Another Super Bowl, Another Barrier

The first Super Bowl with two African American starting quarterbacks,sent me thinking back to two pioneers, who inspired me as a fat white kid growing up in Upstate New York and destined to put my hand on the dirt as a lineman, but who grew up loving the quarterback position. Each of these pioneers inspired me with their talent, their character, their leadership, and they sure could spin the football.

They each faced barriers and challenges with courage and dignity, which is probably not a surprise, because they both played for the great Eddie Robinson at Grambling University, who taught his players real life lessons through football.

But there is no doubt each of their careers suffered due to prejudiced assumptions that predominated in the time when many believed certain players couldn’t play certain positions, Safety, Middle Linebacker, Center, and the by far last barrier to fall was Quarterback.

You could make the argument that the early history of the Super Bowl was written by the contributions of former Historically Black College & University players- Willie Davis, Buck Buchanan, Winston Hill, Verlon Biggs, Willie Lanier, Otis Taylor, Larry Little, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Jackie Slater, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Willie Brown on up through Harry Carson and Jerry Rice.

But the players I want to highlight now are: James Harris and Doug Williams two of the first men who helped bring down that last barrier and when glass gets broken it is never easy.

Harris became the first African American regular starting QB in the NFL, and led the powerful Los Angeles Rams of the 1970s to a string of divisional championships, often being one of the last four QBs still playing along with Bradshaw, Stabler, Tarkenton or Staubach, who are all in the Hall of Fame, and he remains an admired presence in football after many years as a wise front office executive.

Williams, ultimately became the first Quarterback of Color to start and win a Super Bowl. Williams had a similar skill set to Harris, with size, arm strength, mobility, character. He took both his teams deep in the playoffs, starting with the unlikely Creme-sickle jersied post-expansion Tampa Bay Bucs whom he led to an NFC Championship Game and finally Washington, the franchise led by Bobby Beathard and Joe Gibbs, not Daniel Snyder’s current version, to a title. And the quarterback he defeated in that Super Bowl, some guy named John Elway who isn’t exactly chopped liver.

When we look at where we are, it is good to remember how far we’ve come and the those who struggled against ridiculous barriers because Jame Harris and Doug Williams brought everybody to a better place.