Michigan State Archives - Tom Shanahan Report

Antonio Gates quietly climbs Spartan Stadium to watch namesake while awaiting Hall-of-Fame call

Post author:Tom Shanahan
Post published:September 22, 2023
Post category:College Sports Football Michigan State Uncategorized
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Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report PHOTO: Antonio Gates Jr. scored his first career touchdown September 9 against Richmond at Spartan Stadium. By TOM SHANAHAN Antonio Gates Sr. prefers climbing Spartan Stadium’s steps to its upper reaches when attending Michigan State football games. The vantage point allows one of the NFL’s greatest tight ends to anonymously watch his namesake, Antonio Gates Jr. “I get the game tickets on my own with friends, and I don’t leave my name at…

Emmy Award: The Indelible Legacy of Jimmy Raye

Post author:Tom Shanahan
Post published:May 23, 2023
Post category:College Sports Football Michigan State Uncategorized
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PHOTO: Jimmy Raye (L) and Osahon Tongo backstage at the 44th annual Sports Emmys in New York celebrating the award. Visit TomShanahan.Report homepage. By TOM SHANAHAN NFL 360 producer/director Osahon Tongo was awarded the Emmy for “Outstanding Edited Special” on Monday night at the 44th Sports Emmys in New York. Tongo’s feature, “The Indelible Legacy of Jimmy Raye,” told the story of Raye’s journey from the segregated Fayetteville, N.C., to Michigan State in 1964 and to the NFL.…

My Willie Thrower story on Spartanmag.com

Post author:Tom Shanahan
Post published:February 12, 2023
Post category:College Sports Football Michigan State Uncategorized
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Visit my website homepage at TomShanahan.Report Thanks to Spartanmag.com for posting my story on Michigan State's Willie Thrower, the first Black quarterback in the NFL. Thrower was recruited by Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty -- an assistant under Biggie Munn (1947-53) until he was promoted to head coach, 1954-72. Thrower, in the era before freshmen were eligible for the varsity, played for the Spartans from 1950-52. Click below: Michigan State's Willie Thrower blazed trail for Mahomes and Hurts…