researching obscure college football player--1951 Topps Magic #65 Bill Matthews

[TanksAndSpartans]

Given the era, I don't think black college athletes at northern schools is that ground breaking.

Here is a good article: http://espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory...ard&id=3254974

And a quote:

"Generally, the conferences north of the Mason-Dixon line integrated much earlier than the SEC and ACC. William Henry Lewis was an African-American All-American football player at Harvard in 1892 while attending Harvard Law School. William Edward White played baseball on Brown's 1879 team."

Great topic - I love researching the obscure players that appear on cards. I think since these players never played pro football, this is a tough assignment. Imagine a player who made all conference 10 years ago, but was never drafted by the NFL - a good player, but even in the internet age - you may not find a lot of info....

Great article!

Omitted were colleges out West. Where, Ernie Tanner (1889-1956) integrated the Whitworth College football team (1908-09). Frequently compared to Jim Thorpe, Tanner was professed to be "the greatest athlete ever produced in the state of Washington" in his 1956 obituary. He was a phenomenal four sport/four year athlete in high school, who led tiny Whitworth College to an upset victory over the University of Oregon on the gridiron in 1908 (16-10).

He was also an influential African American labor leader on the Tacoma waterfront for decades. Just picked up the ca. 1905-07 Tacoma track photo with Ernie Tanner below (never thought I'd get an image of him, my favorite pick-up in years).
http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/ernest-c-tanner-1889-1956

[TanksAndSpartans]

Great info - thanks Ty and nice pick up!

[Maris61]

Ty, thank you for the info on NYU's program--as well as the bio and fantastic photo of Tanner.

And thanks for the other input, John. Also, I think I consider players as "barrier breaking" a little more loosely than some others would use that term. And even in baseball, for exmple, there were different periods where a few black athletes played very early before the majority colluded to ban them--and then of course another, bigger wave with integration much later on beginning w/ Robinson. But still some very good points. And it does appear that some schools were integrating well ahead of other schools (and ahead of the professional leagues). Again, though, from the article and other random sources, I'm still unclear how pervasive the integration was for many of the schools--even those that may have had, say, one player of color, which is far from demonstrating a program was peacefully "integrated." And I like how that article alludes to the difficulties of those who may have been the lone athlete of color on their team or even in their entire school. . . . Even if some school has one black football player twenty years prior, I'd still credit another black athlete as a barrier breaker if they're among the first such athlete in whatever their own region or individual school. . . . In any case, I appreciate the dialogue on this--and that ESPN article.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Maris61 - great points. 99% of my reading is focused on pro football history - so I'm in many ways not the right one to ask about anything related to college football .

Similar questions though have been interesting to me - for example I've wondered if football had a Satchel Paige type figure. I came up with Kenny Washington who appears in both the 48 Bowman and 48 Leaf set. From what I've read, he didn't get the first team AA honors he deserved and then on top of that despite interest from Halas, he didn't get drafted by the NFL. Going from memory, he basically didn't get to play in the NFL until after his prime although I do believe he did play in a Pacific Coast league. And then like you said, being the only black player couldn't have been great. I'm sure I have some of this wrong, but there was a road trip where where Hugh McElhenny would see Joe Perry at practice, but not in the hotel or at dinner. On the way home, Hugh said - "Joe, where have you been?". Turns out Perry had to stay in a private residence.

Awesome points everyone. It's nice when a community of reasonable people can contribute to a board.

I recently completed a book on the integration of professional baseball by Jimmy Claxton, May 28, 1916. When the project began, I thought Claxton was an anomaly who passed as Native American, and was probably remembered more for his baseball card than integration. I did not understand the scope of both failed and "successful" attempts to integrate the game.

By the end I realized he was just the tip of the iceberg. The nearly anonymous careers of Ernie Tanner, Ike Ward (possibly the first African American manager of a white baseball team, Colville 1913-15), Bruce Petway (who integrated baseball in Oakland long before Claxton, 1904), "Big Chief" Dick Brookins, Owen "Bazz" Smaulding, John Prim, Carlisle Perry, Eddie Jackson, Charley Allen, Lang Akana, Vernon Ayau, Tom "Circus" Mooney, Albert "Smiley" Clayton, Foy Scott, etc.... Were just as fascinating and implausible. These men integrated college teams, and the lower levels of organized baseball out West prior to WW2.

Point being: that one card, the 1951 Topps Magic Bill Matthews probably represents tens or hundreds of other individuals who struggled against exclusion in sports. While an NFL career never materialized for Matthews that could be for any number of reasons. Was he Jackie Robinson? No. Was he Marion Motley or Ben Willis? No. But, I would say any individual who integrated the college or professional gridiron or baseball diamond prior to the Civil Rights Movement (1954-68) was a ground-breaker.

[TanksAndSpartans]

I think I’m just rehashing what’s known:

Violet halfback Bill Matthews scored after a long march on a three yard buck over center.

Link: http://spectatorarchive.library.colu...ia-ARTICLE----

And found this: Hooks Mylin, who at best has not many football players at NYU got an awful shock the other day when Bill Matthews, flashy sop halfback phoned the news that he was transferring to Michigan.

Link: https://news.google.com/newspapers?n...,7552285&hl=en

Finally, newspapers .com mentioned his race, but I couldn’t view more of the article.