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View Full Version : The Texas vs Arkansas NC 50 years ago



BeastMan
09-24-2019, 09:39 AM
1176499917059231746

Had zero black players. Two all-white rosters playing for the title. Weird to think about and that isn?t that long ago. Hard to imagine my dad being 11 and watching a National Championship of all white players. There are 2 major takeaways in my opinion from that fact:

(1) We have come a long way in 50 years as a society. Not saying we are there but you cannot deny progress that has been made

(2) Football 50 years ago was not really real football. That may make some mad but it just wasn?t. Not saying we shouldn?t honor those from yesteryear but it makes you wonder what year is the real starting point of real modern CFB?





To answer #2 from a MSU pov is have to say somewhere around 1980. For context Don Smith played QB from 83-86 and the first ever black player at Alabama was 71-74, first in the SEC was 67-71. You cannot start it at 67-71 imo because the rosters weren?t diverse yet. I think 1980 is a solid starting point. I?d like to hear the boards opinion on that, especially Thick.

And while we?re here, does anyone know who MSU?s first black player was? It was Frank Dowsing and I never hear his name brought up. Dude was a hell of a player


He enrolled at Mississippi State University, where he became the school?s first black football player, earned All-America honors as a defensive back, was named to the Academic All-America team and was voted by fellow students as Mr. Mississippi State before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and attending medical school. Classmates, white and black, remember Dowsing as a shining light: smart, charismatic, kind and strong.

The way his life ended probably has something to do with why you don?t hear his name but it shouldn?t.
Link> https://www.google.com/amp/s/theundefeated.com/features/frank-dowsing-mississippi-states-first-black-football-player-is-almost-unknown-today/amp/

Commercecomet24
09-24-2019, 10:03 AM
That's a great article on Frank Dowsing. Is there any kind of memorial to him at the school? I've never seen one if there is. If not there should be something dedicated to his memory. A True pioneer.

Tbonewannabe
09-24-2019, 10:07 AM
That's a great article on Frank Dowsing. Is there any kind of memorial to him at the school? I've never seen one if there is. If not there should be something dedicated to his memory. A True pioneer.

Didn't they do something last year at the stadium? It seems like it is something named for him and another player.

Todd4State
09-24-2019, 10:08 AM
I think 1980 is a fairly good starting point for the modern era. That may be some MSU bias because that was a memorable year for us. That said MSU taking down Alabama was kind of landmark in an underrated way. It was the beginning of the end of the Bear Bryant era.

Todd4State
09-24-2019, 10:09 AM
Didn't they do something last year at the stadium? It seems like it is something named for him and another player.

Yes. There is a plaque honoring him at Davis Wade Stadium. You have to kind of know where it is to find it though.

Commercecomet24
09-24-2019, 10:19 AM
Yes. There is a plaque honoring him at Davis Wade Stadium. You have to kind of know where it is to find it though.

Thanks, Todd. I'm gonna make it a point to see that plaque next time I'm there. Be nice if the University did something a little more prominent, but still good that he does have some kind of memorial at at DWS.

Maroonthirteen
09-24-2019, 10:28 AM
1. Agreed.

2. I hear this a lot. Maybe teams didn?t have the overall team speed as today?s team, other than that..... There were some guys that would Knock your.... in the dirt. It was real football.

Why Don Smith? Because he played QB? There were many black players at State before him.

BrunswickDawg
09-24-2019, 10:45 AM
I agree with 1980 - but for selfish reasons. 1980 is when I became a fan of college football - got caught in Herschel mania growing up in GA (I was 7). Spent a lot of Saturdays listening to Larry call on the Dawgs to "Hunker down one more time". And, yes, I was listening to both the "He ran right thru 2 men! My gosh, a freshman!" against Tennessee and "Run Lindsay!" in the Cocktail Party.

I'll add a twist to that thought of integrated teams - colleges started employing African-American assistant coaches around that time which is probably just as important as as the integrated rosters.

Jack Lambert
09-24-2019, 10:48 AM
Lets just write out history. Act like it didn't happen.*****

tcdog70
09-24-2019, 10:58 AM
Don't forget from Meridian--Robert Bell--I had a button that said "give em hell Robert Bell"

Tbonewannabe
09-24-2019, 11:00 AM
Don't forget from Meridian--Robert Bell--I had a button that said "give em hell Robert Bell"

That was the other player honored recently.

BeastMan
09-24-2019, 01:28 PM
1. Agreed.

2. I hear this a lot. Maybe teams didn?t have the overall team speed as today?s team, other than that..... There were some guys that would Knock your.... in the dirt. It was real football.

Why Don Smith? Because he played QB? There were many black players at State before him.

I said Don Smith because he was a QB and my thinking was when we finally had a black QB I think it’s fair to say the roster was diverse. That was the last hurdle.

BeastMan
09-24-2019, 01:28 PM
I agree with 1980 - but for selfish reasons. 1980 is when I became a fan of college football - got caught in Herschel mania growing up in GA (I was 7). Spent a lot of Saturdays listening to Larry call on the Dawgs to "Hunker down one more time". And, yes, I was listening to both the "He ran right thru 2 men! My gosh, a freshman!" against Tennessee and "Run Lindsay!" in the Cocktail Party.

I'll add a twist to that thought of integrated teams - colleges started employing African-American assistant coaches around that time which is probably just as important as as the integrated rosters.

Great point in 2nd paragraph

BeastMan
09-24-2019, 01:29 PM
Yes. There is a plaque honoring him at Davis Wade Stadium. You have to kind of know where it is to find it though.


Glad he’s honored. I literally just found out about him today going down the rabbit hole of when the sec started integrating.

Maroonthirteen
09-24-2019, 01:35 PM
nm

LC Dawg
09-24-2019, 01:44 PM
Dowsing-Bell Plaza is on the outside of the north side of the stadium.

Tbonewannabe
09-24-2019, 01:56 PM
Dowsing-Bell Plaza is on the outside of the north side of the stadium.

Thank you. I was trying to remember what it was.

Commercecomet24
09-24-2019, 01:58 PM
Dowsing-Bell Plaza is on the outside of the north side of the stadium.

Thanks!