"... I couldn’t help but think of how many people had helped me along the way. One of those people I wanted to personally thank for opening doors was Jimmy Raye. This book tells how some of those doors got pushed open. I’m sure you will enjoy reading about the journey!" - Tony DungyGeorge Webster
How MLK helped LeVias and Fry change SWC
No singular figure or moment represents the integration of college football, but Jerry LeVias stands out for encompassing so much history in a tumultuous fight for equal opportunity – at least on the playing field. His story also is unique for crossing paths with influential...
The 1967 NFL Draft changed the face of league
A half-century ago the NFL Draft was so simple NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle stood at a chalkboard in a New York hotel ballroom. He scrawled names in chalk as they were called out.The anticipation hovering over the draft was not about who would go where. It was relief players...
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Willie Ray Smith left a legacy beyond football
Part II: Texas royalty turned to uncommon manESPN and The Undefeated credits Michigan State's Underground RailroadMy segment on The Drive with Jack on sports radio in Lansing, Mich., on the influence of Willie Ray Smith-- Willie Ray Smith Sr. was one of the southern black...
My Michigan State history letter to Mel Tucker
To Coach Mel Tucker:Welcome back to Michigan State.Your two seasons as a graduate assistant in the 1997 and 1998 seasons on Nick Saban's football staff provided time to learn more about the school than we know about you upon returning. So I'm wondering how much you learned...
Forty four Underground Railroad legacy facts
--- Why do I write so much debunking the myths and fiction surrounding Bear Bryant and the 1970 USC-Alabam game? The answer is simple: History has failed to properly credit College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty, his Michigan State Underground Railroad players and...
Dabo insults his team with Alabama history
“Notre Dame was 8-0 and ranked No. 1; the Spartans were 9-0 and ranked No. 2. Despite the fact that Alabama was also undefeated — and, in fact, would end the 1966 season as the only undefeated Division I team in the country — no one doubted that the winner of the Notre...
Black History Month and Underground Railroad
Three twitter posts I read in succession were unrelated unless placed in the context of Black History Month. One was from filmmaker Ava DuVernay and the other two about the Texas Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. In general, they were reminders...
Spartans have Super Bowl link to Sean McVay
The coaching DNA linking New England head coach Bill Belichick and his father Steve, a respected 34-year Navy assistant, are retold with every Patriots Super Bowl trip. But the Belichick family has company this week in Atlanta. Sean McVay, who has taken the Los Angeles Rams to...
Ernest Green as homecoming grand marshal
NOTE: Michigan State president John Hannah did much more than provide Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty the backing that established Michigan State as the college football leader of the integration. Hannah brought Ernest Green, a Little Rock Nine graduate, to Michigan State with a...
Here is what George Webster would have said
What would George say?How might the late George Webster, a Michigan State College Football Hall of Fame linebacker/safety on the 1965 and 1966 national championship teams, have viewed Jon Reschke re-joining the Spartans following a racially charged text?Michigan State’s...