JESS' SPORTS CHEST

BLACK BUZZ SPORTS NEWS SERVICE
The Ronald B. Saunders Project
The Saunders Family Archives
Pittsburgh PA
December 5, 2010
BBSNS

The following article titled JESS' SPORTS CHEST by Jesse Peters Jr, Pittsburgh Courier Sports Editor appeared in The Pittsburgh Courier on January 15, 1972.
I grew up with Jesse in the Hill District, and he is a 1959 graduate of Schenely high school in Pittsburgh PA. Jesse received a track scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, but transferred to Southern Illinois University where he graduated. Jesse worked for many years in the PR Department of the Kansas City Chiefs and he started the School of Journalism at Southern University. Jesse is also a retired professor of journalism from Grambling State University. Jesse presently works as a consultant for the Black Farmers led by Mr. Boyd, and various wine interest in this country and abroad.

JESS' SPORTS CHEST
Courier Sports Editor
Jess Peters Jr.

Major Southern institutions of higher learning are apparently making athletic strides far greater than most Northern institutions, true or false?
Lt's look primarily at football.
Looking at such great Northern powers as Ohio State, Michigan, Syracuse and Even Pitt, when they are winning. Those schools and similar grid powers have continued their myopic standards of no blacks at quarterback and center.
Some progress has been made at the linebacking position with blacks playing mainly the outside position. Blacks still haven't been used at the middle linebacking position that much. Actually that's the defensive quarterback's position and that player calls the defensive signals.
Black Quarterbacks
A few Northern major schools have allowed a black quarterback to work for them. Why even Harvard had one a few years back. Last season Chuck Ealey quarterbacked the Toledo University Rockets to their third straight Tangerine Bowl victory and their 35th consecutive win. Minnesota had a black QB last season.
The University of Cincinnati had a non-white signal caller at one point in its history. Michigan State and Penn State even used an ebony quarterback at one time or another. But those are only a few isolated incidents of black quarterback manpower. Let's run through the South's record of black players period.
Wake Forest University had Freddie Summers playing for them six years ago. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns as a defensive back. That's par for the course when it comes to the pro scene.
Georgia Tech, has Eddie McAshan, a soul brother, who wears No.1. Going back a decade or so ago. Tech stringently objected to playing Pitt in the 1955 Sugar Bowl because they had a ( Negro ) on the team, Bobby Grier.
The University of Tennessee had a black All-American linebacker last season, Jackie Walker, and he was the captain of the team.
Courier All American's Brother
In the deep South at Mississippi State a black freshmen, Melvin Barkum. Brother of this year's Courier All-American, wide receiver Jerome Barkum and cousin of Lem Barney, All Pro cornerback with the Detroit Lions, another Courier All-American from Jackson State.
Melvin turned down scholarships from 50 or more mayor schools, including Notre Dame, Michigan State, and a half of the Southeastern Conference in order to attend Mississippi State. He is a 6' 1, 180 pounds of black quarterbacking material and is expected to be the No. 1 man at that position as a sophomore.
The liberal University of Tennessee was able to capture an 18 year-old, 5'11, 170 athlete who reportedly turned down $ 100,000 to sign a pro baseball contract with the Expos of Montreal. Condredge Holloway, is a black athlete who might be the Vols. No. 1 quarterback next season.
He would be the first black quarterback in Tennessee's history.
The University of Alabama doesn't have any immediate plans for blackness in the No. 1 spot. But they do have three blacks who might start on the varsity basketball team. Oh, Bama had three black gridders on the varsity football team also.
Yes things may be changing behind the mythical cotton curtain but just getting a few black players is only a minute apart. What about black coaches, trainers, officials, and writers for the some these major learning institutions, both in the North and the South.

NCAA Gives Freshmen Eligibility

The recent decision by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to give first year athletes eligibility in varsity basketball and football came as no surprise to this column. The proposal was passed by a vote of 96-67 which included the majority of the athletic directors and other athletic advisory people directly related to coaching were shocked and surprised because they felt as though the new eligibility rule would kill their freshmen teams and developmental programs.
Actually the proposal is permissive and not mandatory so the major universities and colleges can do what they want to as far as using first year athletes.
Let's look at the advantages to the new eligibility. It could mean a substantial savings in athletic scholarships and other related monies.
The institutions of higher education might be able to slow down their "Red Shirt" programs. That's were an athlete is held out of athletic competition for a year for several reasons which include namely grades, injuries,, or a developmental process. The NCAA allows the athlete five years to complete a four year school. However, some don't practice "Red Shirting such as Pitt and a few other major Eastern football powers.

BLACK BUZZ COMMENTS

* Blogger Black Buzz notes that the late great Sandy Stephens from Uniontown was the first Black Quarterback at the University of Minnesota who led the Golden Gophers to a National Championship in 1960. Sandy was also the first Black to make All-American at Quarterback in the modern day-era. Sandy also led the Gophers to back to back Rose Bowl appearances. Wisconsin and Iowa also had Black Quarterbacks at the time that Sandy was playing at Minnesota.The 1961 All-American team featured three Blacks in the backfield and they are as follows:

1. Ernie Davis-The first Black to when the Heisman Trophy

2. Bobby Ferguson-FB, Ohio State

3. Sandy Stephens-QB Minnesota

Ernie Davis was also from Union town PA like Sandy, but he moved from Uniontown at the age of 12 to Elmira New York.
Sandy was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and the liberal Paul Brown who I still consider the greatest coach in NFL history didn't give Sandy a shot at the Quarterback position.
Coach Brown should be remembered as one of the individuals who gave Black players the opportunity to compete with their white counterparts when the practice of equal opportunity was not in vogue. Brown's utilization of Black athletes on his Great Lakes Naval Squad, at Ohio State University and with the Cleveland Browns was widely criticized at the time, but Coach Brown persevered. Paul Brown signed Hall of Famer Bill Willis to a professional contract the year before Branch Rickey singed Jackie Robinson.
However like most white liberals coach Brown and Pappa Bear George Halas came up a little short when it came to affording Blacks the opportunity to play QB and those other central positions. In one game in 1953 Willie Thrower one the Chicago Bears QB's was leading his team against the 49ers on game winning drive, and Halas pulled him out of the game after Thrower led his team to the 49ers five yard line and Pappa Bear replaced him at Qb with the man from Youngwood PA named George Blanda. After that incident Thrower never played another down for the Bears. This same great George Halas would also draft the spectacular galloping Rattler from FAMU Willie Gallimore, who could have been one of the truly great backs of his time if his career hadn't ended suddenly do a car accident. Halas also drafted a tough running back from Ohio State named Bobby Watkins. Halas like most liberals even to this day think that most Blacks are intellectually not the equal to whites in any capacity regardless of how they camouflage their bias and prejudices. Many suffer from what I call the Al Campanis Syndrome. Has anyone ever heard of Gayle Sayers?
When the Browns entered the National Football League in 1950 after playing in the defunct All American Conference Paul Brown had four outstanding Blacks on his squad who would all end up in Canton Ohio and they are as follows:
1. Len Ford- ( Defensive End )
2. Horace Gillom- (Hall Of-Fame Punter)
3. Marion Motley- (Full Back) The draw play was made for Marion Motley
4. Bill Willis- (Middle Guard ) Other than Chuck Bednarick, Dick Butkus, Ray Lewis and Ronnie Lott, this may have been the toughest man in any era to play professional football.
Mr. Brown also had the cream of the crop in white players such as Otto Graham, Dub Jones who is the father of former Colt Qb Bert Jones, Ken Carpenter, Dante Lavelli, Max Speedy, Walt Michael's, Lou "The Toe Groza, Frank Gatski, Warren Lahr, Alex Agase, Lou Rymkus, Billy Reynolds, Big Bob Gain, George Ratterman, Carl Tasef, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Pitt's Bill Priatko, Cliff Lewis, Rex Bumgardner, Tommy James, Abe Gibron, John Kissel, John Sandusky, Chet The Jet Hanulak, Ray Renfro, Carlton Massey, Big Doug Atkins, Tom Catlin and Don Paul. I am recalling all of those Cleveland Browns from memory.
When the Brown entered the NFL in 1950 they beat the defending World Champions Philadelphia Eagles 35-10 in their first game. The Eagles of Steve Van Buren, Chuck Bednarick, Bucko Kilroy, Tommy Thompson, Adrian Burke and the other names that escape me in my old age. The head-coach of the Eagles said the Browns weren't for real and the only thing they could do was pass the ball. But in the rematch Paul Brown who was the best prepared coach of any era didn't throw one pass the entire game and they beat the Eagles like they owned them with tough inside running by big Marion Motley, Rex Bumgardner and the old reliable Dub Jones. The only team to defeat the Browns in their first season in the NFL was the New York Giants who beat them twice during the regular season. The Browns and the Giants tied with the same record which necessitated a one game playoff game, which Paul Brown finally figured out how to defeat the Umbrella Defense of the great Giant coach Steve Owen.

Paul Brown has the largest coaching tree of any coach ever in professional football. Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls with the Steelers, and Don Shula is the only coach to obtain the perfect season. Although Paul Brown Browns also had a perfect season when they played in the All American Conference League. Bill Walsh is from the Paul Brown school and where do you think that Walsh learned the so-called West Coast Offense passing game? Tony Dungy is from the Paul Brown school of coaching by way of his mentor the great Chuck Noll, and the list goes on and on.

In my opinion Otto Graham is one of the greatest talents to ever play the QB position, and no Quarterback has won as many professional Championships as Otto Graham. Otto tried to copy and emulate Paul Brown's style of coaching but Otto wasn't as one-fourth as successful as the great Brown as a head coach.
I would have liked to have seen Sandy Stephens given the opportunity to play QB in the National Football League.
Sandy Stephens paved the way at Minnesota and made it easier for the great Tony Dungy to play Quarterback at Minnesota.
The Big Ten Conference was by far ahead of the rest of the Country including the Eastern powerhouses at the time that this excellent column by Jesse was written relative to affording Blacks the opportunity to play Quarterback.
Henry Model-T Ford did play QB at Pitt in the early fifties, but he never had the opportunity to play QB with Rooney's Steelers. Syracuse also had a couple of Black QB's along with the greatest running back in the history of College & Pro-Football Jimmy Brown.
Pitt's Robert Haygood may have been the second Black to play QB at Pitt on one of those Pitt teams that featured the greatest running back in Panther history Tony Dorsett. Yes I am well aware of the fact that Pitt won the National Championship with Youngstown's Matt Cavanaugh at QB.
Progress has been made in the area of starting Black QB's in the Collegiate ranks. And this year's bogus National Title game will feature two African American QBs as starters who are Cam Newton of Auburn and Darron Thomas of the Oregon Ducks.
The teams from the SEC are just to strong, and talented than the schools that play in the PAC TEN, BIG TEN, the BIG 12 or the BIG EAST. Everyone in the Southeastern Conference is going to a Bowl game except Old Miss and Vanderbilt.
TCU got dogged by the BCS, and that will be a tough match-up for the Horn Frogs against the Badgers. But don't count TCU out of the game with the Wisconsin Badgers who may have the best offensive line in College football.