My new book — Coming soon:
“THE RIGHT THING TO DO Duffy and the True 1960s Pioneers, North and South”
“… I couldn’t help but think of how many people had helped me along the way. One of those people I wanted to personally thank for opening doors was Jimmy Raye. This book tells how some of those doors got pushed open. I’m sure you will enjoy reading about the journey!”
– Pro football Hall of Fame Coach, TONY DUNGY
Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report Listen to my partners for Name, Image and Likeness videos, and their endorsements of “Raye of Light” and “The Right
GRAPHIC (6th Block Creative). Visit my home page, TomShanahan.Report The End Game discusses race and sports in America with a focus on Michigan State coach
Visit my home page, TomShanahan.Report Scroll down to Ken Burns at Episode 7. *** The purpose of the Milestone Minutes to enlighten college football fans
PHOTO: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo opened his 25th straight NCAA tournament guiding the Spartans to a first-round win over USC. Visit my website homepage,
Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report My two upcoming books should be available soon. Please keep checking back to my website for release dates and information
RSC photo (L-R): Tim Peeler, Charley Young and Tom Shanahan. Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN NC State historian Tim Peeler and NC
When Jimmy Raye arrived at Michigan State University in 1964, he did more than just enrolled in a university hundreds of miles from his native Fayetteville, N.C.: he was part of a groundbreaking movement that changed college football forever.
His story, as well as his Spartan teammates and coach Duffy Daugherty, is told in Raye of Light: the first book to fully explain Duffy Daugherty’s Underground Railroad and its impact on college football. History has not accorded Daugherty, Raye, and the Spartans proper credit for their roles in the integration of college football. Too many view Daugherty as recruiting a couple of All-American players from the South, winning a bunch of games with his 1965-66 teams and then having it all come to an end.
TomShanahan.Report is dedicated to increasing awareness of college football integration’s true 1960s pioneers.
The tipping point was Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty’s Underground Railroad teams with the tracks laid by Black southern high school coaches. When Michigan State and Notre Dame played in the 1966 Game of the Century, a record TV audience tuned in and saw in Black and White the new standards Daugherty’s Spartans set with 20 Black players and 11 Black starters compared to Notre Dame’s one Black player on the roster. The Spartans’ pushed open wider doors of integrated programs. USC’s 1967 national championship with seven Black players grew to 23 by the Trojans’ next national title in 1972. In the South, schools began to lead the way. Maryland integrated the ACC in 1963. In the Southwest Conference, SMU recruited Jerry LeVias in 1965. In the SEC, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Mississippi State prodded Alabama iconic coach Bear Bryant into finally recruiting Black athletes. Bryant was among the second half of SEC schools integrating despite a cottage industry erroneously touting him as a leader.
To read more articles about this journey – take a look at Shanny’s Picks.
