Read more about the article Willie Roaf on Willie Roaf Award winner Frank Ragnow

Willie Roaf on Willie Roaf Award winner Frank Ragnow

My Detroit Free Press story from May 21, 2018 with comments from WIllie Roaf on Frank Ragnow, winner of the Willie Roaf Award. Three years later, Ragnow is the highest paid center in the NFL with his new contract, four years for $54 million. By TOM SHANAHAN By now, the slicing and dicing of Frank Ragnow's NFL measurables is complete. The Detroit Lions examined the height, weight and quickness of the 6-foot-5, 312-pound center from Arkansas. They used…

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Read more about the article Duffy’s first Underground Railroad passenger on America through football and education

Duffy’s first Underground Railroad passenger on America through football and education

This story has been reposted from Dec. 9, 2014. Clifton Roaf passed away in 2017 at age 76. By TOM SHANAHAN Clifton Roaf's life spans the best and worst America has to offer. He grew up in the segregated South in Pine Bluff, Ark. He was a teenager at all-Black Merrill High when historic Civil Rights events unfolded in 1957 at nearby Little Rock. President Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to Central High to enforce desegregation, escorting for…

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