First black football player for each program

[Cincydawg]

https://247sports.com/college/georgia/LongFormArticle/First-black-player-college-football-129076637/#129076637_2

[Brutus Buckeye]

"SEC speed!"

[fezzador]

So, Wayne Edmonds or Richard Washington = Fortune?

[Brutus Buckeye]

In the 1890s the "butt cut" was apparently such popular hairstyle at OSU that even the black player had one.

[fezzador]

While I'm not surprised about Nebraska introducing black athletes early on, the fact that they instituted a 30-year color barrier until after the conclusion of WWII does surprise me.  Maybe "backwards progression" was a lot more common than we're led to believe (George Flippin was seemingly the Nebraska version of Fleet Walker prior to the unofficial MLB color barrier).  

As far as I'm aware, states like Nebraska and Iowa never formally adopted segregationist laws like some of their neighbors did (MO, KS, and OK most certainly did) but it's possible that Nebraska and Iowa State were forced to "drop" black athletes in order to comply with their conference mates' wishes.

Regardless of what happened, the first 100 years of CFB were definitely not very kind to black players, regardless of where they played.  What's crazy is that even after Jackie Robinson successfully broke the color barrier in professional baseball in 1947, it took decades not only for every baseball team to formally integrate, but for black athletes to get a fair shake in most organized sports.  And I also have a hunch that for both professional baseball and college football, many white coaches and players, even before ca. 1970, would have had no problem whatsoever having black players on their rosters.  Yes, it may have taken some a little while getting used to having teammates of color, but when they saw what players like Jackie could do, they knew they were much better off with him than without him.  Winning knows no color.

Finally, Jackie Robinson is rightfully a hero to thousands of black athletes, but really he should be a hero to everyone who has ever played organized sports.  He not only gave black athletes a chance to compete at the highest level, but he also (albeit less directly) opened the door for Hispanic and Asian athletes as well.  And it's his courage, tenacity, and the fact that he always played the game the right way that makes him the model sportsman. 

[Drew4UTk]

i may be on an island with this statement, but i attribute the desire to win- at all legal costs- and a quality of people who actually compete at higher levels have in abundance, to acknowledging the social ills of our racists past.  without sports, organized and made prominent when the financial aspects were identified and leveraged, i'm thinking we'd just be entering the "1947" era right now, if we were lucky.  If we were lucky: something would likely have broken and we wouldn't be here as one big happy family without sports and American capitalism that drove it.  

in my opinion, if anyone ever decries the value of this game (and others though baseball is slipping), they need to be made aware of this promptly. 

just my .02. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Willis Ward (1932) was the first for Michigan. (Ward's the one who Georgia Tech refused to play and for whom Gerald Ford threatened to quit if not reinstated.) But it was George Jewett (1890) and Ward was second. Hard to believe that gap was true. 42 years between their freshman campaigns. Is that because of a change in team policy or because the student population was so white? Either way. Wow.

[FearlessF]

George Flippin attended the University of Nebraska from 1891 to 1894. He was the first African-American football player for the University. Missouri refused to play a scheduled football game, forfeiting 1-0 because of Flippin’s presence on the team. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

https://unions.unl.edu/george-flippin

[Brutus Buckeye]

I think it was a conference thing. OSU had black players before joining the Big Ten, but then they didn't for a while. 

[Cincydawg]

I met Johnny Sain in 1992 who told me he was the first major leaguer to pitch to Robinson.  He told me he just wanted to get him out.

Another guy I know was technical adviser for "47" and had a couple 2 second parts in it pitching.

[MaximumSam]

Not sure about OSU's first black player, though Bill Willis broke the color barrier in the NFL, along with another guy.  I became familiar with Willis when some kids broke into his house and I was involved with the case.

[OrangeAfroMan]

Willie Jackson, Sr - 1968.  
His two sons, Willie Jr and Terry, starred for the Gators in the 90s.
Willie Jr was a slow, productive WR (#22) who ran great routes and Terry was a RB (#22) that was very well-rounded (catching the ball, blocking, running).  

[Brutus Buckeye]

Odd that the Hbcus weren't a lot better back when the SEC was so segregated.

[fezzador]

How do we know that?  It's not like many current P5 teams were anxiously lining up to face the best HBCU squads a couple of generations ago.

Sort of like Samoan high school football.  We have a hunch they'd probably lick just about any mainland HS team, but we'll never find out because of certain logistical factors.