By TOM SHANAHAN
My latest book on college football integration is available to pre-order.
THE RIGHT THING TO DO
The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s
Foreword by Ruffin McNeill
Click here for summary and to purchase from August Publications:
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As I said when I was invited to speak at the National Sports Media Association book festival on June 23 in Winston-Salem, no two books better tell an accurate story about college football integration my than mine.
Unfortunately, myths and fiction surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game celebrates Alabama coach Bear Bryant, a segregationist from 1945 to 1970, at the expense of the true 1960s pioneers.
The trailblazers include Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty’s 1960s teams that were the first fully integrated rosters. Michigan State’s example opened the doors in the South for pioneers such as Houston’s Warren McVea, 1964; Wake Forest’s Bob Grant, 1964; SMU’s Jerry LeVias, 1965; Kentucky’s first two Black players in 1966; Tennessee’s Lester McClain, 1967; and Auburn’s James Owens, 1969.
The 1960s pioneers ended segregated football in the South and in the remainder of the country they expanded opportunities the limited Black players to a half-dozen or so at schools such as USC and Notre Dame.
For more on the rewritten history surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game, click here: The Game History Forgot.
I will put my research on the subject matter up against anybody, anytime, anywhere.
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I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055.
Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation awarded first place by the Football Writers Association of America. I tell untold stories on Michigan State’s leading role and the true pioneers of college football integration. Click here to read a summary.
Click here for my NIL partners.
Click here to purchase Raye of Light.
RAYE OF LIGHT
Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the 1ntegration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans
Foreword by Tony Dungy
Click here to purchase from August Publications
