The newspaper industry provided me a four-decade career experiencing inspiration, dedication and just plain fun. The start of my career covering the Chargers, college, high school sports and Olympic athletes came full circle with Don Coryell’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction on August 5 in Canton, Ohio. I helped Hall of Famer Dan Fouts with research on Coryell’s remarkable record of first-time Pro Bowlers with the SAN DIEGO Chargers and Cardinal for Fouts’ presentation to the voters
PHOTO (News & Observer): Southeast Raleigh lineman Chase Robinson stops a Wake Forest running back.
Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report
By TOM SHANAHAN
RALEIGH — The first hurdles Chase Robinson faced to play football were mysterious seizures suffered as a sixth- and seventh-grader. The doctors never did come up with a conclusive diagnosis before the condition cleared up.
Then, upon being medically cleared to play football as an eighth-grader for a local youth team, he suffered torn knee ligaments in his first game. His season was over before it really started.
Next, he missed his freshman year at Southeast Raleigh High in the fall of 2020 when the COVID pandemic shut down high school sports. When sports resumed, he also didn’t play the abbreviated football schedule representing the fall of 2020 that took place in the spring of 2021.
By the fall of 2021, Robinson’s sophomore year, he was finally on the field. But not until he overcame the final hurdle — perhaps the most challenging.
“I did not want him to play high school football,” said his mother, Miriam Robinson.
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Previous weekly features this season:
— September 1, Southern Durham’s Isaiah Campbell, 30-plus offers.
— August 25, Rolesville’s Isiah Jones, committed to NC State
— August 18, Millbrook’s Mason Fortune, underrated prospect.
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Tom Shanahan is an author, award-winning writer and historian focused on college football integration. He is the author of “Raye of Light” and an upcoming second book, “The Right Thing to Do.” His story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and segregation was awarded first place by the Football Writers Association of America. Visit his website, TomShanahan.Repor
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.
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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
