mustangxc wrote:Yes to Jerry LeVias, no to Dandy Don and the rest. Jerry was one of our greatest players and people. The fact he was the first person to integrate in the SWC makes it a no-brainer, and now more than ever given our attempts to build a bridge to DISD. People need to see that SMU is very welcoming to people that look like Jerry. We already make it welcoming to people that look like Doak. We need everyone on board in order to truly become Dallas' team and boost attendance. I love ED to death and he is an amazing ambassador for SMU. I want him on the sidelines as much as possible but don't think he or Dandy Don merit statues.
Copied from Wikipedia...
LeVias was the first African-American scholarship athlete and second African-American football player in the Southwest Conference. In his 1987 book, Richard Pennington has told the story of the integration of the Southwest Conference, beginning with John Westbrook at Baylor and Jerry LeVias at Southern Methodist University in 1966
He was recruited to the Southern Methodist University in the spring of 1965 by Coach Hayden Fry. LeVias had over a hundred scholarship offers, but none from the traditional historically black college football powers he expected to play for (like Grambling, Alcorn St., Southern, Prairie View etc.) He was deemed too small by those schools to be offered a football scholarship. Coach Fry saw in LeVias the character, academic potential, and skill that would be needed to successfully integrate the Southwest Conference.
This first campaign on the varsity squad, LeVias led SMU to their first Cotton Bowl appearance since Heisman winner Doak Walker suited up for the Mustangs, almost two decades earlier. LeVias' touchdowns against rivals Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and TCU saw the Mustangs earn the conference title in often dramatic fashion. Once LeVias demonstrated his ability on and off the field, Darrell Royal, head coach at the conference power Texas, quipped that LeVias no longer looked too small. Speaking with LeVias' high school coach, Royal said, "Well, he didn't sound very big then when you described him, but he looks plenty big to me now." Texas had passed over LeVias, not only due to his size but because the Longhorns would not integrate their athletic teams until after being named consensus National Champions in 1969. LeVias wore the number 23 (for Psalm 23), which he also wore during his professional career, at his grandmother's insistence.
LeVias was three times consensus All-SWC, 1966–68, and All-America as a senior. He twice led the league in receiving and held every career record when his three varsity seasons ended, including the single game mark for reception yardage (when he caught 8 passes for 213 yards against North Carolina State in 1968.) LeVias ended his career with a TD catch in SMU's scintillating victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 1968 Bluebonnet Bowl and followed that as the MVP of the Senior Bowl. On top of these achievements on the field, LeVias was an Academic All-American his senior year.
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2022 3:09 pm
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