The next Tee Martin!!!!

#151
#151
SamQB7 said:
Anyone know who #81 is on Ferguson's team. That kid looked like a big, physical receiver with great hands and good speed. Anyone know who he is and if he went anywhere?
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#81 is Uriah Lemay. He's a Senior and heading to Georgia in June.
 
#153
#153
Brave Volunteer said:
Dobbs probably played against better competition and, I'm not going to lie. After what we went through with Crompton I get a little nervous about North Carolina QB's. :p
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Not sure about Dobbs HS competition, but I do know that Ferguson's team Butler High School from Matthews, NC has won 3 of the last 4 State Championships in NC largest classification 4aa. They have also ended their season's ranked in the top 15 in the nation the past 4 years in all major polls. Last 4 years record 57 wins, 2 losses. 1 of those losses was in 2011 to Marquez North's team Mallard Creek High School when both were raked nationally in the top 10. Butler played Mallard Creek twice in 2012 and won (27-6 & 28-0). Those were Mallard Creeks only losses in 2012, and they were ranked in the top 25 of all national polls at the time. Here's how Fergusons team ended 2012 in national polls.
Maxpreps #7
USA Today #3
ESPN #5
PrepNation #7
Rivals #13
Xcellent 25 #9
Average ranking 7.4
 
#154
#154
Vol4life25 said:
Lol ummm.....a better question, how wasnt he?

But like 72 said......99% of the people of that time period were.
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He was the first man to hire a black coach in the SEC, and was one of the first to play black players in the SEC.
 
#155
#155
Vol8188 said:
He was the first man to hire a black coach in the SEC, and was one of the first to play black players in the SEC.
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Bryant wasn't the first or last coach in the SEC to play blacks. The northernmost schools in the conference were first....Kentucky and Tennessee. I think that Lester McClain of Tenn. may have been the first to play, but Kentucky was first to sign a black player. It seems like he got paralyzed in practice, and died not too long afterward. The old South were some of the last.....LSU and Ole Miss.

Bryant wanted to win, and saw the handwriting on the wall when So. Cal , with several blacks, kicked Alabama's butt in 1969 or 70 ish. Bryant did what most southern coaches did at the time, but being a civil rights trailblazer in the deep South was not the most popular thing that he could have done.
 
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#156
#156
1972 Grad said:
Bryant wasn't the first or last coach in the SEC to play blacks. The northernmost schools in the conference were first....Kentucky and Tennessee. I think that Lester McClain of Tenn. may have been the first to play, but Kentucky was first to sign a black player. It seems like he got paralyzed in practice, and died not too long afterward. The old South were some of the last.....LSU and Ole Miss.

Bryant wanted to win, and saw the handwriting on the wall when So. Cal , with several blacks, kicked Alabama's butt in 1969 or 70 ish. Bryant did what most southern coaches did at the time, but being a civil rights trailblazer in the deep South was not the most popular thing that he could have done.
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Question 1972.... What state USC running back was from?
 
#158
#158
1972 Grad said:
Bryant wasn't the first or last coach in the SEC to play blacks. The northernmost schools in the conference were first....Kentucky and Tennessee. I think that Lester McClain of Tenn. may have been the first to play, but Kentucky was first to sign a black player. It seems like he got paralyzed in practice, and died not too long afterward. The old South were some of the last.....LSU and Ole Miss.

Bryant wanted to win, and saw the handwriting on the wall when So. Cal , with several blacks, kicked Alabama's butt in 1969 or 70 ish. Bryant did what most southern coaches did at the time, but being a civil rights trailblazer in the deep South was not the most popular thing that he could have done.
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Lester was, indeed, the first black football player in the SEC and Condredge was the first black quarterback in the conference. The Bear told him up front that, although he was interested in recruiting Condredge, the state of Alabama was not, at that time, ready to accept a black QB at their flagship university. Condredge said that he always respected the Bear's candor in the matter.
 
#159
#159
Volosaurus rex said:
Lester was, indeed, the first black football player in the SEC and Condredge was the first black quarterback in the conference. The Bear told him up front that, although he was interested in recruiting Condredge, the state of Alabama was not, at that time, ready to accept a black QB at their flagship university. Condredge said that he always respected the Bear's candor in the matter.
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I did some research on the first black players at Kentucky. Actually, Nat Northington was the first black to play at an SEC school on 9/23/67 at Indiana. he dislocated his shoulder on that day, and was only able to play for 3 minutes the next week in the first SEC game with a black player, at Kentucky versus Ole Miss, when he injured the shoulder again.
The other black player who signed with Kentucky that year was Greg Page who was buried that same week after being paralyzed in fall practice. He lived only 38 days after his injury.

Lester McClain was the first black to see significant playing time in the SEC due to the injury to Northington, and death of Page. McClain first started playing in 1968, because freshmen were not eligible to play in those days. He enrolled at U.T. in 1967 like me. Page and Northington were one year ahead, enrolling in 66, and being eligible in 67.
 
#160
#160
1972 Grad said:
I did some research on the first black players at Kentucky. Actually, Nat Northington was the first black to play at an SEC school on 9/23/67 at Indiana. he dislocated his shoulder on that day, and was only able to play for 3 minutes the next week in the first SEC game with a black player, at Kentucky versus Ole Miss, when he injured the shoulder again.
The other black player who signed with Kentucky that year was Greg Page who was buried that same week after being paralyzed in fall practice. He lived only 38 days after his injury.

Lester McClain was the first black to see significant playing time in the SEC due to the injury to Northington, and death of Page. McClain first started playing in 1968, because freshmen were not eligible to play in those days. He enrolled at U.T. in 1967 like me. Page and Northington were one year ahead, enrolling in 66, and being eligible in 67.
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Thanks for the information on the meteoric and tragic careers of Northington and Page, respectively. That would explain why Lester received all of the credit for being a pioneer. You were most fortunate in terms of your time on the Hill. Four successive victories over Alabama, including 41-14 and 24-0 in 1969 and '70, respectively. If only Dickey had resisted the call of his alma mater, he might have wound up with 250 victories, a half dozen SEC championships and a national title or two. The Bear's reign of terror in the 1970's certainly would not have been as severe.
 
#161
#161
orangepit said:
Question 1972.... What state USC running back was from?
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Sam "Bam" Cunningham was from Santa Barbara, California. "He had a notable performance (135 yards, 2 touchdowns) against an all-white University of Alabama football team, as USC beat Alabama 42-21 in Birmingham on September 12, 1970. His performance in the game was reportedly a factor in convincing the University of Alabama and its fans to let Coach Bear Bryant integrate Southern football. Jerry Claiborne, a former Bryant assistant, said, "Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years."

Despite the legend surrounding the story, Bryant had already taken a step toward integrating his team. Wilbur Jackson, the first African-American offered a scholarship by the University of Alabama, watched the game from the stands, ineligible to play as a freshman due to NCAA rules at the time" (Sam Cunningham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
 
#162
#162
Volosaurus rex said:
Thanks for the information on the meteoric and tragic careers of Northington and Page, respectively. That would explain why Lester received all of the credit for being a pioneer. You were most fortunate in terms of your time on the Hill. Four successive victories over Alabama, including 41-14 and 24-0 in 1969 and '70, respectively. If only Dickey had resisted the call of his alma mater, he might have wound up with 250 victories, a half dozen SEC championships and a national title or two. The Bear's reign of terror in the 1970's certainly would not have been as severe.
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As a student, I attended every home game in 1967, 68, 69, 70, and 71. I saw one 17-17 tie to Georgia, one 10-9 loss to Auburn, and a boatload of victories. That's right, one home loss to Auburn (Heisman winner Pat Sullivan and receiver Terry Beasley), and one tie to Georgia. We lost a few road games, like UCLA in 67, Auburn in 70?, Ole Miss in 69, and Alabama in 71.

Heck, I thought that we were supposed to win all the time. What did I know? I was spoiled by my years in Knoxville. We planned a party at our apartment after every home game, and it was a happy occasion.
 
#163
#163
1972 Grad said:
As a student, I attended every home game in 1967, 68, 69, 70, and 71. I saw one 17-17 tie to Georgia, one 10-9 loss to Auburn, and a boatload of victories. That's right, one home loss to Auburn (Heisman winner Pat Sullivan and receiver Terry Beasley), and one tie to Georgia. We lost a few road games, like UCLA in 67, Auburn in 70?, Ole Miss in 69, and Alabama in 71.

Heck, I thought that we were supposed to win all the time. What did I know? I was spoiled by my years in Knoxville. We planned a party at our apartment after every home game, and it was a happy occasion.
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Sounds like my college life. Was at UT from 94-99.
 
#165
#165
That means you were present for John Ward's debut as the "[Football] Voice of the Vols" in 1968. At the time, what was your impression of the transition from the more subdued, but eloquent, style of George Mooney to the more colorful style of John Ward?
 
#166
#166
Volosaurus rex said:
That means you were present for John Ward's debut as the "[Football] Voice of the Vols" in 1968. At the time, what was your impression of the transition from the more subdued, but eloquent, style of George Mooney to the more colorful style of John Ward?
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I don't really remember having much of an opinion, but I miss Ward compared to what we have now. Ward made the game exciting, but at times was a bit much.
 
#167
#167
1972 Grad said:
As a student, I attended every home game in 1967, 68, 69, 70, and 71. I saw one 17-17 tie to Georgia, one 10-9 loss to Auburn, and a boatload of victories. That's right, one home loss to Auburn (Heisman winner Pat Sullivan and receiver Terry Beasley), and one tie to Georgia. We lost a few road games, like UCLA in 67, Auburn in 70?, Ole Miss in 69, and Alabama in 71.

Heck, I thought that we were supposed to win all the time. What did I know? I was spoiled by my years in Knoxville. We planned a party at our apartment after every home game, and it was a happy occasion.
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Was Mitchell at Alabama not the first black coach in the SEC in 73?
 
#168
#168
Vol8188 said:
He was the first man to hire a black coach in the SEC, and was one of the first to play black players in the SEC.
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There are several first person sources that have recorded Bear Bryant referring to black players as ni$$ers. It's also widely known that the only reason he started recruiting black players is because he had no choice. He could not compete with his all white team.

Also, He wasnt the "one" of the first coaches in the SEC to play black players in the SEC. He was the 7th.
 
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#169
#169
Vol4life25 said:
There are several first person sources that have recorded Bear Bryant referring to black players as ni$$ers. It's also widely known that the only reason he started recruiting black players is because he had no choice. He could not compete with his all white team.
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Lets see the source?
 
#172
#172
Vol4life25 said:
There are several first person sources that have recorded Bear Bryant referring to black players as ni$$ers. It's also widely known that the only reason he started recruiting black players is because he had no choice. He could not compete with his all white team.

Also, He wasnt the "one" of the first coaches in the SEC to play black players in the SEC. He was the 7th.
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Who cares? You can't judge a man of the 1950's and 60's by today's standards. He was no different than 90% of his peers. Let it go.
 
#173
#173
Vol4life25 said:
Bear Bryant and the Color Barrier (Covert Racism) | The Exploration of Race and Sports

One of many articles
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How is this blog a legitimate source? And the worst thing this article accuses him of is believing that whites are superior athletes. Considering he was probably taught that by his parents, teachers, and everyone else alive during his time, I don't see the big deal.

When he lost to USC he proved soon after that he was willing to give a black man an equal chance on his team. Even made that same man an assistant for him 2 years later. Started a career for coach mitchell that's made him millions.
 
#174
#174
Vol4life25 said:
There are several first person sources that have recorded Bear Bryant referring to black players as ni$$ers. It's also widely known that the only reason he started recruiting black players is because he had no choice. He could not compete with his all white team.

Also, He wasnt the "one" of the first coaches in the SEC to play black players in the SEC. He was the 7th.
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I have something else for you to research. Since Bear Bryant was born in Fordyce, Arkansas in 1913, see if you can find someone else born in south Arkansas in 1913 who didn't use the word ni$$er.
 
#175
#175
Vol8188 said:
How is this blog a legitimate source? And the worst thing this article accuses him of is believing that whites are superior athletes. Considering he was probably taught that by his parents, teachers, and everyone else alive during his time, I don't see the big deal.

When he lost to USC he proved soon after that he was willing to give a black man an equal chance on his team. Even made that same man an assistant for him 2 years later. Started a career for coach mitchell that's made him millions.
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This!
 
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