135-14 2 .
80
desegregat ion .
The univers ity f o l l owed a caut ious cour s e ,
perhaps even an over ly cauti ous course , and d i d not take the
l ead i n footba l l de segrega t i on in the S outhea stern
Conference .
B.
Ath l et i c desegregat i on comes t o the S outhea stern
Conference
The Univers ity o f Kentucky broke the S EC ' s l ong­
standing trad it i on of rac i a l exc lus ion in Dec ember o f 1 9 6 5
by s i gn ing two Afr ican-Amer icans to ath l et i c s cho larships .
Greg Page o f Midd l esboro , Kentucky , and Nat North ington o f
Lou i svi l l e both p l ayed o n the W i l dcats ' fre shman team i n the
fa l l of 1 9 6 6
( freshmen were ine l i g i b l e for var s i ty teams at
the t ime ) , and l ooked as if they wou ld break the col or
bar r i er in vars ity compet it ion the fo l l owing year .
Trag ica l ly ,
j ust before h i s sophomore sea son ,
1 9 6 7 , Greg Page ,
on August 2 2 ,
the more her a l ded of the p i oneer ing duo ,
suf fered a freak i n j ury .
Dur ing l im ited cont act dr i l l s ,
with the team i n short s and he lmet s , Page severely inj ured
h i s neck and d i ed from comp l icat i ons short l y therea fter .
Nat North ington p l ayed br i e f ly for the Wi ldcat vars ity i n
1967 ,
but soon qu i t the team a n d withdrew from s choo l .
Thos e c ircumstances eventua l ly resu lted i n Tennes see ' s
Lester McC l a in becoming the f irst Afri can-Ame r i can to earn a
var s i ty footba l l l etter in the S outhea stern Conference i n
81
1 9 6 8 . 16
Accord ing to h i stor ian Char l e s H . Mart i n , Kentucky
pre s i dent Frank G . D i ckey in i t i a l ly proposed recru i t i ng
b l ack athletes a s ear l y a s 1 9 6 1 , the s ame year Avon Ro l l ins
t r i ed out for basketba l l a t Tennes see .
The Kentucky
pre s id ent be l i eved integrat i on to be inevitab l e and w i shed
t o see h i s un ivers ity take the lead in the proce s s , but f e lt
that a " j o i nt movement " o f s evera l Southeastern Conference
teams wou l d be neces sary to overcome the oppos i t ion to
d esegregat ion preva lent among some conference members i n the
deep S outh . u
The prospect o f the l eague s p l i nt e r i ng or
break ing apart created a rea l fear , and S EC un iver s it i e s
r egu l ar ly c ited that po s s i b i l ity a s a reason t o avo i d
integrat i on or to proceed d e l iberate l y .
The threat o f a
sp l i t a l so prov ided the more re luctant schoo l s w ith an
excuse not to act dec i s ive ly on the i s sue of ath l et i c
de segrega t i on .
When des egregat ion f ina l ly reached the
conf erence the feared sp l it never mater i a l i z ed . 18
16 See "U-K ' s Greg Page I s C r i t i ca l ly I n j ured , " Knoxvi l l e
News -Sen tinel , 2 3 August 1 9 6 7 , 3 4 ; Cha r l es H . Mart i n , " The
I nt egrat i on of Southeastern Conf erence Ath le t i c s ; " Joan Pau l ,
Richard V . McGehee , and He len Fant , " The Arr iva l and Ascendence
o f B l ack Ath l etes in the Southeastern Conference , 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 0 , "
2 8 4-2 9 7 .
17 For a n overvi ew of the Un ivers ity of Kentucky ' s act i ons ,
s e e Char l e s H . Mart i n , " The I ntegrat i on of Southeastern
Conference Ath l et ics , " 7 - 9 .
1 8 The prospect o f " deep South " s choo l s abandoning the
Southeastern Conference on account o f ath l et i c d es egregat i on
rece ived frequent attenti on i n contemporary news account s , s e e
Randy Nee ly , " M i n t Ju l ep G i ant Awaken , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 8 May
82
Vanderb i lt Un ivers ity became the s econd S outhe astern
Conference s choo l to des egregate a th l et i cs .
The Commodore s
s i gned h ighly-touted ba sketba l l p l ayer Perry Wa l l ace o f
Nashv i l l e ' s Pearl H igh Scho o l to a scho l a r s h i p i n May o f
1966 ,
and another black p l ayer , Godfrey D i l l ar d o f Detro i t ,
j o i ned Wa l l ace on the Vanderb i lt freshman t eam dur i ng the
1 9 6 6 / 6 7 a cademic year . 1 9
Perry Wa l l ace went on to start and
l etter dur ing h i s sophomore , j un i or , and s e n i or sea s on s a t
Vanderb i l t , wh i le D i l lard p layed that freshman sea s on , sat
out his sophomore year w i th an inj ury , then dropped from the
t eam . 20
Dur ing h i s basketba l l career at Vanderb i lt , Wa l lace
endured the taunt s , threat s , and trauma common ly a s soc i at ed
w ith des egrega t i on e f f orts .
He remembers part i cu l a r ly cru e l
t r i p s t o M i s s i s s ippi State , O l e M i s s , a n d the Unive r s i ty o f
Tenne s s ee , the l a tter s ite f eatur ing a group o f r owd i e s
underneath the goa l " constant ly ba it [ ing ] him" w ith r a c i s t
1 9 6 5 , 4 ; Jack Topch ik , " Tennes cene , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 6 January
1 9 6 7 , 5 - 6 ; " I ntegra t i on No Threat To the SEC , " Atl anta
Cons ti t u tion , 2 5 May 1 9 6 7 , 3 5 ; Ron Speer , " S EC Ready for Negroe s ,
Say ADs , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 5 May 1 9 6 7 , 3 8 ; Tom S i l er ,
" B i g I ndy and B ig Go l f Day , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 2 9 May
1967 , 1 6 .
1 9Tommy G i l e s , " Pearl ' s Wa l l ace I nk s With Vandy , " Dai l y
Beacon , 4 May 1 9 6 6 , 7 ; Rex Sander s , "Wa l lace May Be F i r s t Negro
P l ayer In S EC Hoop Act i on , " Dai l y Beacon , 18 February 1 9 6 6 , 7 .
20S ee " Perry Wa l lace : Fear and Loath ing i n Oxf ord , " i n Roy
Nee l , Dynami t e ! 75 Years of Vanderbi l t Baske tbal l , 1 6 6 - 1 7 2 ; " The
B lack Ath l et e at Vanderbi lt , " Vanderb i lt Un iver s i ty Sports
I nf orma t i on Department ( 1 9 7 8 ) .
A spec i a l thanks t o Tony Nee ly ,
Vanderb i l t Sports I n f ormation D i rector , for prov id ing th i s
inf ormat i on .
83
s lurs . 21
After the f i nal game o f h i s career , Wa l l ace
pub l i c l y d i s cussed the i s o l a t i on and l one l i ness he suf f ered
as a barr i er -breaking athlete , an account s im i l ar to later
comments by Tenn e s see ' s Lester McC l a in . 22
Perry Wa l lace ' s
expe r i ences garnered more pub l i c ity than thos e o f other
African-Ame r i can ath l etes who he lped desegregate
S outheastern Conference ath l e t i c teams i n the 1 9 6 0 s , a nd he
r ema ins the most we l l -known " p i oneer '' i n the SEC .
At the Univers ity o f Tennes see , an i ndependent
Ath l e t i c s Board and an Ath l e t i c s Committee o f the
univers i ty ' s Board of Trustees provided guidance on ath l et i c
matters i n the 1 9 6 0 s , but the dec i s ion mak ing cha i n of
command e s s ent i a l ly cons i sted o f the head f ootba l l coach
answer ing to the ath l e t i c d irector , the ath l e t i c d irector
answer ing t o the univers ity presi dent , and the univers i ty
pres ident answer ing to the Board o f Trustee s .
The top i c o f
Afri can-Ameri can ath l et i c part i c ipation had b e e n d i scus sed
among thos e var i ous part i e s on s ever a l occa s i ons pr ior t o
t h e h i r ing o f Doug Dickey a n d t h e desegregat ion e f forts o f
Kentucky a n d Vanderbi lt .
Harvey Rob inson , the hard- luck coach who f o l l owed Bob
21 Roy Nee l , Dynami te ! 75 Years of Vanderbi l t Baske tbal l ,
169-
170 .
22 I b i d ,
171-172 .
For accounts o f Lester McC l a in ' s career a t
the Univer s ity o f Tennessee , see chapter f ive o f th i s
d i s sertat i on .
84
Neyl and , broached the i s sue i n 1 9 5 4 . 23
Robinson reported on
the p os s i b i l ity o f schedu l ing a s e r i e s of games w ith Oh i o
State Un iver s ity , with the games a lternat i ng between the two
c ampuses .
" Quest i on was ra i s ed on whether or not there
would be a probl em if c o l ored p l ayers appeared on the [ Oh i o
State ] squad .
I t wa s the genera l consensus o f the Board
that no prob l em wou ld be r a i s ed . " M
That the d i scus s i on
took p l ace re inforces the fact that the un iver s i ty had
trad i t i ona l ly not competed against integrated teams , and
a l so po ints out that the pol icy seemed t o be chang ing .
The
g ames never took p lace , but bas ed on the m i nutes of the
board meet ing rac i a l cons iderat i ons probably p l ayed no ma j or
r o l e i n thwart ing them .
A s im i l ar s i tuat i on arose i n 1 9 5 9 when B owden Wyatt
comp l a ined to the Ath l e t i c s Board and some trustees about
the d i f f i cu l ty o f schedu l i ng footba l l games w ith
un ivers i t i e s '' l ikely to have Negroes on the i r teams . " �
Wyatt ,
l ike Rob inson before him , sought a ssurance that no
repercus s i ons wou ld resu lt from schedu l i ng such contest s .
Wyatt ment i oned that the board ' s execut ive comm i ttee d i d not
be l i eve the i s sue shou l d bar the schedu l ing o f the game s ,
and a sked for the board ' s support to proceed .
Aga i n , j ust
23 See ''Ath l et ics Board Meet ing Minutes , " 4 February 1 9 5 4 ,
Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 1 , Fo lder 2 8 .
Mrbid ,
3 -4 .
� "Ath l et ic s Board Meet i ng Minute s , '' 1 1 Apr i l 1 9 5 9 , Earl M .
Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 1 3 .
85
a s i n 1 9 5 4 , the board vo i ced no obj ection t o propos ed
i ntegrated contests .
Genera l Neyland ' s subsequent cance l l at i on o f a 1 9 6 1
track meet , d i scussed i n the previ ous chapter , s e ems even
more cur i ous s ince the pos s i b i l ity of i nterrac i a l f ootba l l
game s met w ith no outward oppos i t i on i n the Ath l et i c s Board
meet ings .
Board member S am Venab l e , proba b l y r e sp ond ing t o
t h e track m e e t cance l l a t i on , ra i sed t h e que st i on a bout
ath l et i c department p o l i cy once more in Apr i l of 1 9 6 1 .
Vena b l e wondered what p o l i cy the department f o l l owed w i th
regard to part i c ipat i ng i n interra c i a l compet i t ion .
Th i s
t ime the Ath l e t i c s Board neat l y avo ided any substant i a l
declarat i on b y agree ing that the matter b e l e ft t o the more
p owerfu l Board o f Trustees for a f ina l dec i s i on . 26
As f or the Un ivers ity of Tennessee a ctua l ly i n c lud i ng
Afr i can- Amer i cans on its ath l et i c teams , B owden Wyatt
provided s ign i f i cant ins ight i n May o f 1 9 6 3 .
Wyatt t o l d an
Ath l e t i c s Board gather ing that if b lacks " are enr o l led in
schoo l , they are cert a i n ly ent i t l ed to be on our teams . " n
By th i s t ime ,
four Afr ican-Ame r i cans had apparent ly tr i ed
out f or Vo lunteer ath l e t i c teams beginn ing w i th Avon Ro l l ins
in 19 6 1 .
Wyatt then spe l l ed out the prob l em : " I f they are
on our teams , we cannot p l ay them i n s ome S outhea s t ern
M "Ath l e t i c s Board Meet ing Minute s , '' 2 8 Apr i l 1 9 6 1 , Earl M .
Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Folder 1 6 .
n "Ath l e t i c s Board Meet ing Minute s , " 4 May 1 9 6 3
Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 2 0 .
86
( page 7 ) ,
Conference game s because o f restrict ions imposed by the
other inst i tut i ons .
.
.
. they wou ld be a b l e t o p l ay i n
o n ly three or f our game s . " 28
H i s comments echo thos e
expres sed near the same t ime b y Frank D ickey o f Kentucky .
Board members suggested that the univers i ty a ct very
caut i ous l y , not taking the l ead but mov ing toward a so lut ion
gradua l ly .
Perhaps the d e f i n i t ive statement o f un i vers ity
strategy came when a mot ion won approva l stat i ng " that on
the matter of rac i a l desegregat i on , the Un i vers i ty o f
Tennes see shou ld f o l l ow p o l i cy estab l i shed b y the
S outhea stern Conference . " �
That empty rhetor i c carr i ed no we ight s ince the
S outheastern Conference d i d not s anct ion an o f f i c i a l p o l i cy
on rac i a l desegregat i on , but the mot i on betrayed the
l eague ' s private convict i ons on the top i c and d emonstrated
the approach taken by the Univers ity o f Tennes see .
The
Vo lunteers proceeded war i ly , a tra i t that carr i ed over f rom
the o l d ath l et i c department reg ime to the new l eadership
wh ich a s sumed contro l i n 1 9 6 3 .
The Un i vers ity o f Tennes s ee
r e fused to take the l ead in desegregating S outheastern
Conference footba l l , mon itored the rac i a l c l imate , and
wa ited unt i l others with i n the conference a cted b e f ore
moving f orward .
The s e occ a s i onal references t o ath l et i c department
28 I b i d .
29 I b i d .
87
p o l i cy a t the Univer s i ty o f Tennessee certa i n l y d i d not
dominate board meetings .
Each i nstance , rang i ng from 1 9 5 4
t o 1 9 6 3 , const ituted only a port ion o f the board ' s agend a ,
and no rag ing debate accompan i ed the ment i on o f Tennessee
teams compet ing against or inc l ud i ng b lack athlete s .
word " p o l icy" might even be too strong .
The
Much l ike the
unof f ic ia l ban that kept Afri can-Amer icans o f f S outhea st ern
Conference teams , the Un ivers ity o f Tenn e s s ee ' s " p o l i c y "
s imp l y f o l l owed the o l d conference custom o f rac i a l
exc lus i on .
Any d i s cu s s i ons about interra c i a l compet i t ion soon
became a moot po int .
Apparent ly , the f ir s t Afr i can-American
to compete a g a i nst a Un iver s ity o f Tenne s s e e footba l l t eam
in Knoxv i l l e was Warren McVea of the Un ivers i ty of Houston
in 19 6 5 .
Boston Co l l ege ,
integrated s i nce the t ime o f Lou
Montgomery ( see chapter three ) , v i s ited Tenne s see in 1 9 6 4 ,
but i f a b l ack p l ayed i n the game no great amount o f
coverage a ccompan i ed the event .
However , the game between
Tennes see and McVea ' s Houston team on October 2 3 ,
1 9 6 5 , did
generate pub l i c ity and a m inor s t i r among s ome o f tho s e i n
attendance .
Former univer s ity profes sor R i chard Mar ius
chara cter i z e s the fan behavior directed a t Warren McVea as
awfu l , and reca l l s hear i ng McVea c a l l ed " every name in the
book . " 30
A f ew days a fter the game I
l etters t o the
� Interv i ew w ith Dr . Richard Mar ius , 2 0 July 1 9 9 2 ,
88
3-5 .
Un ivers ity o f Tennessee ' s student newspaper , the Dai l y
Beacon ,
a l so condemned the taunt ing and overa l l f a n conduct
t oward McVea . 31
Wh i l e the unru l y treatment g iven McVea
warrants attent i on , other circumstances overshadowed
Tennes see ath l et i c s dur ing the week o f the 1 9 6 5 Houston
On the Monday morning prior to the g ame , a trag i c
g ame .
tra in-car a cc i dent c l a imed the l ives o f Vo lunteer f ootba l l
coaches Bob Jones , B i l l Ma j or s , and Char l ie Rash .
Understandably , the pa l l that enve l oped the Univers ity o f
Tenne ssee commun i ty e c l ipsed any events o n the f ootba l l
f ie l d . 32
The fata l accident happened on the hee l s o f a
s at i s fy i ng 7 - 7 t i e with nat i ona l power A la bama , a game that
proved the Vo lunteers compet it ive on a nat i ona l s ca l e .
The
breakdown o f rac i a l barr i er s at the Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s e e ,
and the integrat i on o f ath l e t i c s a t other conf erence
s choo l s , was fac i l itated by j ust such compet it ive
cons iderat i ons .
The Volunteers and other conference members
operated w ith a s e l f - imposed hand i cap p r i or t o a th l et i c
31 See " Reader ' s Eyes ' Open Aga i n ' A t stadium , " Dai l y Beacon ,
2 7 October 1 9 6 5 , 4 ; " Immatur ity Stuns Reader , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 7
October 1 9 6 5 , 4 .
Others f ans argued that Warren McVea rece ived
the s ame treatment a s any oppos ing p l ayer , see " D i srespect at
Houston Game Draws More Comment From Readers , " Dai l y Beacon , 3
November 1 9 6 5 , 2 .
3 2 S ee Wa lt Smith , " Tragedy At Ra i lroad Cro s s i ng , " Dai l y
Beacon , 1 9 October , 1 9 6 5 , 1 ; Rus s Bebb , The B i g Orange , 3 2 0 - 3 2 2 ,
Johnny Maj ors w i th Ben Byrd , You Can Go Home Again , 1 0 5 - 1 0 7 .
( Johnny Ma j or s ' brother Bi l l was one o f the coaches k i l l ed i n the
acc ident )
89
desegregat i on because the best b l ack p l ayers i n the South
were f orced to p l ay at e i ther predominant ly b l ack
univer s i t i es or migrate to schoo l s out s i d e the S outh .
Once
Kentucky and Vanderb i lt opened the i r athlet i c teams to
African-Amer i cans , a l arger recru it ing pool became
acce s s i b l e to them , an unappe a l i ng scenar i o f or the ir
r iva l s .
S ign i f i cantly , both schoo l s represented
trad i t i ona l ly f ierce Tennessee adversar i e s . Coache s ,
admini strator s , and fans o f a l l Southeastern Conference
teams recogn i z ed the compet it ive advantage g a i ned by b e i ng
a b l e t o recru i t both black and wh ite ath l ete s , and the quest
t o rema i n compet it ive certa inly enhanced subsequent e f f orts
to integrate ath l etics i n the S outheastern Conference . 33
S evera l conf erence f ootba l l teams were actua l ly very
competit ive and succe s s fu l in the 1 9 6 0 s , but the i s sue o f
i ntegrat i on d i d h i nder SEC teams .
Perhaps the most te l l i ng
e xamp l e occurred when the Rose Bowl reneged on overture s
toward t h e Un iver s i ty o f A l abama a t t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 6 1
s eason .
The Cr imson Tide f eatured a team d e s t i ned to w i n
the nat i ona l champ ionsh ip that sea son a n d the next , a n d a l s o
boasted the renowned Pau l '' Bear " Bryant a s coach .
33The compet i t ive advantages o f be i ng one o f the f irst t e ams
or s choo l s i n a l eague to inc lude Afr i can-Amer icans has regu l ar ly
been c ited a s a rea son for desegregat ing , see Pau l W . Bryant and
John Underwood , B ear : The Hard Li fe and Good Times of Al abama ' s
Coach Bryan t ( Boston : Litt l e , Brown and Company , 1 9 7 4 ) : 3 1 6 - 3 2 4 ;
Ron a l d E . Marce l l o , " The I ntegration o f I nterco l l e g i a t e Ath l e t i c s
in Texas : North Texas State C o l l ege a s a Test Case , 1 9 5 6 , " 2 8 6 3 1 6 ; Ju l e s Tyg i e l , Basebal l ' s Grea t Experimen t , 4 7 - 7 0 ( e sp . 5 2 ) .
90
Neverthe l e s s , once comp l a ints about Southeastern Conference
r ac i a l po l i c i e s rece ived prom inent med i a coverag e , the Ros e
Bow l shied away .
" I heard the Los Ange l e s papers were
mak ing it out to be an i nv itat i on to the Ku K lux K l an , "
grumbl ed Bryant years l ater . �
I n add i t i on to ath l et i c desegregat ion by other
S outheastern Conf erence members , events in h igh s chool and
profe s s i ona l sports dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s a l so had an impact on
f ootba l l de segregat ion at the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee .
H igh
s choo l s in the upper reg ion of east Tenne s s ee began to
desegregate in the l ate 1 9 5 0 s and ear ly 1 9 6 0 s .
The Knox
area schoo l s surround ing the Univers i ty of Tenn e s s e e
i ntegrated dur ing 1 9 6 3 and 1 9 6 4 , a n d b y 1 9 6 5 d esegrega t i on
extended to ath l et i cs i n much o f the state .
The 1 9 6 6 h i gh
scho o l basketba l l tournament provided a dramat i c examp l e o f
the change .
For the f irst t ime , the Tennessee state
ath l et ic a s soc i at i on permi tted i nterra c i a l compe t i t i on i n
t h e tournament and an a l l -black s quad f rom Pear l H i gh S ch o o l
i n Na shvi l l e ( featuring Perry Wa l l ace )
swept through an
undef eated regu lar sea son and then won Tennes s e e ' s f i rst
integrated h igh schoo l state charnp ionsh i p . 3 5
� See Bryant and Underwood , Bear , 3 1 7 ; " T ide Rose B ow l Vote
Br ings Cr i t i c i sm , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 1 5 November 1 9 6 1 , np ;
Torn S i ler column , Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 7 November 1 9 6 1 , C4 .
35Author t e l ephone convers at i on w i th Bob Po l ston , Knox County
Ath l et ics D irector , 1 1 June 1 9 9 3 ; Doug D i ckey intervi ew , 2 - 3 ; Roy
N ee l , Dynami te ! 75 Years of Vanderb i l t Baske tba l l , 1 6 7 - 1 6 8 ; Ted
Riggs , " Pear l Takes Top Honor , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 1 1
December 1 9 6 6 , D 5 .
91
At the pro f e s s i on a l l eve l ,
long integrated maj or l eague
sports arr ived in the South on a permanent ba s i s dur ing the
1960s .
The M i lwaukee Brave s shi fted the ir franch i s e to
At l anta i n 1 9 6 6 , the team featur i ng s evera l we l l -known b l a ck
p l ayers such a s R i co Carty , Mack Jones , and future homerun
champ ion Hank Aaron .
Atl anta ga ined another ma j or l eague
t eam that year when the Nat i ona l Footba l l League awarded the
c ity a franch i s e , the F a l cons beg inning p l ay in 1 9 6 6 .
The
At l anta teams , espec ia l ly the Brave s , actua l ly represented
the entire S outh ; the nearest ma j or l eague baseba l l
franch i s e s were i n C inc innat i and S t . Lou i s .
One examp l e o f
th i s reg i ona l qua l ity come s from Hank Aaron , who l ater f aced
re lent l e s s rac i sm when cha s ing Babe Ruth ' s career homerun
record .
Aaron reca l l s that the crowds were most l y we l l -
behaved , but remembers that the b igge st cheer at the Brave s '
f irst home game " came when they f l a shed a mes sage on the
s coreboard : Apr i l 1 2 ,
Apr i l 1 2 ,
1 8 6 1 : F ire Shots on Fort Sumter .
.
.
1 9 6 6 : The South R i s e s Aga in . " 36
S o , by the mid- 1 9 6 0 s b l acks and wh ites competed with
and aga inst each other in the S outh at the h i gh schoo l ,
col l eg iate , and profe s s i on a l sports l eve l s .
I ntegrated h i gh
scho o l sport ing events not only put s tudents o f d i f ferent
colors on the f i e l d or court at the s ame t ime , but a l s o put
b l ack parents and wh ite parents together i n the b l eachers
36Hank Aaron w i th Lonn ie Whe e l er , I Had A Hammer ( New York :
HarperCo l l ins , 1 9 9 1 ) : 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 .
92
watch i ng them .
At the co l l e g i ate l eve l , the Un iver s ity o f
Kentucky and Vanderbi lt Un ivers ity broke S outheastern
Conference precedent and accepted Afr ican-Amer icans onto
the i r sports teams , and the move d i d not result i n
conference members wi thdrawing or the l eague sp l i nt er ing and
per i sh ing .
At the pro f e s s iona l l eve l , ma j or l eague
franch i s e s arr ived in the deep South , and the rea l ity o f
b l ack and wh ite adults p l aying bes ide each other created
more cheers than j eers .
The cumu l at ive e f f ect o f the s e
c ircumstances wa s to l e s sen t h e st i gma a s s oc i ated w i th
a th l e t i c desegregation for Southea s tern Conf erence schoo l s ,
includ i ng the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee .
A f in a l broad theme a l so inf luenced footba l l
desegregat ion at the Univers ity o f Tennes see between 1 9 6 3
and 1 9 6 7 .
T imes s imp ly changed .
C ivi l r ight s s trugg l e s
captured w idespread attent ion a n d reached a c l imax with
passage o f the C i v i l Rights Act o f 1 9 6 4 and the Vot i ng
R ights Act o f 1 9 6 5 .
Oppo s i t i on to the V i etnam War fostered
a growing s p i r i t o f unrest and act ivism on co l l ege campuses ,
extend i ng even to the usua l ly restra i ned Univers ity o f
Tennes s e e student body .
The soc i a l upheava l that occurred
i n the 1 9 6 0 s a f f ected many areas of l i f e , and s outhern
c o l l ege f ootba l l teams d i d not e s cape the chang e .
93
c.
S oc i a l Change in the 1 9 6 0 s
The modern campa ign t o advance c iv i l r ights for
Afri can-Amer icans reached Knoxv i l l e and upper east Tennes s ee
in 1 9 6 0 .
F ive years ear l ier Ros a P arks had r e fused to
surrender her s e at on a Montgomery , A l a bama , bus , a refusa l
credited with sparking the modern c iv i l r ights movement and
catapu lt ing a youthful Bapt i s t m i n i ster named Mart i n Luther
K ing , Jr . t o nat i ona l prom inence .
The movement entered a
new pha s e i n February o f 1 9 6 0 when black c o l l eg e students i n
Greensboro , North Caro l ina ,
i n i t iated " s it - ins " o f l oca l
restaurants that refused t o s erve them .
The Greensboro s it -
ins qu i ck ly spawned a wave o f s im i lar act i ons acros s the
S outh ,
i nc lud i ng protests i n Knoxv i l l e . n
H i stor i ca l ly , race relat i ons i n Knoxv i l l e and upper
east Tennes see had stayed on a r e l at ive ly c iv i l kee l .
Dur ing s l avery , the mount a i nous terra i n of the region wa s
not conducive to sprawl ing p l antat i ons or f i e ld crops , thus
m i n im i z ing the need for l arge numbers o f s l aves .
Consequent ly ,
the reg ion exh ibited no great s ent iment f or
s l avery , and kept strong Un i on t i e s dur ing the C iv i l War .
The nature o f the s l ave system i n Knoxvi l le a ls o c a l le d for
37 See Tay lor Branch , Parting the Wa ters : Ameri ca in the King
Years , 1954-63 ( New York : S imon and S chuster , 1 9 8 8 } ; W i l l i am H .
Cha f e , Ci vi l i ti e s and Civi l Ri gh ts : Greensboro, North Carol ina
and the B l a ck Struggl e for Freedom ( New York : Oxford Univers i ty
Pres s , 1 9 8 0 } ; Juan W i l l i ams , Eyes on the Pri ze : Ameri ca ' s Ci vi l
Righ ts Years , 1 9 54- 65 ( New York : Pengu i n Pres s , 1 9 8 8 ) .
On the Knoxv i l l e s it - i n movement , s ee Merr i l l Proudfoot ,
Di ary of a Si t -In ( Urbana , I l : Univers ity o f I l l ino i s Pre ss ,
199 0 )
0
94
a h igh percentage of s l aves to l a bor at dome s t i c chores such
as c l ean ing and cooking , a pattern that produced more
persona l contact and interaction than norm a l between s l aves
and s laveowners . �
Even w i th th i s background o f bas i c c iv i l ity , b l acks i n
e a st Tenne s s ee faced oppres s ion .
Knoxvi l l e ' s most i n f amous
incident occurred in 1 9 1 9 , the year a wave of rac i a l s tr i f e
engu l f ed Amer ica .
Rac i a l tens i ons erupted i n Knoxv i l le over
the a l l eged murder of a wh ite woman , Bert i e L indsey , by a
b lack man , Maurice Mayes .
A mob charged the county j a i l t o
l ynch Mayes , but the l oc a l sher i f f ant i c ipated such a n
a ct i on and hust l ed the pr i s oner away b e f o r e t h e m o b arr i ved .
The i rate crowd then drank up the l arge quant ity o f
conf i scated l iquor on hand , tra shed the j a i l , and s et out on
a destruct i ve rampage of downtown prom i s ing to " k i l l s ome
n i ggers . " �
Mayes , reputedly the i l l eg i t imate son of
Knoxvi l l e ' s wh ite mayor , carr i ed a reputat ion f or dat i ng
wh ite women and many suspect that tra it a s the pr imary
reason he was charged with the murder .
Mayes d ied in the
3 8 S ee Robert J . Booker , Two Hundred Years of B l a ck Cul ture in
Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee, 1791-1991, 1 1 - 1 4 ; Lester c. Lamon , B l a cks
in Tennes s e e , 1791-1970 ( Knoxv i l l e : Un ivers ity of Tenne s see
Pres s , 1 9 8 1 ) : 2 6 - 5 3 ; Benj ami n Muse , Ten Years of Pre l u de : The
Story of In tegra t i on Since the Supreme Court ' s 1954 De ci s i on ( New
York : The V i k i ng Pre s s , 1 9 6 4 ) : 9 3 ; Merr i l l Proudf oot , Diary of a
Si t - In , x l i -x l i v .
3 9Robert J . Booker , Two Hundred Years o f B l a ck Cul t ure i n
Knoxvi l l e ,
137 .
95
e l ectr i c cha i r i n 1 9 2 2 . �
I n the late 1 9 5 0 s , another rac i a l a lterca t i on l e ft a
s car on east Tennessee race r e l a t ions .
The h i gh s choo l a t
C l inton , s ome f i fteen m i l e s f rom Knoxv i l le ,
order t o des egregate .
f aced a court
Students , f aculty , and parent s , wh i l e
p erhaps not p l ea sed with the order , res igned themse lves t o
t h e inev itab l e a n d sought to proceed w ith t h e proc e s s
peacefu l l y .
Then John Kasper , sort of a roving inst igator
o f ra c i a l troub l e , arr ived i n town and stoked C l inton ' s more
racist e l ement into act i on .
The C l inton inc i dent from that
p o int unfo lded i n sord i d , but a lmost c l i che - l ike f a sh i on
w i th mob v i o l ence , verb a l and phy s i ca l abuse o f b lack
student s , the beating of a pro- i ntegrat i on wh ite m i n i ster , a
c a l l -up of the Tennessee nat i ona l guard , and f i na l ly the
bombing o f C l inton H igh .
By 1 9 6 0 , a new h igh schoo l stood
i n C l inton and the fourteen b l ack students enro l l ed
attracted l it t l e not ice . 41
When the Greensboro s i t - ins started on February 1 ,
1960 ,
and qu i ckly spread to other c i t i e s , b l ack students i n
Knoxv i l l e re sponded a lmost immed iately .
At the t ime ,
segregat i on ru led the c ity ; b l acks cou l d not eat i n wh i t e owned restaurants or f r e e l y attend theater s , a n d they had
only l imited acces s to Knoxv i l l e hospita l s .
Under the
40 I b i d .
4 1 For a comp l ete account o f the C l i nton a f f a i r , s e e Ben j am i n
Mus e , Ten Years of Pre l ude , 9 2 - 1 0 4 .
96
l eadership o f Robert Booker , s tudents from Knoxv i l l e
C o l l ege , a predom i nant ly b lack pr ivate schoo l , j o i n ed w ith
l oca l Afri can-Amer ican l eaders and entered into negot i a t ions
a imed a t endi ng the practice o f segregated l unch counters in
the c ity .
Most Knoxv i l l e lunch counters s erved b l acks f ood
on a to-go bas i s , but d i d not a l l ow mixed d i n ing .
After
s eve r a l months o f negot i a t i ons , l o c a l merchants cont inued t o
stal l , prompt i ng the start o f organ i z ed s it - i n s on June 9 ,
1 9 6 0 . 42
The lunch counter protests aroused s ome b l atant
oppo s it i on , but for the most part rema ined peacefu l .
Many
o f the i n i t i a l targets o f the s it- i ns agreed t o s erve b lacks
that July .
The tact i c of d irect , non-vio l ent act i on ,
e spoused nat i ona l ly by K ing , cont i nued in Knoxv i l le w ith
students turn ing attent i on to l o c a l theaters .
Us i ng " stand-
ins " i n front o f theater box o f f i ce s , the protesters marched
i n a c irc l e past the box o f f ice " extend [ ing ) money w ith the
word s , ' T i cket P l ease . ' " 43
The strugg l e eventua l ly
succeeded w i th restaurants and theaters announ c i ng fu l l
desegrega t i on i n Ju ly 1 9 6 3 ; the next month Knoxv i l l e
hosp i ta l s changed po l i cy and started admitt i ng p at i ents
42A c omp l ete , day by day account of the Knoxv i l l e s it - i n
movement i s f ound i n Merr i l l Proudfoot , Di ary o f a Si t -In .
43 " 5 1 Theater P ickets Ja i led , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel ,
October 1 9 6 1 , 1 - 2 ; " 4 Arrested i n New Theater P icketing , "
Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 1 1 October 1 9 6 1 , 1 .
97
10
w i thout regard to c o l or . M
Severa l o f the ear ly A f r i c an-Ame r i can undergraduate
students at the Un ivers ity o f Tennessee a ct ive l y
part i c ipated i n civi l r i ghts i s sues .
Theot i s Rob i nson , Jr . ,
one o f three b l ack undergraduates t o enter the univers ity i n
January o f 1 9 6 1 ,
l ater won e l ection t o the Knoxv i l l e C i ty
Counc i l i n 1 9 7 0 .
J imm i e Baxter entered the univers ity i n
the f a l l o f 1 9 6 1 , found the environment on campus too
host i le , and l e ft for mi l itary s ervice .
H e returned i n the
l ate 1 9 6 0 s , winn ing a race for student government pres ident
in 1 9 6 9 .
Baxter eventua l ly became an a s s i stant United
States Attorney i n Knoxvi l l e .
Avon Ro l l ins , who a l l eged ly i ncurred the wrath of Bob
Ney l and by try i ng out for basketba l l i n 1 9 6 1 , worked as an
a s s i stant t o Mart in Luther K i ng , Jr . , served a s a l eader i n
t h e S tudent Non-V i o lent Coord inat ing Comm ittee ( SNCC ) , a n d
co-founded a branch o f the Urban League i n Knoxv i l l e .
Future Was h i ngton D . C . mayor Marion Barry spent 1 9 6 3 a s a
graduate student i n chem i stry at the Univers ity o f Tennes s e e
on h i s way to becoming a we l l -known , a n d controvers i a l ,
nati ona l f igure .
Barry , who had previously g a ined
expe r i ence i n civi l r i ghts i s sues wh i l e a s tudent at F i sk
Co l l ege i n Na shvi l le , s erved a s the f ir s t e l ected cha i rman
of SNCC , and wh i le i n Knoxv i l l e he ed ited a b la ck newspaper
M see Robert J . Booker , Two Hundred Years of Bl a ck Cu l ture in
Knoxvi l l e , 79 and 1 3 5 - 1 4 3 .
98
c a l led the Crusader . 45
From a nat iona l perspect ive , the c i v i l r ights movement
reached an apex with the pas sage of l eg i s l a t ion in 1 9 6 4 and
1965 .
The 1 9 6 4 Civi l R ights Act outl awed d i s cr im i nat i on in
emp l oyment and pub l ic accommodat i ons , wh i l e the Vot ing
Rights Act o f 1 9 6 5 author i z ed f ederal superv i s ion o f voter
regi strat ion .
One part i cu l ar sect ion o f the 1 9 6 4 l aw posed
a potent i a l threat to s egregated c o l l ege footba l l programs .
T i t l e VI o f that act , e f fectuated i n July o f 1 9 6 5 ,
proh i b ited d i scr iminat ion i n inst itut ions rece iving fed er a l
fund ing .
S ince virtua l ly every maj or s outhern univer s ity
rece ived such fund ing , d i scr iminat i on on the ba s i s o f race ,
even i n award ing f ootba l l scho larships , cou l d feas i b ly
const i tute a v i o lation of T i t l e VI .
Whether coinc identa l or not , the Un ivers ity o f
T ennes see ath l et i c department soon announced that b l acks
were try ing out for the f ootba l l team . 46
Crawford Dan i e l s
and W i l l i e Moore tried out for the freshman team i n
September o f 1 9 6 5 , evident ly not making the squad .
"It is
our p o l icy , and we have pub l i c ly s a id s o many t imes , t o
45on Mar ion Barry and SNCC , s e e C layborne Carson , In
Struggl e : SNCC and the B l a ck Awakening of the 1 9 6 0 s ( Cambr idge ,
MA : Harvard Un iver s ity Pres s , 1 9 8 1 ) .
For informat i on on b la ck­
owne d newspapers i n Knoxvi l l e , contact the Beck Cu l tura l Center .
See a l so Theot i s Robinson , Jr . interv i ew ; Avon Ro l l i ns
interv i ew ; I nterv i ew w i th J imm i e Baxter , 2 0 Augus t 1 9 9 2 ; Robert
J . Booker , Two Hundred Years of B l a ck Cul ture i n Knoxvi l l e .
� See ,
" Negro Backs Jo i n Tennessee Fresh , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 9
S eptember 1 9 6 5 , 7 ; " Negro Ath l etes May Try For Other Tennes se e
Teams , " Dai l y Bea con , 3 0 September 1 9 6 5 , 7 .
99
a l low any student at the Un ivers ity of Tennes see t o try out
for our ath l e t i c teams , " s a i d ath l et i c d irector Bob
Woodru f f . 47
I rrespect ive o f the questi onabl e a ccura cy o f
that statement , t h e ep i s ode s et o f f a spate o f l etters ,
a rt i c l es , and comp l a ints to the s tudent newspaper
publ i c i z ing the fact that the univers ity d i d not o f fer
a th l e t i c s ch o l ar sh ips to Afr ican-Amer icans .
By F ebruary o f
1 9 6 6 , the Dai l y Beacon app l auded an announcement that the
a th l e t i c department wou l d " begin recru i t ing qua l i f i ed Negro
ath l etes t o a th l et i c s chol arships . " 48
Feder a l o f f i c i a l s actua l ly conducted v i s it s to each
S outhea stern Conference school between 1 9 6 5 and 1 9 6 7 in a
pre l im i nary check on whether SEC teams were i n comp l i ance
w i th T i t l e VI .
The v i s it s proved am i cab l e and s e emed t o
have s erved two purposes .
I n one way , the f eder a l
l eg i s l a t ion l oomed as a pot ent i a l threat t o S E C programs ,
thus prov i d i ng a st imu lus for scho o l s to take ath l e t i c
desegregat ion s er i ous ly .
On the other hand ,
f edera l
o f f i c i a l s a l s o privately a cknowl edged that the s ame
potent i a l threat o f v i o l at ions gave SEC member s cover
against southern po l i t i ca l segrega t i on i sts who m ight condemn
47 " Negro Ath l etes May Try For Other Tennes see Teams , " Dai l y
Beacon , 3 0 S eptember , 1 9 6 5 , 7 .
4 8 See Randy Nee ly , "Mint Ju l ep G i ant Awaken , " Dai l y Bea con ,
1 8 May 1 9 6 5 , 4 ; Jack Topch ik , " F irst Move Awa i t s UT I n Gett i ng
Negro Ath letes , " Dai l y Beacon , 8 October 1 9 6 5 , 3 ; " Observat ions
Of A Newcomer , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 1 October 1 9 6 5 , 4 ; " The Face o f
Progres s , " Dai l y Bea con , 1 0 February 1 9 6 6 , 4 .
100
the move .
" Schoo l s ( are ] ready t o comp l y ,
but want to u s e
f edera l pres sure a s an excus e , " c l a imed an O f f i c e o f
Educat i on o f f i c i a l . �
I nterest i n f ootba l l desegregat i on at the Univers ity o f
Tennes s ee d i d n o t subs ide a fter t h e ath l et i c department
announcement , and comments cont inued to appear r egu l a r l y
unt i l t h e Volunteers s igned Albert Dav i s i n Apr i l o f 1 9 6 7 .
An espec i a l ly pers i stent student from the Eng l i sh d epartment
named Larry Yates wrote frequent ly , cr i t i c i z i ng the
admin i stra t i on and coach i ng staff for f a i l ing to move
forward and desegregate ath l et i c s .
Genera l ly , other
comments agreed w i th Yates ' pos i t i on and cha s t i s ed the
a th l et i c department , a lthough a few students d e fended
Tenne s s ee teams and c ited tra d i t i onal reasons for proceeding
caut i ous ly . 50
The Un ivers ity of Tennessee o f f i c i a l ly desegregated
ath l et i c s , and the footba l l program , by s i gning A l bert Davi s
t o a s chol arship on Apr i l 1 4 ,
1 9 6 7 , then added Lester
McCl a in to the roster the next month .
The track team s oon
we l comed James Cra ig and Audry Hardy .
Ray Mears
49J im M i nter , " Tech Gets Federa l V i s it , " Atl anta Journal and
Con s ti t u t i on , 2 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 5 6 .
50See " Ed itor ' s Ma i lbag , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 0 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 ;
" Ed itor ' s Ma i l bag , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 7 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 ; " Ed itor ' s
Ma i l bag , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 4 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 ; Jack Topch ik ,
" Tennescene , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 6 January 1 9 6 7 , 5 - 6 ; " Ath l e t i c
I ntegra t i on , " Dai l y Beacon , 3 1 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 ; " A F l aw in Our
Ath l etes ' Feat , " Dai l y Beacon , 7 February 1 9 6 7 , 4 ; T im Capp s ,
" T ime Out , " Dai l y Bea con , 8 February 1 9 6 7 , 7 .
101
succes s fu l ly recruited outstanding basketba l l prospect
Spencer Haywood o f Detro i t on ly to lose h im much as the
f ootba l l t eam lost Davi s .
Haywood went on to l ea d the
Un ited States to a gold med a l i n the 1 9 6 8 O l ymp i c s .
W i l bert
Cherry , a non-sch o l arship p l ayer from Knoxvi l le , competed on
the freshman ba sketba l l team i n 1 9 7 0 -7 1 , then Larry
Robi nson , a tran s f er from Ferrum Junior C o l l ege in V irg i n i a ,
became the f irst black vars ity basketba l l p layer on ath l e t i c
scho l arship t o p l ay at the univers ity i n 1 9 7 1 - 7 2 . 51
The s i gn i ngs of A l bert Dav i s and Spencer Haywood ,
cons idered the top high school p l ayers i n Amer i c a i n the ir
respect ive sport s , s ig n i f i e d a ma j or coup for the Univers ity
of Tennes s ee ath letic department .
Unfortunate l y , the
d epartment ' s fut i le hand l ing o f Davi s ' a cadem i c que s t i ons
overshadowed the f eat and very few peop l e today rea l i z e that
Haywood s i gned w ith the Volunteer s , and even f ewer out s ide
the Knoxv i l l e area know Dav i s a t a l l . �
The outstanding
t a l ent o f the duo , espec i a l ly w i th regard t o A l bert Dav i s
becaus e h e was more we l l known loca l ly , cannot b e ove r looked
5 1 I nterv i ew w i th Larry Rob inson , 1 0 Ju l y 1 9 9 2 .
For a roster
o f b lack ath l etes who had competed on Univers i ty o f Tennes se e
sports teams p r i o r t o 1 9 8 0 , see " B l ack Part i c ipants O n Vars i ty
Leve l , " c ourtesy o f Bud Ford , Sports I n f ormat ion D i rector ,
Univers ity o f Tennes see Ath l e t i c Department .
52 See " Tennessee S igns F i r s t Negro Cager , " Atl an ta Journal ,
2 0 May 1 9 6 7 , 1 1 .
" Spencer Haywood M i s s e s on ACT Test , "
Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 2 9 August 1 9 6 7 , 1 2 .
For more informa t i on on Spencer Haywood , s e e Spencer Haywood
w i th S cott O st l e r , Spencer Haywood : The Ri s e , The Fal l , The
Recovery { New York : Ami stad , 1 9 9 2 ) .
See pages 9 4 - 9 7 for
i nformat ion on h i s recru itment by the Un ivers ity o f Tennes s ee .
102
when searching for c lues t o the t im ing o f Tennessee ' s
deci s ion t o desegregate .
I t might sti l l have been an e a s ier
path for the ath l etic department t o d e l ay footba l l
desegregat i on i n 1 9 6 7 , but Vo lunteer supporte r s certa i n l y
w i shed t o s e e A l bert Dav i s wear i ng orange for t h e f ootba l l
team .
The factors inf luenc i ng f ootba l l d esegregat i on at the
Un ivers ity of Tennessee f it rough ly into the three
prev i ous ly ident i f ied theme s .
The change from the Ney l and
era t o a new reg ime with i n the Volunteer ath l et i c department
increa s ed the opportunity to desegregate .
A breakdown o f
rac i a l barr i ers i n the South at t h e h i gh schoo l , c o l l eg i at e ,
and pro f e s s ional sports l eve l s a l so prec ip itated change .
The act i ons o f the Univers ity o f Kentucky and Vanderb i l t
Un ivers ity , two o f Tennes see ' s Southea stern Conf erence foes ,
proved e spec i a l ly important when those schoo l s d e f i ed
precedent and des egregated .
Conference integrat i on brought
into focus compet itive cons iderat i ons on and o f f the f i e l d
f or S E C members .
F i na l ly , soc i a l changes i n the 1 9 6 0 s , most
d irectly the dr ive for African-Amer ican c iv i l r i ghts and a
r i se i n campus activism a l so fac i l i tated f ootba l l
d esegregat ion at Tennes see .
None o f thes e changes d irect ly caused the Univers i ty o f
Tennessee t o move forward w i th f ootba l l desegregat i on , but
a l l of them increased the l ik e l ihood of j us t such an
outcome .
When a sked t o d i scu s s desegregat i on , most of the
103
peop l e i nvo l ved at the univers ity downp l ayed f o otba l l
desegrega t i on a s a minor top i c and apparent l y reca l l ed f ew
o f the deta i l s .
Tom E l am , an inf luent i a l trustee and
l ongt ime cha i r o f the Ath l e t i c s Board , remembered noth ing
unusua l taking p l ace .
Bob Woodruf f , Tenn e s s e e ath l et ic
d irector at the t ime , reca l l ed that rac i a l d e segregat ion
happened with no maj or probl ems .
Doug D i ckey acknowl edged d i scuss ing the top i c a f ew
t imes w i th Woodruf f and univer s i ty pre s ident Andrew Holt ,
but summed up h i s f e e l ings by proc l a im ing s imp l y ,
" it was
abso lute ly the r ight th ing at the r i ght t ime [ and ] I th i nk
A l bert and Lester were the r i ght peop l e at the r ight
t ime . " 53
D i ckey ' s assessment , wh i l e e s sent i a l ly correct ,
perhaps m i s s ed the point .
Between 1 9 6 3 and 1 9 6 7 a
substant i a l number of changes took p lace at the univer s i ty ,
i n the conference ,
l arge .
and on a broader sca l e i n s oc i ety a t
Thes e changes provided the Un iver s i ty o f Tenne s s e e
a th l e t i c department that opportun i ty to do t h e " r i ght '' th ing
at the " r i ght " t ime w i th the " r i ght " peop l e .
53 Doug D i ckey i nterview , 3 .
Reco l l ect i on s o f Tom E l am and
Bob Woodruf f based on t e l ephone conver sations with the author .
104
Chapter F ive
Aftermath
Few Univers ity of Tennessee part i sans expected Lester
McC l a in t o be the " r ight " person i n desegrega t ing the
s choo l ' s footba l l program .
McC l a in proved h i s detractors
wrong , however , and i n 1 9 6 8 became the f ir s t b l a ck footba l l
On the
p layer t o l etter i n the S outheastern Conf erence .
f i e ld , f ootba l l desegregat i on proceeded f a i r ly smoothly at
Tenne s s ee , a lthough resentments expre ssed by McC l a in near
the end o f h i s co l l ege years created a controvers y .
The
Southea stern Conference s l owly accepted rac i a l i ntegrat ion
in ath l e t i c s i n the late 1 9 6 0 s and ear ly 1 9 7 0 s ,
in part
becaus e o f the events at the Un ivers i ty o f Tenne s s e e .
Rac i a l integrat i on trans f ormed the SEC i nto a more
nat i ona l ly recogn i z ed and respected athlet i c l eague .
A.
Lester McC l a in : Not Just Somebody ' s Roommat e
W ith s o much attent i on focused on t h e cont i nu i ng saga
o f A l bert Dav i s dur ing the spr ing and summer o f 1 9 6 7 , the
other African-Amer ican schedu l ed to desegregate Un i vers ity
o f Tenne s s e e f ootba l l attracted l it t l e not i ce .
Lester
McC l a in ha i l ed f rom Nashv i l le and dur i ng most of h i s h i gh
s choo l years the prospect o f p l ay ing f o otba l l for Tennes s ee
rema i ned remote .
Like Davi s , he l onged t o p lay a t the ma j or
105
c o l l ege l eve l where the teams drew thousands o f spectator s ,
rece ived cons iderable newspaper coverage , and appeared on
nat i ona l te l ev i s i on .
Un l ike Davi s , most ma j or c o l lege s ,
inc lud i ng the Univers ity o f Tennessee , showed only l imited
i nterest i n Lester McC l a in .
The youngest of e i ght ch i ldren , McC l a i n grew up j ust
s outheast o f Nashvi l l e , but •• very much i n the country . " 1
He
attended segregated s choo l s unt i l his s e n i or year i n h i gh
schoo l .
The l oca l pub l ic s choo l s had p l anned desegregat i on
on a gradu a l ba s i s by integrat ing one grade l eve l a t a t ime ,
beg i nn i ng w i th f irst grade and then add i ng a l ev e l each year
unt i l integrat ion reached a l l twe lve grade s .
By the spr ing
o f 1 9 6 6 , f ear o f the proces s subs ided enough for a l l grades
t o open up , and McC l a i n transferred to Ant i och H igh that
f a l l , becoming the only b l ack ma l e in the j un i or and s e n i or
classes .
McC l a in be l i eved i n h i s a b i l i ty t o p l ay footba l l on the
S outheastern Con ference l eve l and he f ound an important
advocate i n B i l l Garrett , a loya l Tennes see supporter who
appr i s ed the Vo lunteer coach i ng sta f f o f prom i s ing prospects
in the middle Tennessee region .
Garrett recommended McC l a in
t o the Tennessee sta f f , and McC l a i n eager ly warmed to the
idea of matr i cu l at ing i n Knoxv i l le .
coaches r ema ined skept i ca l .
However , Tennes s e e
At one po int , when McC l a i n
1 For i n format ion o n McC l a in ' s background , s e e intervi ew w ith
Le ster McC l a in , 2 2 S eptember 1 9 9 2 , 1 .
106
pub l i c ly stated h i s i ntent i on to a ttend Tennessee , Volunteer
a s s i stant Doug Knotts admon i shed h im :
"He [ Knott s ) d idn ' t
want me to cont i nue to say that I was interested i n the
Univers i ty o f Tennessee becaus e the Uni vers i ty of Tenne s s ee
wa s not interested in me .
They were going t o integrate but
I j u s t wasn ' t good enough to p lay . " 2
I n r e f l ect ing on h i s recru i tment , Lester McC l a in
cred i ted B i l l Garrett f or never l etting up on the Tennes se e
coaches dur ing the recru i t ing proces s , a n d the per s i stence
shown by both McC l a i n and Garrett u l t imately p a i d o f f .
Tennes see tr i ed t o s ign other b l ack f ootba l l p l ayers t o j o i n
Albert Dav i s i n desegregat i ng Volunteer f ootba l l , most
notably star runn i ng back Tommy Love o f North Caro l ina , but
a s thos e attempt s f a i led McC l a in rema ined ava i l a b l e .
F i na l ly , on the day of Tennessee ' s spr i ng f o otba l l game i n
1 9 6 7 , Doug D i ckey asked to s e e the v i s i t ing McC l a i n and
o f fered him the l ong- awa i ted scho larsh i p .
s ign i ng on May 9 ,
Lester McC l a i n ' s
1 9 6 7 , created l ittle commot ion .
He became
the s econd A f r i can-Ameri can to rece ive an a th l et i c
scho l a r s h ip from the Un iver s ity o f Tennes s e e . 3
I n the a ftermath o f the A l bert Dav i s a f f a ir , Lester
McC l a i n f ound h ims e l f the l one b l ack on the Tennes see
2 Lester McC l a i n interv i ew ,
9.
3 See A l bert Dav i s interv i ew , 1 4 - 1 5 ; Lester McC l a i n
interv i ew , 8 - 9 ; Marvin West , " Love I s C las sed Best S ince
Just ice , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 6 January 1 9 6 7 , 2 4 ; " Vo l s
C lose ' 6 7 Recru i t ing Campa ign With S econd Negro Footba l l S ignee , "
Dai l y Bea con , 1 0 May 1 9 6 7 , 7 .
107
f ootba l l squad .
The l imited expectations that a ccompan i ed
h im t o Knoxv i l l e l essened the ord e a l he faced .
h ighly pub l ic i z ed ,
I nstead o f a
local runn ing back des egregat ing the
program and perhaps l i ft ing the team to new he i ght s , a l ow­
prof i l e rece iver from middle Tennessee wou l d be the
" p ioneer . ''
Lester McC l a in wa s s imp ly supposed t o be A lbert
Davi s ' roommate and Albert Dav i s was not at Tenne s s ee .
Such
c ircumstances a l l owed the desegregat ion proc e s s t o commence
w i th l e s s s crut i ny and pres sure , and f ostered a more p l a c i d
a tmosphere .
McC l a in made h i s f irst var s ity appearance for
the Vo lunteers at Ney l and Stadium on S eptember 1 4 ,
1968 ,
in
a nat i ona l ly t e l evi sed contest w i th the Univers ity o f
Georg i a .
Much o f the crowd gave him a stand i ng ova t ion when
h e entered the game . 4
McC l a in enj oyed a succes s fu l f ootba l l career a t
Tennes see .
A f t e r spend ing t h e 1 9 6 7 season on t h e freshmen
team , he became a sol id rece iver and runner at the wingback
pos i t ion f rom 1 9 6 8 to 1 9 7 0 .
Dur ing h i s three var s i ty
s ea s ons he caught seventy passes a ccount ing f or more than
e l even hundred yards , w i th th i rteen touchdown r ecept ions .
At the end o f h i s play ing career , McC l a in ranked a s one o f
the t o p t e n rece ivers stat i s t ica l ly to ever p la y for the
Vo lunteers , and h i s th irteen touchdown catches t opped the
schoo l ' s record book .
By earning a var s i ty f ootba l l l etter
in 1 9 6 8 , h e made h i story as the f ir st A f r i can-Amer ican t o do
4Lester McC l a i n i ntervi ew , 1 2 .
108
s o i n the S outhea stern Conf erence .
Tenne s s e e teams were
exce l l ent dur ing h i s career , w inn i ng twenty- e ight game s ,
l o s ing f ive , and tying one . 5
McC l a in d i d f ace rac i a l d i f f i cu lt i es , a lthough h i s
perceptions o f those prob l ems changed cons iderably over the
cours e o f t ime .
Ref l ect i ng on the expe r i ence a fter a
quarter o f a century , McC l a in , and h i s f ormer teammate s ,
emph a s i z ed the pos itive a spects o f the proce s s .
" I cou l d
probably g o back and pu l l out , here and there , a negative
th ing that happened , but that rea l ly has very l it t l e t o d o
w i th the true story , " reca l l ed McC l a in ,
o f the smoothest tran s i t i ons
.
.
" I th i nk i t w a s one
. that t ook p l ace in the
S outh . " 6
Lester McC l a in ' s demeanor and h i s ab i l i ty e a s ed the
proce s s .
T im Pr iest and John Rippetoe , f ormer Tennes s ee
p layers , vagu e l y remembered a ch i ld i sh prank or two d i rected
a t McC l a in by teammate s , but stres sed how we l l McC l a in
hand l e d the s ituations .
I n the ir estimat ion , McC l a i n g a ined
acceptance f a i r l y ea s i ly w i th i n the team , an a s s e s sment
shared by McC l a i n h imse l f .
Former Vo lunteer rece iver Gary
Kre i s thought McC l a in "was we l l accepted .
.
.
did a super
j ob of hand l i ng the s i tuat i on , " and even wondered whether
5 For Lester McC l a in ' s stat i s t i c s , see Mike S iroky and Bob
Bertucc i , Orange Ligh tning : Ins i de Uni vers i ty of Tennessee
Footbal l , 1 8 6 ; Un ivers i ty of Tenne ssee Sports I n forma t i on
Department .
On Tennessee teams from 1 9 6 8 - 1 9 7 0 , s e e Rus s Bebb ,
The B i g Orange , 3 2 7 - 3 5 5 .
6 Lester McC l a i n interv i ew ,
17 .
109
the team and coach ing sta f f might have " bent over a l i tt l e
see that he was accepted . " 7
backwards to
Kre i s '
sent iments echo to some degree s im i lar statement s from
f ormer Univers ity of Georg i a f ootba l l coach V i nce Doo l ey .
Dooley be l ieved that he " t r i ed t o be over l y s e n s i t i ve t o the
b lack p layers , and consequent l y d i d more harm than good .
.
" when h i s Georg i a Bu l ldog f ootba l l program d e segregated . 8
Lester McC l a in earned respect not only by m a i nta i n i ng
an even d i spos it i on o f f the f ie ld , but a l so by perform ing
we l l on the f ie ld .
Asked t o comment on McC l a i n ' s acceptance
by the team ,
f ormer de fens ive back Pr iest empha s i z ed
performance ,
" i n the wor l d o f a th l et i c s ,
what y ou do , your acceptance is qu i cker .
Lester was a qua l ity p l ayer . "
i f you are good at
.
.
i t helped that
Accord ing t o Rippeto e , a
quarterback and a l so a roommate o f McC l a i n ' s , h i s f r iend
"was a ta l ented athlete , good .
.
. j ust a good ba l lp l ayer . "
McC l a in h imse l f be l i eved that " i t ceased t o be a rac i a l
i s sue once you [ went ] t o the f i e l d .
respect i s g a i ned
there ( and ] hope ful ly you are a good person t oo . " 9
McC l a in , again i n retrospect , concluded that a sense o f
7 See interv i ew w ith Gary Kre i s , 3 0 September 1 9 9 2 , 4 - 5 ;
interv i ew w ith T im P r i e st , 1 6 September 1 9 9 2 , 3 ; i nterv i ew with
John Rippetoe , 2 3 S eptember 1 9 9 2 , 5 .
8 I nterv i ew w i th V incent J . Doo l ey , Ath l e t i c Director ,
Univers ity o f Georg i a , 1 6 October 1 9 9 2 , 4 .
Dooley s erved a s head
footba l l coach a t Georg ia f rom 1 9 6 4 to 1 9 8 8 .
9 Lester McC l a in interv i ew , 1 3 ; T im Priest interv i ew , 1 6
S eptember 1 9 9 2 , 3 ; John Rippetoe interv i ew , 2 3 S eptember 1 9 9 2 , 5 .
110
l one l iness and i s o lat ion a f f ected h im more adver s e ly than
anyth ing e l se , espec i a l ly dur ing h i s e a r l y Tennes see career .
I n add i t i on to the typ ica l pangs o f homes i ckne s s exper i enced
by f ir s t year c o l lege student s , he dea lt w ith the stra i n o f
be ing a nove lty .
Although Tennessee cont inued t o recr u i t
African-Ame r i cans onto t h e f ootba l l team a fter t h e 1 9 6 7
s ign i ngs , Lester McC l a in d i d not have a b l a ck teammate
j o i ni ng h im on the same l eve l of compet it ion unt i l Jack i e
Wa lker and Andy Bennett a scended t o the var s i ty i n 1 9 6 9 .
I so l a t i on caused h im the greatest gr i e f at th e Cotton
Bow l f o l l owing the 1 9 6 8 sea son .
I n Knoxv i l l e , McC l a in cou l d
merely dr ive to s e e f r i ends i n the loca l b l a ck commun i ty
when f e e l i ng i s o l ated , but at the bowl game i n D a l l a s ,
Texa s , no s imi l a r opt i on e x i sted .
anyone [ d i d ]
.
.
" I t ' s not anyth ing that
. but the p l aces you go and things you do
( are i n ] a predomi nant ly wh ite environment .
b lack guy .
.
. what do you do w ith h im? " 10
Y ou have one
I n contrast t o
that Cotton Bowl v i s i t , McC l a in thorough ly enj oyed a
Volunteer trip to the Sugar Bow l two years later .
By that
t ime he wa s j o ined on the vars ity by Bennett , Wa lker , and a
th ird Afr ican-Amer i can , Kevi n M i l am . 1 1
Lester McC l a in ' s rather temperate thoughts t oward h i s
p i oneer ing exper i ences came more than two decades a fter h e
1 0Lester McC l a in i nterv i ew ,
1 8 - 19 .
1 1 See " B lack Part i c ipants on Var s ity Leve l , " comp i l ed by Bud
Ford , Sports I n f ormat i on Department , Univers i ty o f Tennessee .
111
desegregated Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e f ootba l l on the p l ay ing
f ie l d .
I n 1 9 7 1 , however , w ith h i s col l ege f ootba l l career
freshly comp l eted , McC l a in i ssued very strong statements
cond emni ng the Tennessee ath l e t i c d epartment and coaches f or
r a c i s t att i tudes that a f fected h i s per. formance .
He also
l amented the s oc i a l constra ints f aced b y A f r i can-Ameri can
ath l etes on the predominant l y wh ite Tennessee c ampus .
McC l a in made the remark s t o the Dai ly Beacon s tudent
newspaper i n a two-part s e r i e s i n May o f 1 9 7 1 . 12
Most o f McC l a in ' s cr i t i c i sms centered on the Tenn e s s e e
coach ing s ta f f .
Doug D i ckey l e ft the un ivers ity a fter the
1 9 6 9 season t o become head coach at the Un ivers ity of
F l or ida , and rece ivers coach B i l l Batt l e rep l aced h im as
Vo lunteer head coach .
McC l a i n accused both D i ckey and
Batt l e of restrict ing h i s career i n order to k e ep the
un iver s i ty from l ooking bad f or not recru it ing h im heav i ly
i n the f irst p l ace .
" Maybe A l bert ( Davi s ] wou ld have been
great , but I was j ust suppo s ed to be here .
.
.
I th i nk the
univers ity got thems e lves i n a spot when they f ound out I
cou l d start f or them , " McC l a in comp l a ined . 1 3
The coach i ng sta f f s a l s o treated other A f r i can-Amer ican
12 See Rob Chr i stensen , "McC l a in B l asts Ath l e t i c Dept . " Dai l y
i n Tom Si l er Col l e ct i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , B o x 7 , Fo lder 6 ;
"McC l a in S ay s B i l l Batt le D i scr iminated , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 8 May
McC l a i n ' s p l i ght a s a p i oneer footba l l p l ayer i n the
197 1 , 3 .
S outheastern Conf erence wa s pro f i l ed i n Peter S chrag , " Tenn e s s e e
Lonesome End , " Harper ' s Mon thly , March 1 9 7 0 , 5 9 - 6 7 .
Beacon ,
1 3 Rob Chr i s tensen ,
"McC l a i n B l a st s Ath l et i c Dept . , " 1 .
112
a th l etes d i f f erent ly , and thus unf a ir l y , accord i ng to
He spec i f ica l ly ment ioned the l ack o f r e spect and
McC l a i n .
pub l i c i ty g iven t o l inebacker Jack i e Wa lker , who started a s
a s ophomore i n 1 9 6 9 a l ongs ide Jack " Hacksaw" Reyno lds and
S teve K iner , a trio that f ormed perhaps Tennes see ' s greatest
l inebacker corps .
"Jack i e was the center o f the [ 1 9 6 9 ]
defense , he ' s what made the defense c l i ck ,
credit .
.
.
but he d i dn ' t get
i n h i s sophomore year he had a better season
than S teve K iner , but you never knew i t . 11 14
The treatment a f f orded basketba l l p l ayer Rupert
Breed l ove a l s o rank led McC l a in and other b l ack a th l etes at
Tennes s e e .
Breed l ove , a trans f er f rom the Un ivers ity o f
C incinnat i , l e f t Tennessee after be ing suspended f rom the
basketba l l t eam f or shop l i ft ing a tape cartr idge .
stand up f or h im do ing it , he was wrong , but
"I
.
don ' t
I know
l ot s o f s i tua t i ons l ike that , that never d i d h i t the
papers , " McC l a in s a i d . 1 5
The ins inuat ion that a doub l e -
standard exi sted between treatment o f b lack a n d wh ite
a th l etes , as expressed in th i s instance by McC l a i n , s eems to
have been a common fee l ing among Afri can-Ame r i can ath l et e s
a t t h e Univers ity of Tennes s ee dur ing t h e period . 16
1 4 "McC l a in S ay s B i l l Batt l e D i scr iminated , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 8
May 1 9 7 1 , 3 .
15 I b id .
See a l so " Rac i a l D i s cr im inat i on i n Sports , " i n 1 9 7 1
Footba l l f i le , Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 7 , Fo lder 6 .
16 See " The B l ack Ath lete at UT , " a four part s e r i e s in the
Dai l y Beacon , 18 May 1 9 7 1 to 2 6 May 1 9 7 1 .
The 11 1 9 7 1 F ootba l l
F i l e , " Box 7 , Fo lder 6 of the Si l er Col l ec t i on a l so cont a i n s the
113
I n the art i c l e s , McC l a in a l so c ited s oc i a l constra ints
he f aced as an Afr i can-Ame r i can on a most ly wh i t e campus .
At s oc i a l funct i ons , " a l ot o f guys who were n i ce norma l ly ,
were not that way when they had the ir g i r l s w ith them , " h e
s a id , and when McC l a i n occa s i ona l ly danced w i th a wh ite c o ­
ed " they ( wh i t e teammate s ] f igure .
.
. you ' re up t o
s ometh ing , a n d I g e t s arcast i c remarks a bout it . " 1 7
His
most s e r i ous comp l a int i n th i s rea lm was aga i ns t a Tennes see
coach who demanded that McC l a in shave off his moustache ,
embarra s s i ng him before a home footba l l game i n the crowded
l o bby of the ath l etic dorm .
" F irst it was a ' hey boy '
then h e c a l l ed my name and a s I turned around everybody
stopped and stared .
He pointed and ca l led t o me and s a id ,
' cut your moustache o f f now boy ! ' " 1 8
The a l l egat i ons from McC l a i n provoked l it t l e support
from the l oc a l press and drew immediate rebutt a l from the
ath l e t i c department .
With i n days o f the art i c l e s , McC l a in
d i stanced h imse l f from the furor , and c l a imed the Dai l y
Beacon wr iter had purpo s e fu l ly arranged quotes t o make the
a th l e t i c department l ook bad .
Tennessee head coach B i l l
Batt l e , a fter meet ing w i th McC l a in about the controver sy ,
s a id McC l a in to ld h im ,
"he was grateful for the good th i ngs
wh i ch have happened to him at Tennessee and he apo l og i z ed
f our art i c l e s .
17 See Rob Chr i stensen ,
"McC l a in B l a sts Ath l et i c D ept . , " 2 .
18Ibid .
114
for hurt ing us .
I to l d h im I f e l t he had hurt h imse l f .
that doors he had worked hard t o open were now c l os ed . " 19
Tom S i ler shrugged off McC l a i n ' s comp l a i nt s as a common
occurrence among d i sgrunt l ed former p l ayers and m a i nta i ne d
that " i f he h a d been wh ite nobody would have p a i d much
attent i on to what he s a id . " w
Lester McC l a i n ' s controvers i a l remarks are best
understood only when p l aced within the i r o r i g i na l context .
Just a f ew days before McC l a in made h i s charges , the Dai l y
Beacon ran a f our part s e r i e s ent i t l ed " The B la ck Ath lete a t
UT . " 2 1
Based o n interv i ews with three b l ack track t eam
members , the s er i e s c ited a l itany o f prob l ems frequent l y
a s s o c i ated w ith African-American ath l etes o n tra d i t i ona l ly
wh ite c o l l ege campuses i n the 1 9 6 0 s .
A l ack o f
unders tand ing among wh ite coaches , a shortage o f b l ack
coache s , pressures against interra c i a l dat i ng ,
l im i ted
s o c i a l opportun i t i e s i n the surrounding community ,
less
sympathy from ath l etic department med i c a l s ta f f s toward
b l acks with i n j ur i e s , a l l of the s e pro b l ems a f f l i cted b l ack
ath l etes at the Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s ee , much as they d i d
other ath l etes i n s imi lar sett i ngs i n the 1 9 6 0 s .
1 9 " Le ster V i s its Coach , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen t i n e l ,
197 1 , 12 .
Doz ens o f
1 June
20 " Hey Coach Put Me In , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen ti n e l , 2 June
1971 , 4 0 .
21 S ee " The B l ack Ath lete at UT , " a f our part s e r i e s in the
Dai l y Beacon , 18 May 1 9 7 1 to 2 6 May 1 9 7 1 .
115
protests and revo lts by b l ack ath l etes occurred on col l ege
campus e s between 1 9 6 8 and 1 9 7 2 i n response t o such
comp l a ints . 22
Soc i o lo g i s t Harry Edwards l ed an attempted boycott o f
the 1 9 6 8 Mex ico C ity O lymp ics to protest many o f the s ame
d emeaning c ircumstances ment i oned by the Tenn e s s e e ath l ete s .
The protest t ook its most dramat i c form when Tommy Smith and
John Car l o s r a i sed g loved f i st s i n a d i sp l ay o f b l ack un ity
on the v i ctory s tand a fter the 2 0 0 meter d a sh .
Edwards a l s o
wrote a n i n f luent i a l book , The Revol t o f the B l a ck Athl e t e
pub l i shed i n 1 9 6 9 , deta i l ing the d i scrimi nat ion suf fered by
many b l ack c o l l ege ath l ete s .
I n the a ftermath o f those
cond i t i ons , wh ich heightened awareness o f b igotry and l ik e l y
created an atmosphere more conducive to the a i r ing of such
gr ievance s , the art i c l e s a bout Afr i can -Ame r i can ath letes at
the Univers ity o f Tennessee surfa ced , f o l l owed c l os e l y by
the McC l a i n accusat ions . n
The w i l l ingness o f Lester McC l a i n t o speak up about
r ac i a l prob l ems i n ath l e t i c s a l s o took p l ace dur i ng a per i od
o f cont i nued , and growing , campus activi sm .
Students and
more outspoken faculty members cha l l enged the Univer s ity o f
Tenn e s s ee adm i n i strat ion o n a number o f i s sues dur i ng the
n see David K . W i ggins , " The Future of Co l l ege Ath l e t i c s i s
a t Stake : B lack Ath l etes and Rac i a l Turmo i l o n Three
Predominantly Wh ite Univer s ity Campuse s , 1 9 6 8 - 1 9 7 2 , " Journal of
Sport His tory 15 (Winter , 1 9 8 8 } : 3 0 4 - 3 3 3 .
23 See Harry Edwards , The Revol t of the B l a ck Ath l e te
York : The Free Pre s s , 1 9 6 9 ) .
116
( New
l ate 1 9 6 0 s in a quest for greater " student p ower . "
Among
the i s sues wh ich garnered the most attent ion were a d i spute
over the university ' s po l i cy t oward guest speakers , the
quest for a greater awareness o f the p l ight o f Afr i can­
Amer ican s tudents at Tenne s s ee , and f i na l ly a 1 9 7 0 campus
v i s i t by Richard Nixon , indirectly l inked of course to the
most prominent campus cause of the era , the debate over the
V ietnam War .
The " open speaker" controversy emerged in 1 9 6 8 when the
un ivers ity , repres ented by chanc e l l or Char l e s Weaver , den ied
black comed ian and act ivist D i ck Gregory the opportun ity to
make a paid speech on the Tennes s e e campus .
At the t ime , a
s tudent committee supposedly ma intained the author ity to
invite speakers o f the committee ' s choos ing .
Weaver
r ece ived most of the f l ak for the dec i s ion a l though he
s imp ly fronted for the admi n i strat i on .
I n h i s own word s ,
Weaver " inherited" the i s sue , and l ater contended the
prob l ems arose becaus e we l l -meaning trustees and others of
inf luence " could not bel ieve that we were not s t i l l in a
mode where peop l e in the univers ity cou l d do any damn th i ng
they wanted to the students . " N
Professor R i chard Mar ius
and three others eventua l ly sued the adm i n i stra t i on over the
speaker p o l icy , and Marius years l ater st i l l be l i eved the
24 I ntervi ew with Charles H . Weaver , 9 December 1 9 9 2 ,
1 17
15 .
inc ident " came about because Gregory was a b l a ck person . 1 1 25
The univer s ity u l t imate ly adopted an open p o l i cy .
A drive to add more A f r ican-Amer i can ba s ed courses t o
t h e un iver s i ty curr icu lum was o n e o f severa l r ac i a l i s sues
that captured s ome attent i on at Tennessee i n the late 1 9 6 0 s .
Ra lph Boston , a l ong-j ump bron z e meda l i s t a t the 1 9 6 8
O l ymp i c s , was h ired a s a n a s s i s tant dean o f students short l y
a fter t h e Mex ico C ity game s .
A B l a ck students Un ion was
formed , and pushed unsucce s s fu l ly for an "Afro-Amer ican"
ma j or .
A f ew b l ack h i story courses were added and provoked
much d i scus s i on i n the univers i ty commun i ty .
The p l aying o f
" D i x i e " b y the Volunteer march ing band prompted prote st ,
resu l t i ng i n s evera l bl ack band members qu itt ing and the
band abandon ing the s ong .
When a black woman tr i e d out for
the cheer lead ing squad , she was incorrect ly t o l d that her
grades were too l ow , prompt i ng her to f i l e a comp l a int and
rece ive a new tryout .
J immi e Baxter , one o f the more
v i s i b l e Afri can-Amer i can student s on campus , was e l ected
25 Richard Mar ius i nterv i ew , 1 1 .
On the open speaker debate ,
s e e var ious a rt i c l e s i n the Dai l y Bea con dur ing 1 9 6 8 and 1 9 6 9 ,
inc lud i ng J im Duncan , " Gordon To Ru l e On Speaker , " Dai l y Bea con ,
2 1 September 1 9 6 8 , 1 ; J im Duncan , " Students Concerned About
Wor l d : Weaver , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 4 September 1 9 6 8 , 1 ; James
Bennett , " Booker ' Shocked ' By Gregory Veto , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 5
S eptember , 1 9 6 8 , 1 ; Jame s Bennett , " SPEECH CANCELLAT I ON , " Dai ly
Beacon , 2 8 S eptember 1 9 6 8 , 1 ; " Pres ident ' s Support A l l Open
Po l i cy Needs , " Dai l y Beacon , 16 October 1 9 6 8 , 2 ; Mart i n S . Ochs ,
" Ed itor S ay s UT Head i ng for Troubl e , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 1 F ebruary
1 9 6 9 , 2 ; A l an Carm icha e l , " Pre sent Speaker Po l i cy
' Uncons t i tut i ona l , ' " Dai l y Beacon , 1 9 Apr i l 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
118
pres ident o f the Student Government Assoc i a t i on i n 1 9 6 9 . 26
The most f amous case o f campus act i v i sm i n Tennes s e e
h i story resulted from a protest aga inst a R i chard N ixon
v i s i t t o Ney l and Stad ium .
N ixon came t o the campus dur ing a
B i l ly Graham re l ig i ous crusade on May 2 8 ,
1 9 7 0 . 27
Just
weeks before the pres ident arr ived in Knoxvi l l e , Nat i ona l
Guardsmen shot and k i l l ed f our Kent State Univers i ty
s tudent s who were protes t i ng N i xon ' s dec i s ion t o bomb
The Graham crusade marked the f ir s t pub l i c
C ambod i a .
appearance for N ixon s i nce the Kent tragedy , and many l o c a l
anti -war l eaders resented h i s s e l ection o f the Tennes s e e
campus .
Three Univers ity o f Tennessee pro f e s s or s organ i z ed
a protest o f the event , and at one point protesters p l anned
on moving en ma s s e toward the stage dur ing Graham ' s t ime of
invitat ion .
The organ i z ed e f forts fa ltered for the most
part , but i n the aftermath forty - s even peop l e ,
inc luding two
MAga in , art i c l e s on these top i c s appeared very frequen t l y i n
A s amp l i ng of the art ic l e s inc ludes , Coye
the Dai l y Bea con .
11
7
0
i
n
2
nd
Negro
H i story Course , " Dai l y Bea con , 1 1 January
Baker ,
1 9 6 9 , 1 ; J ames Les senberry , " B lack H i s tory Cours e ' Token i sm ' Says
Boston , " Dai ly Bea con , 1 2 February 1 9 6 9 , 4 ; G l enda E lk ins , " Four
Members Leave Band , ' D ixie ' I n su l t i ng to Pride , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 2
February 1 9 6 9 , 1 ; Jeff Schenke l , " B l ack Students To Subm i t
Propo s a l F o r M inor i t i e s Stud i e s Program , " Dai l y Bea con , 1 March
1 9 6 9 , 1 ; " Baxter Enters Pres ident i a l Race , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 9
Apr i l 1 9 6 9 , 1 ; A l an Carmichae l , " O f f i c i a l s Hear Demands o f
P i cket ing B l ack Student s , " Dai l y Beacon , 9 M a y 1 9 6 9 , 1 ; Jame s
Les s enberry , " B l ack Coed Says Pep C lub Unfa ir , " Dai l y Beacon , 3
May 1 9 6 9 , 1 ; J ames Lessenberry , " New Cheer l eader Tryouts Ordered
For Adawayh i , " Dai ly Beacon , 2 0 May 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
27The descr iption o f the N i xon v i s it comes from David Arwood
and M i lton K l e in , " B i l ly Graham , R i chard N i xon , and the Vi etnam
War Protest on the UTK Campus , " Con text , 5 March 1 9 9 2 , 5 - 8 .
1 19
o f the profes sors , were arrested f or v i o l a t i ng a state l aw
against d i srupt i on o f a r e l i g i ous ceremony .
Dr . Cha r l e s
Reyno lds , o n e o f the f aculty members , appea l ed h i s
conv i ct i on and twenty d o l l a r f in e a l l the way t o the Un i ted
States Supreme Court , argu i ng that h i s r ight t o freedom o f
speech h a d b e e n v i o l ated , but t h e h igh court f a i l ed to grant
h im a hear i ng .
Aga inst the backdrop o f such strong campus act ivism ,
Lester McC l a i n remarked about h i s p l ight a s the f irst
Afri can-Ame r i can f ootba l l p layer at the Un ivers ity o f
Tenne s s ee .
H i s comp l a i nt s echoed thos e of other b l ack
student s of the age who part i c ipated in ath l et i c s on
predom i nantly wh ite col l ege campuses .
More than two decades
l ater , McC l a in presented a more me l l ow and unders tand i ng
attitude t oward the univers ity ath l et i c department .
"As I
get o lder , I rea l i z e what s o many other peop l e put on the
l ine .
D i ckey
B i l l Garrett put h i s reputat i on on the l ine .
put h i s on the l ine too .
.
Doug
. a lot o f peop l e went
out o f the i r way to make th ings work we l l .
. we were not
the f irst [ southern ] univers i ty to have b l a ck p l ayers on the
f ootba l l team .
we l l a s i t d i d .
.
. but we were the f irst to make i t work a s
" 28
D Lester McC l a in interv i ew ,
17-18 .
120
B.
A Transf orma t i on i n the Southea stern Conference
That the Univers ity o f Tennes see succ e s s fu l ly managed
footba l l desegregat i on proved s ign i f icant t o the
S outheastern Conf erence .
The two f actors most imme d i a t e l y
apparent t o thi s s i gn i f i cance are the t ime frame o f the
proces s , and the relat ive m i ldness with wh i ch d esegregat i on
advanced at Tennessee .
The Volunteer program a ch i eved
a th l e t i c desegregat ion in 1 9 6 7 , ear l ier than a l l but two
other S EC members , and the f ootba l l team a ctu a l l y r anked
behind only Kentucky .
Add i t i ona l ly , no ma j or prob l ems
emerged at Tennessee , a reassur i ng fact for the rest of the
conf erence .
As important as those two f actors were , other
e l ements o f the Tennessee case proved even more v i t a l t o the
rac i a l transformat ion o f the S outhea stern Conf erence .
Spec i f ica l ly , the prestige o f the Univers i ty o f Tenne s s e e
f ootba l l program , and the promi nent stature o f t h e schoo l ' s
i n it i a l b l ack recruit , A l bert Davi s , served to enhance
S outhea stern Conference desegregat i on a fter 1 9 6 7 .
Kentucky and Vanderb i lt deserve cred i t for l aunch ing
athlet i c de segregat ion i n the S outhea stern Conference .
N e ither of thos e un iver s i t i e s , however , equa l l ed the c l out
and eminence held by the Tennes s ee footba l l program within
the conference .
The Un iver s i ty o f Kentucky had
trad i t i ona l ly ru l ed conference ba sketba l l courts , but the
W i ldcats desegregated the ir footba l l program f i rst .
Vanderb i lt Un iver s ity , a we l l -respected member o f the
12 1
conference , norma l ly attracted more attent ion f or a cadem i c
endeavors than f o r ath letic exp l o it s .
Add i t i ona l ly , the
Commodores integrated ba sketba l l , not f ootba l l , an important
d i st inct ion when examin ing the S outheastern Conference .
H i stor i c a l ly , the Tenne ssee Volunteers stand beh i nd
only the Un ivers ity o f A labama in S EC f ootba l l e xc e l l ence ,
and the footbal l a spect o f that exce l l ence cannot be
overe s t imated .
I n the twent i eth century ,
f ootba l l has
a lways been the dominant southern col legiate sport ,
espe c i a l ly i n the Southeastern Conf erence .
The conference
actua l ly or iginated in order to better admin i ster f ootba l l ,
and s ince the S EC ' s incept i on footba l l h a s provided
conference members the maj or ity o f the ir sport-produced
publ i c ity and revenue .
Cons equent ly ,
footba l l d es egregat i on
a t the Univers ity of Tennessee wou l d arguably produce a
greater impact among conf erence member s than a s im i l ar move
by Kentucky , or by ba sketba l l desegregat i on at Vanderbi lt .
The aura surround ing the her a l ded A lbert Davis a l s o
added s ig n i f icance t o the Tennessee exper i ence .
Nat
North ington and Greg Page o f Kentucky , a l ong wi th basketba l l
p i oneer Perry Wa l l ace o f Vanderb i lt , dur ing the i r respect ive
h igh school careers d id not garner the s ame acc l a im g iven
Davi s .
When the proj ected " superstar " Dav i s agreed to
attend Tennes see , his dec i s ion marked a coup for the
conference .
Typ i ca l ly , Afri can-American a th l et e s o f such
stature matr i cu l ated to northern or western c o l l eg e s , or
122
went t o the top footba l l programs a t predom i nant l y b lack
co l l ege s .
The recru itment o f Dav i s proved that the
Southeastern Conference , o ften ma l igned on r ac i a l matter s ,
could attract the best h igh schoo l footba l l p l ayers , b l ack
or wh ite .
Dav i s never p layed f or Tennes s e e , but he was the
f irst tru ly except iona l b l ack recru it to s ign w ith an S EC
conference member .
S o , wh i le Kentucky and Vander b i l t acted ear l iest , the
events a t the Univers i ty of Tennessee arguably proved more
s ign i f i cant .
Rather than tr iggering a surg e , however ,
ath l e t i c desegregation at the three schoo l s mer e l y expedited
a gradua l i ntegration o f Southeastern Conference athlet i c
programs .
S EC ath l e t i c teams made no great rush t o s ign
African-Ame r ican students to ath l e t i c scho larsh ips f o l l owing
the e f f orts o f Kentucky , Vanderb i l t , and Tenne s s ee ; instead
conference members proceeded at a moderate pace , and
" integrat i on rema ined min ima l i n the SEC prior t o the
1 9 7 0 s . " 29
By 1 9 7 0 , the ten S outheastern Conference c o l l eges
numbered only f orty-one A f r i can-Amer i cans on t e am rosters in
a l l sports comb ined , with three schoo l s ( F l or i da , Kentucky ,
and Tenne s s ee ) account ing f or thirty o f that tota l .
B la cks
were not represented on at least one athlet i c t eam at every
univers ity in the SEC unt i l the 1 9 7 1- 7 2 a cadem i c year , s i x
29Joan Paul , R i chard V . McGehee , and Helen Fant , " The Arr iva l
and Ascendence o f B la ck Ath l etes i n the Southea stern Con f erence ,
1966-1980 , 2 8 5 .
123
years a fter Kentucky f i rst s igned Nat North i ngton and Greg
Page t o break the conf erence c o l or barr i er . 30
Once r e luctance to desegrega t i on waned , S outheastern
Conference f ootba l l teams began s i gning s i gni f i cant numbers
o f b la cks t o ath letic scho larships .
The autumn o f 1 9 7 2
marked the f irst s eason that every S EC vars ity f o otba l l team
inc luded b l ack p l ayers .
Over the ten year span that
f o l l owed , the percentage of b l acks on S EC f ootba l l squads
rose from only e i ght percent to more than f orty-one percent .
The extent o f the trans f ormat ion became iron i ca l ly c l ear i n
the days l ea d i ng u p to the 1 9 8 4 Sugar Bowl between Auburn
Un ivers i ty of the Southeastern Conference ,
and the
Univers i ty o f M i ch igan f rom the l ong- integrated B i g Ten
Conference .
Head coaches Pat Dye o f Auburn and Bo Schembechler o f
M i ch igan f ound thems e lves try i ng t o exp l a i n why Auburn , the
s outhern s chool l ed by sensat i ona l runn ing back B o Jack s on ,
had s o many b l ack p l ayers compared to its northern
counterpart , Michigan .
answered ,
Accurat e l y , the l a co n i c Dye
" The area we recru i t i n probably has more bl a ck
ath l et e s than there are i n M i ch i gan . " 31
Dye ' s s tatement
30See i b i d , 2 8 4 - 2 9 7 .
31 " Dye : Footba l l He lped South to I ntegrate , " New Orl eans
Times -Pi cayune , 3 1 December 1 9 8 3 , sec 3 , 2 .
For more on ath l etic desegregat i on at Auburn Univers ity , s e e
Dwayne Cox i nterviews with f ormer Auburn pre s ident Harry M .
Ph i lpott on 1 8 May 1 9 9 0 ( 1 5 8 - 1 5 9 ) and 2 1 March 1 9 9 1 ( 3 2 5 - 3 2 7 ) ,
A spec i a l thanks to Dwayne Cox ,
Auburn Univers ity Arch ives .
Auburn Un ivers i ty archivi st , for prov i d ing th i s inf ormat i on .
124
wou l d have been j ust a s true i f the teams had met f i fty
years e ar l ier , but prior t o the trans f orma t i on o f the SEC i n
the 1 9 6 0 s the makeup o f the two squads wou l d not have
r e f l ected the f act .
A s f ootba l l desegregat ion spread among S EC s choo l s , the
proce s s a s sumed no part icu lar or typ i ca l mode l , but var i ed
from inst itut ion to inst i tut i on .
The l a ck o f a centra l
p o l i cy from the conference part ly caused the var i a t i on s , a s
d i d the trad it i ona l rac i a l be l i e f s among the states
encomp a s s ed by the SEC , the att i tudes of powerf u l head
f ootba l l coaches i n the conference , and sheer happenstanc e .
Former Georg i a head coach V ince Doo ley , pos s e s s or o f a
graduate h i story degree , r ightfu l ly noted ,
h i stor ian
" a s an o l d
[ I ] reca l l [ that ] Kentucky was a border
state and Tennes s e e was the f irst state to go Repub l i can
a fter the C iv i l War
s l ower to come . '' n
. here i n the deep S outh , change was
That schoo l s i n Kentucky and Tennes s e e
l ed conf erence integration d i d n o t surpr i s e Doo l ey .
Vince Doo l ey ' s f ootba l l program a t the Univers ity o f
Geor g i a des egregated at the var s ity l eve l i n 1 9 7 2 ,
j o i n ing
O l e M i s s a s one of the last two conference members to make
the move .
Unusua l c ircumstances prevented Georg i a f rom
integrat ing e a r l ier .
A non-scho l arsh ip b l a ck f ootba l l
p l ayer t r i ed out f or the team a s early a s 1 9 6 8 , but
tran s f erred to Vanderb i lt before p l ay ing a t Georg i a .
nvince Doo ley interview , 5 .
125
In
1 9 7 0 , Georg i a actua l ly s i gned John K ing , Jr . o f Hunt sv i l le ,
A l abama , to a non-bind i ng conf erence " l etter o f intent , '' but
K i ng opted to attend the Un ivers ity of Minnesot a i nstead ,
whose team inc i denta l ly was coached by f ormer Volunteer
Murray Warmath .
G eorg i a f ina l ly succe s s fu l l y recru ited f ive
b l ack p l ayers i n 1 9 7 1 , and the Bu l ldog vars ity t e am f eatured
Such happenstance m i ght we l l
an integrated squad i n 1 9 7 2 .
have a f f ected other con f erence attempt s at d e s egregat i on ;
recru it ing and coach ing b l ack p l ayers was a new exper i ence
f or SEC c o l l eges and coaches . B
At the Un iver s i ty o f F l or ida , Doug D i ckey took over a s
head f ootba l l coach for the 1 9 7 0 s eason a fter r e s ign ing at
Tenne s s e e , and holds the un ique d i st inct i on of l ead ing two
S outheastern Conference schoo l s through the de segrega t i on
proces s .
Wi l l ie Jackson and Leonard George , s i gned in 1 9 6 9 ,
a s cended to the Gator vars i ty dur ing D i ckey ' s f ir s t year a t
t h e he lm i n 1 9 7 0 .
In compar i ng the F l o r i d a and Tennes see
s ituat i on s , D i ckey remembered " s ign i f i cant l y more in d i rty
ma i l ( and ] na sty comments " at F lorida , and more of a
p o s i t ive reaction at Tennessee . �
The two most we l l -known SEC head f o otba l l coaches i n
the 1 9 6 0 s , Johnny Vaught o f the Un ivers i ty o f M i s s i s s ippi
and Paul " Bear " Bryant o f A l abama approached f ootba l l
33Vince Doo l ey interview , 1 - 4 ; Uni versi ty o f Georgi a 1 9 9 3
Footbal l Medi a Gui de , 1 4 8 - 1 5 4 .
� Doug D i ckey interview , 5 .
126
d esegrega t i on d i f f erent l y .
By most account s , Vaught cared
l it t l e f or the prospect of add i ng b l a cks to his Ole M i s s
Rebe l t eams .
The Assoc iated Press quoted Vaught t e l l ing a
group o f southern sportswr i ters i n 1 9 6 6 ,
" By the t ime we
f i nd one { a Negro ath l ete ) good enough , I ' l l be gone"
[ parenthet i c a l is part o f the quote ] . "
Vaught ret i red a t
t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 7 0 season , t h e y e a r be f ore d e f ens ive
l ineman Ben Wi l l i ams became the f irst b l ack f o otba l l p layer
a t Ole M i s s .
The po l it i c a l r am i f icat i ons o f coach i ng i n
M i s s i s s ipp i probab ly a f f ected coach Vaught ' s att itude t o
s ome degree , but at any r a t e t h e once huge l y succes s fu l
Rebe l program f a ltered i n the 1 9 7 0 s , and the s chool ' s
s l ownes s t o desegregate undoubted ly contributed to the
dec l ine . 36
At A l a bama , the l egendary Bryant supposedly wanted t o
r ecru it b l a cks dur ing the 1 9 6 0 s , but t h e p o l i t ic a l s i tua t i on
35 J im Minter , " Tech Gets Feder a l V i s i t , " A t l an ta Journal &
Con s t i t u t i on , 2 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 5 6 ; Dav i d M . Mof f it , " Good Negro
Ath lete Can Get in Big Ten , but Not SEC , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , D5 .
36Johnny Vaught accumu l ated an exce l l ent won- l o s s record o f
1 9 0 w i ns , 6 1 l o s s e s , 1 2 t i e s .
H e came out o f ret irement dur i ng
the 1 9 7 3 season , comp i l ing a 5 - 4 record on an inter im ba s i s .
S ee
Bert Rando lph Sugar , ed itor , The SEC { New York : The Bobbs-Merr i l l
Company , I nc . , 1 9 7 9 ) : 1 4 5 - 1 6 8 .
A spec i a l thanks t o Cha r l e s " S id "
B e l f l ower o f Athens , Georg i a , f or comp i l ing and prov i d i ng the
i n format ion on Vaught .
On " Gent l e " Ben Wi l l i ams , see Rick C l eve l and and B i l ly
Watk ins , " I t took rare type to i ntegrate col l ege f ootba l l , " The
Cl arion -LedgerjJackson Dai l y News , 1 Ju ly 1 9 8 4 , 1 2 H ; Ben Wi l l i ams
f i le , Univers ity o f M i s s i s s ipp i Sports Informat i on Department .
A
spec i a l thanks to Joe l Schuchmann , O l e M i s s Sports I n f ormat ion
I ntern for comp i l ing and prov i d i ng i nformat i on on W i l l i ams and
Rebe l f ootba l l desegregat i on .
127
i n the state stym i ed h im .
" For years I had to h o l d o f f
tryi ng t o recru it bl acks , " Bryant l ater c l a imed . TI
A lbert
Davi s reca l l ed shak ing hands w ith coach Bryant p r i or t o a
Tennes s e e -A l abama game i n Knoxv i l l e .
" A l bert .
.
. i f they
woul d a l l ow me [ to recru i t you ] , you wou l d be a t A l abama , "
Bryant t o ld the h i gh ly -pub l i c i z ed prospect . 3 8
An inc ident
i nvo lving Bryant provides ins ight into the s t i gma o f
coach ing a t a southern scho o l i n a segrega t i on i st state .
Bryant reca l led that the inc ident occurred a t the t ime
A l abama governor George Wa l l ace made h i s i n f amous " stand a t
t h e s choo lhouse door " to protest i ntegrat i on a t the
Univers i ty o f A l abama :
re staurant .
a f ford
.
" I was i n Ch icago , eat ing a t a f ancy
. I left a tip that was more than I cou l d
. the waiter s a i d , ' I don ' t want your money '
and
wa lked away . " 39
Bryant ' s most memora b l e comment concern1ng race
r e l a t i ons came i n response to a prodd ing newspaper reporter .
Just a fter A la bama desegregated its f ootba l l squa d , the
reporter t r i ed to ba it the Bear by ask ing how many b l a ck
p l ayers the Cr imson T ide had on the team .
Bryant rep l i ed
s lowly , w ith a l engthy pause empha s i z ing h i s po int ,
have any b l ack p layers .
.
. I j ust have f ootba l l
Tipaul w. Bryant and John Underwood , Bear ,
3 8A l bert Dav i s interview ,
3 19 .
1 3 and 1 8 .
� Pau l W . Bryant and John Underwood , Bear ,
128
3 19 .
" I don ' t
p l ayer s . " 40
Wi l bur Jackson was the f irst A f r i can-Ame r i can
t o s ign w ith the T ide f ootba l l team ,
i n 1 9 7 0 , and j un i or -
c o l lege trans f er John M i tche l l came aboard t o s t a r t f o r the
var s i ty the next season .
I n contrast t o the Univers ity o f
M i s s i s s ipp i , A l abama teams exce l l ed f o l l owing f o otba l l
desegregat ion , winning a n astound ing 1 0 3 g ame s dur i ng the
1970s .
Wh i l e the arr iva l o f b l ack p layers f ac i l i tated that
succe s s , the introduct i on o f the w i shbone o f fense in 1 9 7 1
perhaps had a more immed i ate impact .
A f amous 1 9 7 0 game between A l a bama and the Un iver s ity
o f S outhern Ca l i f orn i a , p l ayed i n B i rmi ngham ,
is o ften c it ed
a s a f actor i n accelerat ing SEC f ootba l l desegregat i on .
S am
Cunn i ngham , a b l ack f u l lback , p i led up yardage and scored
three t ouchdowns f or Southern Ca l a s the Tro j ans crushed
A labama 4 2 - 2 1 .
The f act that the game was even p layed i n
B irm ingham prompted co lumn i st J im Murray o f the Los An ge l e s
Times ,
a provocat ive cr i t i c o f Al abama and the S E C i n past
years , to wr ite that " the bedsheet-and- burning cross
conference i s coming out in the day l ight o f the twent i eth
century . "41
A s im i larly exaggerated s tatement ,
from the
oppos i te po l it i c a l spectrum , came f rom f ormer A l a bama
a s s i stant coach Jerry C l a i borne who supposedly s a i d " Sam
cunn i ngham d i d more f or integra t i on in the S outh in s ixty
40 I b i d ,
321.
41 As quoted i n Charles H . Mart i n , " The I ntegrat ion o f
Southeastern Conference Ath l e t i c s , " 1 4 .
129
m i nutes than Martin Luther K ing d i d in twenty years . " �
By the early 1 9 7 0 s , a l l S outheastern Conf erence
f ootba l l teams had desegregated , and athlet i c i ntegrat i on
n atur a l ly ceased t o be a ma j or t op i c .
Other , more subt l e
rac i a l concerns arose , none captur ing the pub l i c attent ion
that accompanied the early desegregat ion e f f orts .
The
Un ivers ity of Tennessee boasted the S EC ' s f ir s t Afr icanAme r i can quarterback in Condredge Hol l oway , voted the
conference " Sophomore of the Year" in 1 9 7 2 .
A b l ack
quarterback was unusu a l on integrated teams , espec i a l ly a s
early a s 1 9 7 2 , because teams common ly " stacked" b l ack
p l ayers i nt o per iphera l p l ay ing pos it i ons . �
H o l l oway provided one o f the most memora b l e s cenes i n
Vo lunteer f ootba l l h i story dur ing the open i ng game o f the
1 9 7 4 s e as on .
I n j ured in the f irst ha l f , H o l l oway was not on
the f i e ld as UCLA took a 1 7 - 1 0 f ourth quarter l ead over
Tenn e s s e e .
Dramat ica l ly , Ho l loway emerged from the locker
room tunne l and j ogged to the s id e l ine a s ABC te l ev i s i o n
cameras captured the moment a n d the Ney l and Stadium crowd
went into a fren z y .
Ho l l oway l ed a late drive t o t i e the
42 See Pau l W . Bryant and John Underwood , The Bear ,
322 .
43 0n the concept o f " stack ing " i n the Southeastern
Conferenc e , s e e R i chard V. McGehee and M . Joan P au l , " The Rac i a l
Makeup o f Centra l , Stack i ng , and Other P l ay ing Pos i t ions i n
S outhea stern Conf erence Footba l l Teams , " i n Psychol ogy and
Soci ol ogy of Sport : Curren t Sel ected Rese arch ( New York : AMS
Pres s , 1 9 8 8 ) : 1 7 7 - 1 8 9 .
130
game , scor i ng the touchdown h imse l f on a d a z z l ing run . «
The absence o f African-Amer ican coache s ,
l ike the
concern about stacking , was another of the rac i a l i s sues
that sur f aced a fter conference ath l et i c des egrega t i on , and
cont i nued t o be an i s sue we l l into the 1 9 8 0 s .
The
Un ivers i ty o f Tennessee broke the coach ing rac i a l barr i er i n
ma j or sports by h i r ing Wade Houston in 1 9 8 9 t o coach the
Vo lunteer basketba l l team .
Houston grew up i n A l coa , but
attended co l l ege at Lou i sv i l l e because no Southea stern
Conf erence teams accepted b lacks when h e graduated in
1962 .�
At j ust a bout the t ime Wade Houston had t o l eave h i s
home state i n order t o p lay maj or col l ege ba sketba l l , the
Un ivers ity of Tennessee entered a f ive year p er i od of
trans i t i on .
The univers ity turned away from s eventy - f ive
years of rac i a l exc lus ion and accepted A f r i can-Ame r i ca n s
onto Tennes see ath l et ic teams f or the f ir s t t ime .
Tho s e
" seasons o f change '' from 1 9 6 3 to 1 9 67 a ltered t h e cour s e o f
Vo lunteer f ootba l l history a n d s ign i f i cant l y enhanced the
r ac i a l tran s f ormation of the Southeastern Conf erence .
« see Rus s Bebb , The Big orange , 3 4 8 - 3 6 7 .
� See Gary Lundy " Rac i a l about - face was l ong t ime coming a t
UT , " Knoxvi l l e Journal , 2 2 May 1 9 8 9 , 1A .
Th i s art i c l e i s part o f
a s ix-part s e r i e s ent i t l ed " The B l ack Athlete at UT : Pr ide and
Pre j ud i ce " that ran i n the Knoxvi l l e Journal from May 2 2 to May
27 , 1989 .
Wade Houston was d i sm i ssed a s Tenne s s e e ba sketba l l
coach i n 1 9 9 4 .
131
C.
Epi l ogue : A Summary and Re f l ect i on
I n exam in ing footba l l desegregation a t the Univer s ity
of Tenne s s e e some l im itat i ons i nherent l y a f f ected the s tudy .
Two themes come immed iately t o m ind .
F ir s t , the t op i c o f
a th l e t i c desegregation i n the Southeastern Conf erence
r ema ins a r e l at ively unexp l ored phenomenon , comp l icat i ng the
t a sk of p l a c ing events at Tennessee into a comp l et e context .
S econd ly , the trad i t i ona l controversy a s soc iated w ith rac i a l
i s sues i n the S outh caused war iness among s ome o f thos e who
d i scu s s ed the Tennessee case .
The va st maj ority o f i n f ormat i on current l y ava i l a b l e on
A f r i can-Amer i can ath l etes in the S outhea stern Conference
comes from the sport s i n f ormat ion departments o f the var i ou s
S EC i n s t i tut i ons , or from newspaper art i c l e s .
Such accounts
provide a ccurate documentation and answer ba s i c que s t i ons o f
the who , what , when , and where type .
Th i s type o f standard
i n f orma t i on does not , however , contain much in the way o f
analys i s o r scho l a r ly examinat ion .
Understandably , ath l et i c
departments pub l i c i z e the i r ath l etes and the ath l e t i c
h i story o f the i r part icular schoo l s .
The r e s u l t s are most l y
popul a r a n d pos i t ive descr ipt i ons o f des egregat ion .
Wh i le a hand ful of h i stor i ans have c l ar i f i ed cert a i n
a spects o f S outheastern Conference rac i a l i ntegrat ion , the
need for add i t i ona l h i stor ica l stud i e s of con f erence
f ootba l l d es egregation is a fert i l e area awa i t i ng , and
132
deserv i ng , more attent i on . 46
One recurr ing theme , not
addr e s s ed i n th i s d i ssertat ion , i s the be l i e f that SEC
f ootba l l i ntegrat i on p l ayed a s trong r o l e i n l es s en ing
r ac i a l tens i ons in the South . 47
answer that a ssert i on .
More ana ly s i s is needed to
The process o f f ootba l l
desegregat ion at the Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s e e i s but one
s tory among severa l i n the conference .
Unfortuna t e l y the
other stor i es rema in untold at th i s t ime .
The controvers i a l nature o f rac i a l i s sues i n the S outh
a l so had an impact on the study .
Commonly , potent i a l
subj ects wondered about the mot ivat ions beh i nd such an
inqu iry , and s ome important f i gures e ither comp l e t e l y
refused t o part i c ipate or so cons i s tent ly put o f f e f forts t o
d i scuss t h e proj ect that they h a d to be exc luded .
The
probl em wa s not that the s e r e l uctant observers necessar i ly
f e l t anyth i ng bad or unscrupu l ous had taken p l ace ,
instead
most o f them be l ieved the top i c was so ben ign at Tennes se e
that i t d i d not warrant s er i ous study .
Exp l anat i ons that
the d i s sertat ion would not f ocus s o l e l y on negat ive or
s ensat i on a l inc idents usua l ly f a i led to convince the
hes itant s kept i c s of the v i a b i l i ty o f the study .
46 See b i b l i ograph i c c itations f or Char l e s H . Mart i n , R i chard
v . McGehee , Joan Paul , and David K . Wiggins .
Mart i n , McGehee ,
a nd Paul have g iven d irect attent ion to the Southea stern
Conferenc e , wh i l e Wiggins has wr itten extens ive ly on rac i a l
top i c s i n co l l ege ath l et ics genera l ly .
�On th i s theme , see Vince Doo l ey interv i ew , 4 ; " Dye :
Footba l l He lped South to I ntegrate , " sec . 3 , p . 2 ; Paul W . Bryant
and John Underwood , Bear , 3 1 6 - 3 2 4 .
133
The war iness of a f ew d i d not extend to everyone .
On
the contrary , a l l Southeastern Con f erence a th l e t i c
d epartment s contacted eager ly o f fered a s s i stance and
promptly m a i l ed pert i nent records and a rt ic l e s .
Bud Ford o f
the Univer s ity o f Tennessee sports informa t i on o f f i c e
unfa i l ing ly responded w ith i nterest a n d a genu i ne
w i l l ingness t o he lp .
Dr . Andy Ko z ar , a f ormer Vo lunteer
f ootba l l star and an expert on Bob Ney land , was i nva lua b l e ,
a s wa s A l bert Davi s .
F i na l ly , not one f ormer Tennessee
s tudent or s tudent-ath l ete , b lack or wh ite , refused to take
part , only t ime constra i nt s on the author l imited the ir
numbers .
Doug D i ckey pol itely d i s cussed ath l et i c d es egregat i on
at the Un ivers ity of Tennes see , but rema ined a l o o f on
cert a in i s sues .
c onsternat ion .
Two f actors probably caused h i s
Just days prior to D i ckey ' s i nterv i ew ,
Tenne ssee d i smi ssed head f ootba l l coach Johnny Maj ors and
r ep l aced h im with Ph i l l ip Fu lmer .
The move created
cons iderab l e commot ion and D i ckey ' s thoughts dur i ng the
i nterv i ew j us t i f iably might have been on that turmo i l .
A l s o , D i ckey had prev i ous ly rece ived nega t i ve pub l i c ity f or
comments he made when Wade Houston was h ired a s Tennes s e e
basketba l l coach i n 1 9 8 9 .
At that t ime , some wh i t e coaches
a t the univers ity rece ived membership privi l eg e s a t the
exc lus ive Cherokee Country C lub i n Knoxv i l le , and D i ckey
134
i nd i cated that Houston might not get the s ame bene f it . 48
The s e l imitat ions shou l d not d im i n i sh the s ign i f i cance
of the study .
Th i s comprehens i ve exam i nat ion o f Tenne s s e e
f ootba l l d esegregat i on marks the f irst such attempt t o cover
an ind i vi dua l inst itut i on i n the S outhea stern Conference .
I t a l s o represents the only comp l ete comp i l a t i on o f facts on
the t op i c f or the Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e , comb i n ing
intervi ews , newspaper a ccount s , maga z ine and j ourn a l
art i c l e s , archiva l mater i a l , and scho l ar l y ana l y s i s .
The
r emarks from A l bert Dav i s are the most cand i d and thorough
that he h a s i s sued in the twenty - f ive odd years s ince the
recru i tment and test score controversy of 1 9 6 7 .
As important ly , thos e Afr i can-Amer icans w i th early t i es
to the Univer s i ty of Tennessee f ound an out let to speak
about Volunteer f ootba l l desegregat i on and Tenn e s s e e
a th l e t i c s on t h e who l e .
l eery ,
At the r i sk o f gener a l i z ing , a
i f not d i sdainfu l , att i tude toward the unive r s i ty
a th l e t i c department character i z ed the thoughts o f s evera l
contr i butor s .
They remembered Lester McC l a in , Condredge
Ho l loway , Larry Robi nson , and other prom i nent b l a ck ath l etes
a t Tennes see .
However ,
intersper s ed w i th thos e p opu lar
memo r i e s were more po inted thoughts on A l bert Davi s , Bob
Ney l and , and the decades when Tennessee ' s b l ack fans had t o
48 See contemporary news a ccounts i n Apr i l o f 1 9 8 9 , and " Pr ide
and Prejudice , " the f our part s e r i e s on b lack ath letes a t the
Univers ity of Tennes see .
On D i ckey ' s comment s , a l s o s e e Cha r l e s
Weaver interv i ew , 5 .
135
s it i n Sect ion X ( segregated b l eacher s )
to v i ew a Vo lunteer
f ootba l l game .
The Un i vers ity o f Tennes s e e d i d not lead the
S outheastern Conf erence into f ootba l l des egregat ion .
The
a th l et i c department record on rac i a l matters p r i or to 1 9 6 3
was occa s i ona l ly s ord i d , s e ldom or never progres s ive .
Between 1 9 6 3 and 1 9 6 7 the ath l et i c department and the
univers ity expe r ienced " sea sons of chang e '' wh i ch f a c i l i tated
f ootba l l desegregat ion and furthered the r ac i a l
transformat i on o f the Southea stern Conference .
Tennessee
o f f i c i a l s proceeded i n a d e l i berate , usua l ly r e spons ibl e ,
but rarely f orceful f a sh i on .
Perhaps Lester McC l a i n summed
up Un iver s i ty o f Tennessee footba l l desegregat i on best with
his prev i ou s ly ment ioned quote ,
"we were not the f irst .
but we were the f i rst to make i t work a s we l l a s i t d i d . " �
� See note 2 8 .
136
B I BLI OGRAPHY
B i b l i ography
Author ' s I nterviews
J i mm i e Baxter , 2 0 August 1 9 9 2 , Knoxvi l le , Tenn e s s e e
Dr . Edward Bo l ing , 6 November 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee
A l bert Davi s , 9 August 1 9 9 2 , A l coa , Tennessee
Doug D i ckey ,
1 8 November 1 9 9 2 , Knoxvi l le , Tennes se e
V i nce Dooley ,
Gary Kre i s ,
1 6 October 1 9 9 2 , Athens , Georg i a
3 0 S eptember 1 9 9 2 , O l iver Spr i ngs , Tennessee
S arah Moore Greene , 1 2 June 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tenne s see
Dr . Nancy Lay ,
27 January 1 9 9 2 , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes se e
Dr . Ricard Mar ius ,
2 0 J u l y 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see
Lester McC l a in , 2 2 September 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tenne s s ee
T imothy P r i e s t ,
1 6 S eptember 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee
John Rippetoe , 2 3 September 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee
Larry c . Rob inson ,
10 Ju ly 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see
Theot i s Rob inson , Jr . , 7 October 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee
Avon Ro l l i ns ,
1 4 October 1 9 9 2 , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes s ee
Jack i e Wa lker , 7 February 1 9 9 3 , Atl anta , Georg i a
( te lephone ) *
Dr . Char l e s Weaver , 9 December 1 9 9 2 , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see
A l l interv i ews were conducted by the author on
audiotape ; tapes transcr ibed and housed through O f f ice o f
the Un ivers i ty H i stor ian , Un ivers i ty o f Tenne s s e e ,
Knoxv i l l e .
* Wa lker tape was inadvertent ly damaged wh i l e being
transcr i bed , thus i s not housed at the un iver s i ty .
138
Correspondence
Va l er i e Bonnette , O f f ice of C i v i l Right s , United States
Department of Educa t i on
Robert J . Booker , Beck Cu l tura l Exchange Center
W i l bert Cherry , f ormer Univers i ty of Tennes see basketba l l
p l ayer
Dwayne Cox , Auburn Un ivers i ty Arch ivist
Lamar D a n i e l , Department o f Hea lth , Educa t i on , and We l fare ,
At l anta , Georgi a
B i l l Doug l a s , f ormer Un ivers ity o f Tennessee s tudent
Tom E l am , Un ivers ity of Tenne ssee Board of Trustee s , Cha i r
o f Ath let i cs Board
Lane Estes , S outheastern Conference O f f ice
Harr i s " Bud " Ford , Univers ity o f Tennessee Ath l e t i c
Department
Cami l l e Ha z eur , D irector , A f f irmat ive Act i on-Programming ,
Un ivers ity o f Tennessee
Andrew J . Kozar , Un ivers i ty Pro f e s s or , Human Perf ormance and
Sport Stud i e s , Un ivers ity o f Tenne s s ee
Char l e s " Gus " Mann ing , Univers i ty o f Tenne s see Ath l e t i c
Department
Tom Matt ingly , Univers i ty of Tennessee Ath l e t i c Department
Char l e s H . Mart in , Un ivers ity of Texas at E l P a s o
Tony Nee ly , Vanderbi lt Sports I n f ormation D i rector
Bob P o l ston , Knoxvi l l e / Knox County Ath l et i cs Director
Pat Rob inette ,
p l ayer
former Univers ity of Tenne s s e e basketba l l
J o e l S chuchmann , Univers ity of M i s s i s s ipp i Sports
I nformat i on I ntern
B obby Scott , f ormer Un ivers ity of Tennessee f o otba l l p l ayer
Mrs . Tom S i ler , Knoxv i l le , Tenne ssee
139
Jack Topch ik , New York Times photographer , f ormer Dai l y
Beacon sportswr i ter
David K . Wiggins , George Mas on Un iver s i ty
Bob Woodru f f , former Un ivers ity o f Tennes se e Ath l et i c
D irector
B i l l Wr i ght , former Un ivers ity o f Tennes s e e Academ i c Advi sor
for athlete s , baseba l l coach , freshman ba sketba l l coach
Dhyana Z i eg ler , Assoc i ate Pro fessor , Broadcast i ng ,
Univer s ity o fTenne ssee
* Includes meet ings , wr itten correspondence and j or t e l ephone
convers at i on s ; no d irect quotat i ons or c i t at i ons i n text o f
d i s sertat i on .
Arch iva l Papers
C . E . Brehm Papers , Univers ity o f Tenne s s ee Arch ives
Earl M . Ramer Papers , Un ivers ity o f Tennessee Arch ives
Tom Si l er Col l ection , Un ivers i ty o f Tenne s s e e Spec i a l
Co l l ections
Arch iva l C i tat ions
''Ath l e t i c s Board Meet ing M i nute s , " 4 February 1 9 5 4 , Earl M .
Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 1 , Fo lder 2 8 .
" Ath l e t i c s Board Meet ing Minute s , '' 1 1 Apr i l 1 9 5 9 , Earl M .
Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 1 3 .
" Ath l etics Board Meet ing Minute s , '' 2 8 Apr i l 1 9 6 1 , Earl M .
Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 1 6 .
" Ath l et i c s Board Meet ing Minute s , '' 4 May 1 9 6 3 ( page 7 ) , Earl
M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 2 , Fo lder 2 0 .
Rob Chr i stensen , "McC l a in B l asts Ath l e t i c Dept . " Dai l y
Beacon , i n Tom Si l er Col l ec t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 7 , Fo lder
6
" Letter f rom H . B . Wi l l i ams to J . H . Moore , '' 2 1 October 1 9 3 8 ,
AR 8 , Box 2 1 , Fo lder 2 0 9 .
14 0
" Letter f rom Zora C l evenger to Tom S i l er , " 1 1 Apr i l 1 9 5 0 ,
Tom Si l er Col l ection , MS- 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o l der 2 .
" Letter from Ju l i an Harr i s s to Tom S i ler , " 1 8 Apr i l 1 9 5 0 ,
Tom Si l er Col l ection , MS- 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o lder 1 .
" Letter from Stanley J . Fo lmsbee t o Ju l ian Harr i s s , " 1 1 May
1 9 5 1 , Tom Si l er Col l ection , M S - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o lder 1 .
" Letter f rom Fred Ehme to Tom S i ler , " 1 2 December 1 9 5 7 , Tom
Si l er Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o l der 1 .
" Letter from B obby Dodd to Tom S i ler , " 2 7 October 1 9 6 2 , Tom
Si l er Col l ection , MS- 1 8 8 6 , Box 9 , Fo lder 1 7 .
" Letter from Ear l Ramer to Bob Woodruf f , " 2 8 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 ,
Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 , Box 4 , Fo lder 3 .
in
" Letter f rom W . H . Britton t o Tom S i l er , " 2 5 June 1 9 6 9 , Tom
Si l er Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 7 , F o l der 4 .
" Letter from Lenox D . Baker to Tom S i l er , " 2 3 Ju l y 1 9 6 9 , Tom
Si l er Col l ection , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , F o l der 4 .
" Letter f rom J . H . N i ch o l s on to Tom S i l er , " nd , Tom Si l er
Col l ec t i on , MS- 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 2 .
" Minute s o f Jo int Meet ings o f the Ath l e t i c s Board and the
Ath l et i cs Committee o f the Board o f Trustee s , " 3 0
November-2 December 1 9 6 3 , Earl M . Ramer Papers , AR- 9 3 ,
Box 2 , Fo lder 2 3 .
" Negro Lawsu it 1 9 5 0 - 5 2 , " AR 8 , Box 2 1 , F o l der 2 0 9 .
" Rac i a l D i scr iminat i on i n Sport s , " in 1 9 7 1 Footba l l F i l e ,
Tom Si l er Col l e ction , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 7 , F o l der 6 .
Tom S i l er , " Ne y l and , S t i l l the B os s , Must Lead Ath l e t i c
S ta f f i n B i g Housecl ean ing Job , " i n Tom Si l er
Col l ec t i on , MS - 1 8 8 6 , Box 6 , Fo lder 1 4 .
"US Supreme Court Dec i s i on , " AR 6 , Box 9 .
Books
Hank Aaron with Lonn i e Whe e l er , I Had A Hammer ( New York :
HarperCo l l ins , 1 9 9 1 ) .
Char l e s c. A l exander , our Game : An Ameri can Baseba l l Hi s tory
( New York : Henry Ho l t and Co . , 1 9 9 1 ) .
141
Freder i ck Lew i s A l len , Onl y Yes terday 1 s t Perenn i a l
LibraryEd it i on ( New York : Harper & Rowe Pub l i shers ,
1964 ) .
Arthur R . Ashe , Jr . , A Hard Road t o Gl ory : A Hi s tory of the
Afri can -Ameri can Ath l e t e , 1 61 9 - 1 9 1 8 ( New York : Warner
Books , 1 9 8 8 ) .
A Hard Road to Gl ory : A Hi s t ory of the
�
� '
Afri can -Ameri can Ath l e te , 1 9 1 9 -1 9 4 5 ( New Y ork : Warner
-----
-----
Books ,
1988) .
' A Hard Road t o Gl ory : A Hi s t ory of the
Afri can -Ameri can Ath l e t e Since 1 9 4 6 ( New York : Warner
------
Books ,
1988 ) .
" ·
. . And a Credi t t o Hi s Race " : The HardLi fe
and Times of Joseph Loui s Barrow, a . k . a . Joe Lou i s ( New
Gera l d Astor ,
York : E . P . Dutton and Co . ,
I nc . ,
197 4 ) .
W i l l i am J . Baker , Jesse owens : An Ameri can Li fe
The Free Press , 1 9 8 6 ) .
( Detro i t :
Numan V . Bart ley , The Rise of Mas s i ve Resis tance : Race and
Pol i ti cs in the Sou th During the 1 95 0 ' s ( Baton Roug e ,
LA : LSU Pres s , 1 9 6 9 ) .
D a i sy Bates , The Long Shadow of Li t t l e Rock ( Fayettev i l le ,
AR : Univer s ity o f Arkansas Press , 1 9 6 2 ) .
Russ Bebb , The B i g Orange : A Story of Tennessee Foo tbal l
( Huntsvi l l e , Al abama : Strode Publ i shers , 1 9 7 3 ) .
John Behee , Hai l to the Vi ctors ! : B l a ck Ath l e tes a t the
Uni versi ty of Mi chi gan ( Ann Arbor , MI : U l r i ch ' s Book s ,
1974 ) .
John B . B o l e s and Eve lyn Thomas N o l en editor s , In terpre ting
Sou th ern Hi s t ory : Hi s tori ographi cal Essays in Honor of
Sanford W . Hi gginbotham ( Baton Rouge : Lou i s iana State
Un ivers i ty Pres s ,
1987 ) .
Robert J . Booker , Two Hundred Years of B l a ck Cul t ure i n
Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee , 1 7 9 1 to 1 9 9 1 ( Vi rg i n i a Beach , VA :
The Donn ing Company , 1 9 9 3 ) .
Taylor Branch , Parting the Wa ters : Ameri ca in the King
Years , 1 95 4 - 63 ( New York : S imon and Schus ter , 1 9 8 8 ) .
Pau l w . Bryant and John Underwood , Bear : The Hard Li fe and
Good Times of Al abama ' s Coach Bryan t ( Boston : Litt l e ,
Brown and Company , 1 9 7 4 ) .
14 2
Ben Byrd , The Basketbal l Vol s rev i s ed ed i t i on ( Hunt svi l l e ,
A l a bama : S trode Pub l i shing , 1 9 8 0 } .
C layborne Carson , In Struggl e : SNCC and the B l a ck Awakenin g
of t h e 1 9 60s ( Cambr idge , MA : Harvard Univers ity Pres s ,
1981 } .
W i l l i am H . Cha f e , Civi l i ti es and Ci vi l Ri gh t s : Greensboro,
North carolina and the B l a ck struggl e for Free dom ( New
York : Oxford Un ivers ity Pres s , 1 9 8 0 } .
Ocan i a Cha lk , B l a ck Col l ege Sport ( New York : Dodd , Mead &
Company , 1 9 7 6 } .
A l l i son Danz ig , Hi story of American Foo tbal l
C l i f f s , NJ : Prent i c e Ha l l , 1 9 5 6 } .
( Eng l ewood
P arke H . Davi s , Footba l l : The Ameri can In t ercol l egi a te Game
( New York : Char l e s Scr ibner ' s Sons , 1 9 1 1 } .
Vince Dooley w i th Loran Smith , Doo l ey ' s Dawgs : Twen ty-Fi ve
Years of Winning Footbal l at the Uni vers i ty of Georgi a
( At l ant a , GA : Longstreet Pres s , 1 9 8 9 ) .
Nathan W . Dougherty , Edu ca tors and Ath l e tes : The
Sou theastern Conference , 1894-1972 ( Knoxv i l l e :
Univers ity o f Tennessee Ath l e t i c Department , 1 9 7 6 ) .
Harry Edwards , The Revol t of the B l a ck Athl e te
The Free Pres s , 1 9 6 9 ) .
( New York :
Ra lph E l l i s on , Invisibl e Man ( New York : Random Hou s e ,
1952 } .
Bud F i e lds and Bob Bertucc i , B i g Orange : A Pi ctori a l Hi s tory
of Uni versi ty of Tennessee Foo tbal l ( We s t P o int , New
York : Le i sure Pres s , 1 9 8 2 } .
Bob G i l bert , Neyl and : The Gri diron General ( Savannah ,
Georg i a : Golden Coast Pub l i shing Company , 1 9 9 0 ) .
David H a l berstam , The Fi fties ( New York : V i l lard Books ,
1993 ) .
Spencer Haywood w i th Scott O s t l er , Spencer Haywood : The
Ri s e , The Fal l , The Recovery ( New Y ork : Ami stad , 1 9 9 2 } .
Edwin B . Hender son , The Negro in Sports ( Wa sh i ngton , D . C . :
Assoc i ated Pub l i shers , 1 9 3 9 } .
John B . Ho lway , Voi ces from the Grea t B l a ck Baseba l l Leagues
( New York : Dodd , Mead and Company , 1 9 7 5 ) .
143
, B l a ckba l l Stars : Negro Leagu e Pi one ers
( We stport , CT : Meckler Books , 1 9 8 8 ) .
_______
E l i z abeth Huckaby , Cri s i s a t Cen tral Hi gh : Li t t l e Rock ,
1 9 57-58 ( Baton Rouge : LSU Pres s , 1 9 8 0 ) .
I van N . Kaye , Good Cl ean Viol ence : A Hi s tory of Col l ege
Footba l l ( Ph i l ad e lph i a : Lipp i ncott , 1 9 7 3 ) .
Lester C . Lamon , B l a cks in Tennessee, 1791-1 970
Un iver s ity o f Tennessee Pres s , 1 9 8 1 ) .
( Knoxvi l l e :
John A . Luc a s and Ron a l d A . Smith , Saga of Ameri can Sport
( Ph i l a d e lph i a : Lea & Febiger , 1 9 7 8 ) .
Johnny Maj ors with Ben Byrd , You Can Go Home Again
( Na shvi l le , TN : Rut l edge H i l l Press ) .
R i chard D . Mande l l , The Nazi Olympi cs ( New York : Macm i l l an
Pres s , 1 9 7 1 } .
John D . McCa l lum , Sou theas tern Conference Foo tbal l :
Ameri ca ' s Mos t Compe ti t i ve Conference ( New York :
Char l e s S cr i bner ' s Sons , 1 9 8 0 ) .
David McCu l l ough , Truman ( New York : S imon and S chuster ,
1992 ) .
Chr i s Mead , Champi on : Joe Lou i s , B l a ck Hero in Whi te Ameri ca
( New York : Char l e s Scr i bner ' s Sons , 1 9 8 5 ) .
James R . Montgomery , Stanl ey J . Fo lmsbee , and Lee s . Greene ,
To Fos ter Knowl edge : A Hi s tory of The Uni vers i ty of
Tennesse e , 1794-1970 ( Knoxvi l l e : Un ivers i ty o f
Tenn e s s e e Press ,
1984 ) .
Benj amin Mus e , Ten Years of Prel ude : The Story of
In tegra t i on Since the Supreme Court ' s 1 9 54 Deci s i on
( New York : The Vik ing Pre s s ,
1964 } .
Roy Nee l , Dynam i t e ! 75 Years of Vanderbi l t Baske tba l l
( Na shvi l l e : Burr-Oak Pub l i sh i ng , 1 9 7 5 ) .
L indsey N e l s on , Hel l o Everybody, I ' m Lindsey Nel s on
York : Beech Tree Books , 1 9 8 5 ) .
Z ipp Newman , The Impact of Sou thern Footbal l
A l a bama : M-B Pub l i sh ing , 1 9 6 9 ) .
( New
( Montgomery ,
Tom Perr in , Footbal l : A Col l ege Hi s tory ( Je f f erson , NC :
McFa r l and , 1 9 8 7 ) .
144
Robert Peterson , Onl y the Bal l Was Whi te ( New Y ork : Oxford
Univers ity Press , 1 9 7 0 ) .
, Cages to Jumpshots : Pro Baske tbal l ' s Earl y
( New York : Oxford Univers ity Pres s , 1 9 9 0 ) .
______
Years
Hartford Powe l l , Jr . , Wal ter Camp ( Boston : L i tt l e , Brown ,
and c o . , 1 9 2 6 ) .
Merr i l l Proudf oot , Di ary of a Si t -In ( Urbana ,
o f I l l ino i s Press , 1 9 9 0 ) .
I l : Un ivers ity
Andrew Ritch i e , Maj or Tayl or ( San Franc i sco : Kampmann Books ,
1988 )
Randy Robert s , Papa Ja ck : Jack Johnson and the Era of Wh i te
Hopes ( New York : The Free Pres s , 1 9 8 3 ) .
Jack i e Rob inson , I Never Had It Made ( New York : G . P .
Putnam ' s Sons , 1 9 7 2 ) .
Donn Rogos i n , Invi sibl e Men : Life in Basebal l ' s Negro
Leagues ( New York : Antheneum Pub l i shers , 1 9 8 3 ) .
Art Rus t , Jr . and Edna Rust , Art Rust ' s Il l us tra t e d Hi s tory
of the B l a ck Ath l e t e ( Garden C ity , NY : Doub l eday and
Company , 1 9 8 5 ) .
Haro l d S eymour , Basebal l : The Peopl e ' s Game
Oxford Univers ity Press , 1 9 9 0 ) .
( New Y ork :
Tom S i l er , The Vol unteers ( Knoxv i l l e , TN : Pub l i shed by the
author , a l l r ights r e served , 1 9 5 0 ) .
, Tennessee ' s Da z z l i n g Decade : 1960 -1970
by the author , a l l r i ghts reserved , 1 9 7 0 ) .
______
( pub l i shed
M ike S i roky and Bob Bertucc i , Orange Li gh tning : Ins i de
Uni versi ty of Tennessee Footbal l (West Po int , New York :
Le i sure Pre s s , 1 9 8 2 ) .
Harvard S itko f f , A New Dea l for B l a cks : The Emergence of
Ci vi l Ri gh t s as a Na t i onal Issue ( New Y ork : Oxford
Univers ity Press , 1 9 7 8 ) .
Loran Smith , B etween the Hedges : 100 Years of Georgi a
Footbal l ( At l anta : Longstreet Pre s s , 1 9 9 2 }
Rona l d A . Smith , Sports and Freedom : The Ri se of B i g-Time
Col l ege Athl e ti cs ( New York : Oxford Univers i ty Pre s s ,
198 8 ) .
14 5
Betty Spears and Richard A . Swanson , Hi s tory of Sport and
Phys i cal Edu ca tion in the Uni ted Sta tes 3 r d Edi t i on
( Dubuque , I owa : W . C . Brown Pub l i sher s , 1 9 8 8 ) .
Kenneth M . Stampp , The Pecul i ar Ins t i t u t i on : Sl a very i n the
An t e -Be l l um South ( New York : Random House , 1 9 5 6 ) .
John F . Stegeman and Robert M . Wi l l i ngham , Jr . , Touchdown : A
Pi ctori al Hi s tory of the Georgi a Bu l l dogs ( Athens , GA :
Agee Pub l i shers I nc . , 1 9 8 3 ) .
Woody Strode and Sam Young , Goal Dus t ( Lanham , Mary l and :
Mad i son Book s , 1 9 9 0 ) .
Bert Rando lph Sugar , edi tor , The SEC ( New York : The Bobb s ­
Merr i l l Company , I nc . , 1 9 7 9 ) .
We l l s Twomb ley , Shake Down the Thunder : The Offi ci al
Bi ography of Notre Dame ' s Frank Leahy ( Radnor , PA :
Ch i lton Pub l i sh ing , 1 9 7 4 ) .
Ju l e s Tyg i e l , Basebal l ' s Gre a t Experiment ( New Y ork : Oxford
Univer s i ty Pres s , 1 9 8 3 ) .
A l exander M . Weyand , The Saga of Ameri can Foo tbal l
Y ork : Macmi l l an , 1 9 6 1 ) .
( New
Juan W i l l i ams , Eyes on the Pri z e : Ameri ca ' s Ci vi l Ri gh t s
Years , 1 9 5 4 - 65 ( New York : Pengu i n Pres s , 1 9 8 8 ) .
Raymond Wolters , The New Negro on Campu s : Bl ack Col l ege
Rebe l l i ons of the 1 92 0 ' s ( Pr i nceton , NJ : P r inceton
Un iver s ity Press , 1 9 7 5 ) .
C . Vann Woodward , The Strange Career of Jim Crow 3 rd Rev i sed
E d i t i on ( New York : Oxf ord Univers ity Pre s s , 1 9 7 4 ) .
A.S.
" Doc" Young , Negro Firs ts in Sports
Pub l i sh ing Company , 1 9 6 3 ) .
( Ch i cago : Johns on
Art i c l e s
" A F l aw i n Our Ath lete s ' Feat , " Dai ly Beacon , 7 February
1967 ' 4 .
" A & I May Name Dav i s To ' 6 7 G r i d iron Roster , " Dai l y Bea con ,
1 1 July 1 9 6 7 , 1 and 5 .
" Albert Dav i s Wa its ; U-K S igns 4 i n Area , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 1 1 December 1 9 6 6 , D2 .
14 6
"Albert Dav i s Repeats a s A l l - Southern , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 1 8 December 1 9 6 6 D 5 .
" Albert Davi s Day Set for Saturday , " Maryvi l l e -Al coa Times ,
6 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 1 1 .
" A l bert Dav i s May Not Enro l l At UT , " Knoxvi l l e Journal ,
June 1 9 6 7 , 2 0 .
15
" Alcoa ' s A lbert Dav i s Makes Al l -Amer ica , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 2 December 1 9 6 6 , 1 8 .
Tom Ander s on ,
1967 , 6 .
" From Up C lose , " Knoxvi l l e Journ a l ,
1 7 June
" Ath l e t i c I ntegrat ion , " Dai l y Beacon , 3 1 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 .
" Aus t i n H igh Guard I s Frosh Candidate , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tine l , 1 7 october 1 9 6 1 , 1 4 .
Coye Baker , " 7 0 i n 2 nd Negro H i story Cours e , " Dai l y Beacon ,
1 1 January 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
" Baxter Enters Pres ident i a l Race , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 9 Apr i l
1969 1 1 .
James Bennett , " Booker 1 Shocked ' By Gregory Veto , " Dai l y
Beacon , 2 5 S eptember , 1 9 6 8 , 1 .
1
" SPEECH CANCELLATI ON 1 " Dai l y Beacon 1 2 8
S eptember 1 9 6 8 , 1 .
_______
Larry Bowers ,
"We Want Davi s , Say D i ckey , Dunn , " Knoxvi l l e
9 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , D 3 .
News -Sen tinel ,
Wi l l i am A . Brower , "Has Profes s i ona l Footba l l C losed the
Door ? " Opportun i ty 18 ( December 1 9 4 0 ) : 3 7 5 - 3 7 7 .
Domin i c J . Capec i and Martha Wi lkerson , " Mu l t i f a r i ous Hero :
Joe Lou i s , Amer i can S o c i ety and Ra ce Re l a t ions Dur ing
Wor ld Cr i s i s , 1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5 , " Journal of Sport Hi s tory 1 0
( Winter , 1 9 8 3 ) : 4 - 2 5 .
T im Capps ,
" T ime Out , " Dai l y Beacon , 8 February 1 9 6 7 , 7 .
A l an Carm i cha e l , " Present Speaker P o l i cy
1 Uncons t i tut iona l , ' "
Dai l y Beacon , 1 9 Apr i l 1 9 6 9 ,
1.
, " Off i c i a l s Hear Demands o f P i cket i ng B la ck
Student s , " Dai ly Beacon , 9 May 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
_______
147
S teve C l ark , " Dav i s S t i r s a Controversy , " Atl an t a Journal , 2
May 1 9 6 7 , 4 5 & 4 8 .
R i ck C l eve l and and B i l ly Watk i n s , " It t ook rare type t o
i ntegrate c o l l ege f ootba l l , " The Cl ari on -LedgerjJackson
Dai l y News , 1 July 1 9 8 4 , 1 2 H .
Dan Dan i e l , " D an i e l S ay s : Vo l s ' Re fus a l t o P l a y Duquesne Due
t o Negro Br ings Letters o f Protest t o Ned I r i sh o f
Garden , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 2 6 December 1 9 4 6 , 1 2 .
" Davi s S t i l l Shopp ing Among 1 0 0 C o l lege B ids , " Knoxvi l l e
News-Sen tinel , 1 9 January 1 9 6 7 , 2 9 .
" Dav i s D i dn ' t Take A . C . T . , Coach Says , " A t l a n t a Journal , 9
May 1 9 6 7 , 5 0 .
" Davi s ' Gr i d Grant Withdrawn by U-T , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 1 6 June 1 9 6 7 , 1 7 .
" Davi s Has N a shv i l l e Job , Po ints to A& I , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 1 June 1 9 6 7 , 3 7 .
" Davi s Not B itter About U-T Grant , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel ,
1 Augus t 1 9 6 7 , 1 2 .
" D i srespect a t Houston Game Draws More Comment From
Readers , " Dai ly Bea con , 3 November 1 9 6 5 , 2 .
J im Duncan , " Gordon To Ru le On Speaker , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 1
September 1 9 6 8 , 1 .
______
,
Beacon ,
" Students Concerned About Wor l d : Weaver , " Dai l y
2 4 S eptember 1 9 6 8 , 1 .
" Dye : Footba l l He lped South to I ntegrate , " New Orl e ans
Times -Pi cayune , 3 1 December 1 9 8 3 , sec 3 , 2 .
" Ed itor ' s Ma i lbag , " Dai l y Beacon ,
1 0 January 1 9 6 7 , 4 .
" Ed itor ' s Ma i lbag , " Dai l y Bea con ,
1 7 January 1 9 6 7 ,
4.
" Ed itor ' s Ma i lbag , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 4 January 1 9 6 7 ,
4.
G l enda E lk i n s , " Four Members Leave Band , ' D i x i e ' I ns u l t i ng
t o P r i de , " Dai ly Beacon , 2 2 February 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
" 5 1 Theater P ickets Ja i l ed , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen t i n e l ,
October 1 9 6 1 , 1 - 2 .
" 4 Arreste d i n New Theater P i cket i ng , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 1 1 October 1 9 6 1 , 1 .
14 8
10
" Pear l ' s Wa l l ace I nks With Vandy , " Dai l y
4 May 1 9 6 6 , 7 .
Tommy G i l e s ,
Beacon ,
Harry Grayson , " Boston Col l ege-Georgetown V i ctor Shou l d
Tack l e Texas Agg i e s i n Bowl , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen t i n e l ,
1 2 November 1 9 4 0 , 1 4 .
, " Boston C o l l ege Smashed I t s Stronges t
Opponents . . . , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 1 D ecember
194 0 , B2 .
______
Ed Harr i s ,
" Dav i s ' UT Grant - In-Aid He l d Up , " Knoxvi l l e
1 6 June 1 9 6 7 , 2 2 .
Journ a l ,
" Hey Coach Put Me I n , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 2 June 1 9 7 1 ,
40.
Tom Humphrey and Lou i s Gwi n , " A l coa ' s Dav i s S igns with
Vo lunteers , " Dai l y Bea con , 1 5 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 1 .
" Immatur ity Stuns Reader , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 7 October 1 9 6 5 ,
4.
" I ntegrat ion No Threat To the SEC , " Atlanta Cons ti t u t i on ,
May 1 9 6 7 , 3 5 .
25
Andrew J . Ko z ar ,
"War and the S ing le W i ng , " Tennessee
( Fa l l , 1 9 9 1 ) : 4 0 - 4 2 .
Al umnus Magazine
, " And the B i g Orange Ca i s sons Went Ro l l ing
A long , " Now and Then pub l i shed by Center for
Appa l a ch ian Stud i e s and Services 9 ( Fa l l , 1 9 9 2 ) : 4 0 - 4 2 .
_______
Frank Leahy , " Thumbna i l Sketches o f Boston Coach and
P l ayers , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 8 D ecember 1 9 4 0 , B 2 .
James Lessenberry , " B lack H i story Cours e ' Toke n i sm ' Says
Boston , " Dai l y Beacon , 12 February 1 9 6 9 , 4 .
, " B lack Coed Says Pep C lub Un f a i r , " Dai l y
3 May 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
______
Beacon ,
' " New Cheer l eader Tryouts Ordered For
Adawayh i , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 0 May 1 9 6 9 , 1 .
------
" Lester V i s i t s Coach , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel ,
12 .
Gary Lundy ,
1 June 1 9 7 1 ,
" Rac i a l a bout- face was l ong t ime coming at UT , "
2 2 May 1 9 8 9 , 1A .
Knoxvi l l e Journal ,
149
Rona l d E . Marce l lo , " The I ntegra t i on o f I nterco l le g i ate
Ath l e t i cs i n Texa s : North Texas State Co l l eg e a s a Test
C a s e , 1 9 5 6 , " Journal o f Sport Hi s tory 1 4 ( W i nter ,
1 9 87 ) : 2 8 6- 3 1 6 .
John F . Mar s z a l ek ,
"The C l a s s Rush-A Descr ipt ion , " Journal
( W i nter , 1 9 9 0 ) : 3 6 6 - 3 6 8 .
of Sport Hi s tory 1 7
Char l e s H . Mart i n , " J im Crow i n the Gymn a s ium : The
I ntegrat i on of Co l l eg e Basketba l l in the Ame r ican
S outh , " The In tern a t i onal Journal of the Hi s t ory of
Sport 1 0 ( Apr i l , 1 9 9 3 ) : 6 8 -8 6 .
John s . Mart i n ,
"Wa lter Camp and H i s Gr i d i ron Game , "
( October , 1 9 6 1 ) : 5 0 - 5 5 , 7 7 - 8 1 .
American Heri tage 1 2
" Mauer Upholds Stand Aga inst P l ay ing Game , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 4 December 1 9 4 6 , 1 2 .
"McC l a i n Says B i l l Batt l e D i s cr iminated , " Dai l y B e a con , 2 8
May 1 9 7 1 , 3 .
R i chard V . McGehee and M . Joan Paul , " The Rac i a l Makeup o f
Centra l , Stack ing , and Other P l ay ing Pos i t i ons i n
S outheastern Conference Footba l l Teams , " i n Psychol ogy
and Soci ol ogy of Sport : Curren t Sel ec t e d Research ( New
Y ork : AMS Pres s , 1 9 8 8 ) : 1 7 7 - 1 8 9 .
Scott A . McQu i lkin and Rona ld A . Smith , " The R i s e and F a l l
o f the F l y ing Wedge : Footba l l ' s Most Controvers i a l
P lay , " Journal of Sport Hi s tory 2 0 ( Spr ing , 1 9 9 3 ) : 5 7 64 .
J im M inter ,
" Tech Gets Federa l V i s it , " A t l an ta Journal and
2 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , 5 6 .
Con s t i tu t i on ,
David M . Mof f it , " Good Negro Ath l ete Can Get i n B i g Ten , but
Not S EC , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , D 5 .
Randy Neely , " M int Ju l ep G i ant Awaken , " Dai l y Beacon ,
1965 , 4 .
" Negro Backs Join Tennessee Fresh , " Dai l y Beacon ,
S eptember 1 9 6 5 , 7 .
1 8 May
29
" Negro Ath l etes May Try For Other Tenn e s s ee Teams , " Dai l y
Beacon , 3 0 S eptember 1 9 6 5 , 7 .
Torn Noonan , " Boston Co l l ege . . . Wa l lops S tubborn Auburn
3 3 -7 , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 2 4 November 1 9 4 0 , B 3 .
150
" Observat i ons Of A Newcomer , " Dai l y Bea con , 2 1 October 1 9 6 5 ,
4.
Mart i n s . Ochs , " Ed itor S ay s UT Heading for Troub l e , " Dai l y
Beacon , 2 1 February 1 9 6 9 , 2 .
Joan P au l , R i chard V . McGehee , and He l en Fant , " The Arr iva l
and Ascendence o f B lack Ath l etes i n the S outheastern
conf er ence , 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 0 , " Phyl on 4 5 ( De cember , 1 9 8 4 ) :
284-297 .
" Pres i dent ' s Support A l l Open Po l i cy Needs , " Dai l y Beacon ,
1 6 October 1 9 6 8 , 2 .
" Pr i d e a nd Prej ud ice : The B lack Ath lete at UT , " a f our part
ser i e s i n the Dail y Beacon , 18 May 1 9 7 1 t o 2 6 May 1 9 7 1 .
" Reader ' s Eye s ' Open Aga i n ' At Stad ium , " Dai l y Beacon , 2 7
October 1 9 6 5 , 4 .
Ted Riggs ,
" Da v i s . . . One i n M i l l ion , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
2 1 October 1 9 6 6 , 1 9 .
Sen t i ne l ,
, " Al bert Dav i s ( Who E l se ? ) I s No . 1 on Recru i t i ng
L i st , " Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel , 1 3 November 1 9 6 6 , D 8 .
_____
_____ ,
" I ngenu ity Helps Recru iters Lure G r i d S tandout s , "
4 December 1 9 6 6 , D 6 .
Knoxvi l l e News-Sen tinel ,
, " Pe a r l Takes Top Honor , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen t i n e l ,
1 1 December 1 9 6 6 , D 5 .
_____
_____
,
" U-T S i gns Alcoa ' s A l bert Davi s , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
1 4 Apr i l 1 9 6 7 , B 4 .
Sen t i ne l ,
Rex S ander s , " Wa l lace May Be F ir s t Negro P layer I n S EC Hoop
Act i on , " Da i l y Beacon , 1 8 February 1 9 6 6 , 7 .
Jeff S chenke l , " B l ack Students To Subm i t Propo s a l For
Minor it i e s Stud i e s Program , " Dai l y Beacon , 1 March
1969 , 1 .
Peter S chrag , " Tennessee Lonesome End , " Harper ' s Mon th l y ,
March 1 9 7 0 , 5 9 - 6 7 .
W i l l i am Seag l e ,
" The Tw i l ight o f the Mann Act , " Ameri can Bar
( 1966) : 64 1-647 .
Associ a t i on Journal 5 5
" Segregat i on h e l d Sugar back for many years , " New Orl eans
Times -Pi cayune , 1 January 1 9 8 4 , sec . 8 , p . 7 .
151
Tom S i ler column , Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel , 2 7 November 1 9 6 1 ,
C4 .
_____
,
" B i g I ndy and B i g G o l f Day , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
2 9 May 1 9 6 7 , 1 6 .
Sen tine l ,
Ron a l d A . Smith , " Harvard and Columbi a and a Recons iderat ion
o f the 1 9 0 5 - 0 6 Footba l l Cr i s i s , " Journ a l of Sport
Hi s tory 8 ( W i nter , 1 9 8 1 ) : 5 - 1 9 .
Thomas G . Smith , " Outs ide the Pa l e : The Exc lus i on o f B l acks
from the Nat i ona l Footba l l League , 1 9 3 4 - 1 9 4 6 , " Journ a l
of Sport Hi s t ory 15 ( Winter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 2 5 5 - 2 8 1 .
Wa lt Smith , " Tragedy At Ra i lroad Cro s s ing , " Dai l y Beacon ,
October , 1 9 6 5 , 1 .
Ron Speer ,
19
" SEC Ready for Negroes , Say ADs , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
2 5 May 1 9 6 7 , 3 8 .
Sen tinel ,
" Spencer Haywood M i s se s on ACT Test , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 9 August 1 9 6 7 , 1 2 .
Dona l d Sp ivey , " The B l ack Ath lete i n B ig - T ime
I nterco l l eg i ate Sport s , 1 9 4 1 - 1 9 6 8 , " Phyl on
198 3 ) : 116-12 5 .
44
( June ,
" ' End J im Crow i n Sport s ' : The Protest at New
York Univer s i ty , " Journal of Sport Hi s t ory 1 5 ( Wi nter ,
1988) : 282-303 .
-------� '
" Tenne s see S igns F irst Negro Cager , " Atlanta Journal , 2 0 May
1967 1 11 .
" The Face o f Progre ss , " Dai l y Beacon ,
1 0 February 1 9 6 6 , 4 .
" T ide Rose Bowl Vote Br ings Cr i t i c i sm , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tine l , 1 5 November 1 9 6 1 , np .
J ack Topch i k , " F irst Move Awa i t s UT I n Gett ing Negro
Ath l et e s , " Dai l y Beacon , 8 October 1 9 6 5 , 3 .
_______
,
" Tennescene , " Dai l y B eacon , 2 6 January 1 9 6 7 ,
5-6 .
" U-K ' s Greg Page I s Cr i t i ca l ly I n j ured , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tinel , 2 3 Augus t 1 9 6 7 , 3 4 .
" UT Ath l et i c s Enters Game o f L i fe , " Dai l y Bea con ,
1967 , 4 .
152
1 5 Apr i l
"Vo l S i gnee Dav i s May Not Enr o l l , " Knoxvi l l e News -Sen tinel ,
1 5 June 1 9 6 7 , 3 5 .
" Vo l s C l o s e ' 6 7 Recru i t ing Campa ign With S econd Negro
Footba l l S ignee , " Dai l y Beacon , 10 May 1 9 6 7 , 7 .
"Vo l s W i thdraw Grant to Dav i s , " A t l anta Cons t i tu t i on ,
June 1 9 6 7 , 4 2 .
16
Er i c Vree l and , " Knox schoo l board t o vote on h i r ing f ir s t
b l a ck out- o f - state adm i n i strator , " Knoxvi l l e News ­
Sen tine l , 2 December 1 9 9 1 , 1 and 4 .
John S . Watterson , "The Footba l l Cr i s i s o f 1 9 0 9 - 1 9 1 0 : The
Response of the Eastern " B ig Three , " " Journ a l of Sport
Hi s t ory 8 ( Spr ing , 1 9 8 1 ) : 3 3 -4 9 .
Marvi n West ,
" Love I s C l a s s ed Best S i nce Just i c e , " Knoxvi l l e
2 6 January 1 9 6 7 , 2 4 .
News -Sen tinel ,
David K . Wiggins , " Good T imes on the O l d P l antat i on : Popu l a r
Recreat i ons o f t h e B l ack S l ave in Antebe l lum S outh ,
1 8 1 0 - 1 8 6 0 , " Journal of Sport Hi s t ory 3 ( Fa l l , 1 9 7 7 ) :
2 6 0- 2 8 4 .
, " I saac Murphy : B l ack Hero in N ineteenth
Century Ame r i can Sport , 1 8 6 1 - 1 8 9 6 , " Canadian Journ a l of
Sport Hi s t ory 1 0 ( May , 1 9 7 9 ) : 1 5 - 3 2 .
______
, " The P l ay o f S l ave Ch i ldren i n the
P l antat ion Commun i t i e s o f the Old S outh , 1 8 2 0 - 1 8 6 0 , "
Journal of Sport Hi s tory 7 ( Summer , 1 9 8 0 ) : 2 1 - 3 9 .
______
, " The 1 9 3 6 O l ymp i c Games i n B er l in : The
Response of Amer ica ' s B l ack Press , " Research Quarterl y
for Exerci se and Sport 5 4 ( 1 9 8 3 ) : 2 7 8 - 2 9 2 .
_______
, " Peter Jackson and the E lu s ive Heavywe i ght
Champ i onship : A B l ack Ath lete ' s S trugg l e Aga inst the
Late N ineteenth Century C o l or Line , " Journ a l of Sport
Hi s tory 1 2 ( Summer , 1 9 8 5 ) : 1 4 3 - 1 6 8 .
______
, " The Future o f C o l lege Ath l e t i c s i s a t
Stake : B l ack Ath l etes and Rac i a l Turmo i l on Three
Predominantly Wh ite Un ivers i ty Campuses , 1 9 6 8 - 1 9 7 2 , "
Journal of Sport Hi s tory 1 5 ( Winter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 3 0 4 - 3 3 3 .
______
" Pr i z ed Performer s , but Frequent l y
Ove r l ooked Student s : The I nvolvement o f B l ack Ath l et e s
i n I nterco l legiate Sports on Predom i n ant ly Wh ite
c ampuses , 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 7 2 , " Research Quarterly for Exerci se
and Sport 62 ( June , 1 9 9 1 ) : 1 6 4 - 1 7 7 .
______
,
153
W i l l i am H . Wiggins , Jr . , " Box i ng ' s Samba Twins : Rac i a l
Stereotypes i n Jack Johnson and Joe Lou i s Newspaper
Cartoons , 1 9 0 8 - 1 9 3 8 , " Journal of Sport Hi s t ory 1 5
( Winter , 1 9 8 8 ) : 2 4 2 - 2 5 3 .
Other Pub l i shed Sources
David Arwood and M i lton K l e in , " B i l ly Graham , R i chard N i xon ,
and the V ietnam War Protest on the UTK C ampus , "
Con text , ( UTK Chance l lor ' s News letter ) , 5 March 1 9 9 2 ,
5-8 .
Larry Bowman , " Moses F l e etwood Wa lker : The F ir s t B l ack Ma j or
League B a s eba l l P l ayer , " i n Peter Levine , Baseba l l
Hi s t ory , ( New York : Stad i um Books , 1 9 9 0 ) : 6 1 -7 5 .
" B lack Ath l et e s a t UTK , " Con text , 2 9 March 1 9 9 0 ,
3.
"Walter Camp " entry i n Ra lph H i ckok , The Encycl ope di a of
North Ameri can Sports Hi s tory ( New Y ork : Oxford , 1 9 9 2 ) :
9 0 -9 1 .
Code o f Federa l Regu l a t i ons ( 1 Ju ly 1 9 9 2 ) , O f f i c e o f C i v i l
R i ghts , United States Department o f Educat i on
" Desegregat i on at UT : The Beg inn i ng s , " Con t ext , 2 1 S eptember
198 9 , 5 .
Gene Mi t che l l Gray e t al v . Uni versi ty of Tennessee e t a l ,
U . S . D i str ict Court No .
1567
( 2 0 Apr i l ,
1951) .
Gene Mi t chel l Gray e t al v . The Board of Tru s tees of the
Uni versi ty of Tennessee et a l , U . S . Supreme Court No .
1 2 0 and No .
1 5 9 -0ctober Term 1 9 5 1 ( 3 March 1 9 5 2 ) .
Patr i ck B . M i l ler , " Harvard and the Color Line : The Case o f
Luc i en A l ex i s " i n Rona l d Story editor Sport i n
Massachuse t t s : Hi s t ori cal Essays ( We st f i e ld , MA :
I n s t i tute f or Massachus etts Stud i e s , 1 9 9 1 ) .
Wi l l i am B . Redmond II v . Uni vers i ty of Tennessee,
e t al in
" Tennessee Supreme Court Dec i s ion- S eptember 1 9 4 2 , " AR
6 , Box 9 ( AR denote s Un ivers ity of Tennes s e e Arch ives ) .
1 9 9 3 S outheastern Conf erence Brochure
State of Tennessee Publ i c Acts of 19 3 7 ,
chapter 2 5 6 .
State of Tennessee Publ i c Acts of 1 9 4 1 ,
chapter 4 3 .
154
Uni versi ty of Georgia 1 9 9 3 Footbal l Medi a Gu i de .
David K . Wiggins , ed i tor , " The B lack Ath l et e i n Ame r ican
Sport , " Journal of Sport Hi s t ory 15 ( W i nter , 1 9 8 8 ) .
" Bowden Wyatt " entry i n the f orthcoming Biograph i ca l
Di c t i onary of Ameri can Sports , 1 9 9 2 -19 9 4 Suppl emen t
David L . Porter ed .
Group , 1 9 9 4 ) .
( We s tport , CT : Greenwood Publ i sh ing
Other Unpubl i shed Sources
" B lack Part i c ipants On Var s ity Leve l , " Unive r s i ty of
Tenn e s s ee Sports I n f ormat i on D epartment .
Dwayne Cox interv i ews w i th former Auburn pres i dent Harry M .
Ph i lpott on 1 8 May 1 9 9 0 and 2 1 March 1 9 9 1 , Auburn
Univers ity Arch ive s .
Raymond Hughes , " Desegrega t i ng the Holy Day : Footba l l ,
B l ack s , and the Southeastern Conference , " unpub l i shed
doctora l d i s sertat i on , the Oh i o State Un i ver s i ty , 1 9 9 1 .
Guy M . Lew i s , " The American I nterco l l egiate Footba l l
Specta c l e , 1 8 6 9 - 1 9 1 7 11 unpub l i shed doctora l
d i s sertat ion , Univers i ty o f Mary l and , 1 9 6 4 .
Char l e s H . Mart i n , "The I ntegrat ion of S outh e a st ern
Conf erence Ath l e t i c s , " unpub l i shed paper presented to
Annu a l Meet ing o f the Southern H i stor i c a l A s s o c i a t ion ,
3 November 1 9 9 0 , New Orleans , Lou i s i ana .
NAACP Adm i n i strat i ve F i l e , " D i s cr iminat i o n Educa t i o n , NYU , "
2 3 October 1 9 2 9 , Library o f Congres s .
" The B l ack Ath l ete at Vanderb i lt , " Vanderb i lt Univers ity
Sports I n f ormat i on Department ( 1 9 7 8 ) .
Ben Wi l l i ams F i l e , Un ivers ity o f M i s s i s s ipp i Sports
I n f ormat i on Department .
B owden Wyatt F i le , Un iver s ity o f Tennes see Sports
I n f ormat ion Department .
Video S ources
100 Years of Vol un t eers 1891-19 90 ,
Kentucky : Host Commun i cat ions ,
155
two vo l umes ( Lex ington ,
1992 ) .
Cl i n t on and the Law ( McGraw-H i l l Book Company ,
o r i g i na l ly
pub l i shed i n 1 9 5 7 )
Martin Lu ther King, Jr . ,
( Michae l i s Tape s ,
156
I nc . ,
1987)
Vita
Robert Thomas Ep l ing was born i n Dover , De l aware , on
November 1 8 ,
1959 .
He attended pub l ic s choo l s in the
At l ant a , Georg i a , metropo l itan area , graduat i ng f rom R . L .
O s borne H i gh S choo l i n 1 9 7 8 .
He rece i ved a Bache l or o f
S c i ence i n Educa t i on degree , w i th a ma j or i n Phy s i c a l
Educat ion , from the Un ivers ity o f Georg i a a t Athens i n 1 9 8 4 .
H e reentered the Un ivers i ty o f Georgia i n S eptember o f 1 9 8 7 ,
obta i n ing a Master of Educat ion degree i n Phys i c a l Educa t i on
i n June o f 1 9 8 9 .
I n August o f 1 9 8 9 , he enro l l ed at the Univers ity o f
Tenne s s ee at Knoxv i l l e , and earned the Doctor o f Ph i los ophy
degree in Educat i on in August of 1 9 9 4 ,
Human Performance and Sport Stud i e s .
in the Department o f
H i s emphas i s area was
sport h i story and soci o-cu l tura l f oundat ions o f sport . I n
S eptember o f 1 9 9 4 , h e was t o beg i n work a s an A s s i s tant
Pro f e ss or o f Phy s i ca l Educa t i on and Recre a t i on a t West
Georg i a Co l lege i n Carro l l ton , Georg i a .
157