PHOTO: Jimmy Raye today posing as if he had boarded Duffy Daugherty’s Underground Railroad in 1964 bound for Michigan State.
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NFL Media’s release promoting its February 8 screening of a documentary on Jimmy Raye during Super Bowl week.
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The National Football League is celebrating this Black History Month with a private screening of The Jimmy Raye Project, a special episode of the Emmy Award-Winning series ‘NFL 360’ that explores how one man’s story broke color barriers and changed football forever.
When Jimmy Raye became the first Black starting quarterback at Michigan State in 1966, he forged a path for Black coaches and players after him like Tony Dungy, Eric Dickerson, Tony Gonzalez, and Emmanuel Sanders – the host of this special episode. Jimmy’s exceptional story is about more than just sports – it’s about courage, determination, and leadership.
NFL Media’s special screening will take place Super Bowl week on February 8th in partnership with Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, a program dedicated to inspiring the next generation of diverse filmmakers and storytellers.
Sponsored by NFL Football Operations, the screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by NFL Network’s Steve Wyche and featuring Jimmy Raye himself, NFL Legends, and producers from NFL 360. Hear firsthand how one man defied expectations with a groundbreaking moment in sports history.
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Click here for story on Jimmy Raye receiving the NFL Awards of Excellence.
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I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055.
I tell untold stories about college football integration focused but not limited to Michigan State’s 1960s leadership under College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty. However, I learned from writing “Raye of Light” presenting the facts is not enough. Myths and fiction distorting the role of Alabama coach Bear Bryant and the 1970 USC-Alabama game have been entrenched into college football lore at the expense of the true pioneers, North and South. My story exposing Bear Bryant as a segregationist coach attempting to manipulate a backdoor entry into the 1962 Rose Bowl was awarded first place for Enterprise in the Football Writers Association of America’s 30th annual contest for the 2021 season. First Place for Enterprise story.
Click here to order Raye of Light from August Publications.
Now that @MSU_WGolf freshmen Brooke Biermann and Katie Lu have finished their first season, they did some #NIL work for me before returning home. They discussed their summer reading list. @MSU_Football #True1960sPioneers pic.twitter.com/mNd9bZwRGb— Tom Shanahan (@Shanny4055) May 12, 2022
Now that @MSU_WGolf freshmen Brooke Biermann and Katie Lu have finished their first season, they did some #NIL work for me before returning home. They discussed their summer reading list. @MSU_Football #True1960sPioneers pic.twitter.com/mNd9bZwRGb— Tom Shanahan (@Shanny4055) May 12, 2022
RAYE of LIGHT story of Duffy Daugherty and southern Black high school coaches, most prominently Bubba Smith’s father Willie Ray Smith, laying tracks to college football’s first fully integrated rosters. This was tipping point — don’t believe Bear Bryant/USC revisionist history. pic.twitter.com/3D8RqjMixO— Tom Shanahan (@Shanny4055) June 8, 2021
