In 1964 Wake Forest became the first Major College in the deep South to integrate a sports program. Bob Grant, Ken Henry and William Smith were the the three Black players that were brought in that year. I should know because I am Bob Grant. Because of that I became the first Black Player out of any major Southern College to play in the NFL. Daryl Hill was up at Maryland but as he has stated many times he did not have the exposure to and risk from segregation that we did every week. Some how it seems as if Smith, Henry and myself are always never mentioned when the integration of College Football and Sports comes up. It is a fact in record! The Media and other Colleges for some strange reason always chose to give the credit for what we did during those dangerous times to others. I am presently Chairman of the Retired NFL Players Congress, Inc.

I'm glad this video got posted on KZfaq, to help this part of history be remembered and not forgotten.

big old bear wasnt trying to be a civil rights leader he knew he would be left in the dust if he wasnt proactive about getting some big strong fast black fellas on his team

RIP Mr. Cunningham. I remember listening to you talk about this game back in the late 90s, when I was a student at SC. You will be missed. God speed🙏🙏🙏

I was an Alabama fan (actually a Bear Bryant fan) back in those days and I remember this game. I lived in a little town, Columbia and that season we had my classmate and childhood friend starring on our football team. His name was Walter Payton. At Southern Miss there was a black man named Willie Heidleberg (not sure of spelling) who had a great game against an all white Ole Miss and USM won in a game that also featured a 99 yard punt by Ray Guy. So yes the barriers were starting to be broken, but the game that broke it in the SEC was this Alabama vs. USC. I remember the older people talking about how they realized the blacks (they didn't say blacks) were taking over everything, and they were starting to realize their old racial hatred was not the order of the day. I watched Walter gain fans in Columbia and then people not believing USM wouldn't sign him because they thought he was a showboat, even though Coach Boston of Columbia tried to tell Underwood that was not true. Racism is still alive, but it went way down until the last 10 years when I notice it has started to come back. I hope it won't because I saw too much pain and suffer by all people due to that silly and wasteful time called Jim Crow. Oh for the record I turned up going to college at the University of Southern Mississippi during the time the first black QB Reggie Collier played the position for the Golden Eagles.

The power of Southern Cal!

I'm no Alabama fan. The Buckeyes are my team. However you have to give the Bear credit. He always wanted to integrate and even went to schools in the south that were all black and told the coaches he wanted to recruit black players. He needed this game to help change minds.

USC had two players from Alabama on that team Clarence Davis who went on to play with Oakland Raiders and Alabama’s Kenny Snake Stabler and Charles Young also played NFL with LA Rams and others

Yeah, it really was after integration when Southern teams started dominating their northern & western competition. It would be the 90s before the SEC itself really galvanized and became the face of premiere Southern football schools but you could see the tide turning below the Mason Dixon line by the 70s and 80s. Alabama and Oklahoma dominated the 70s; Miami owned the 80s and FSU came along shortly thereafter; and the SEC adding Arkansas & South Carolina to become the nation's first 12 team conference with a postseason championship game changed EVERYTHING. Today conference championship games are just accepted as part of the season but this was completely new territory in 1992 when the SEC started it. No one had ever seen anything like that before. It gave the SEC this unique atmosphere of a hyrbrid bowl game/playoff game atmosphere all to itself on the first Saturday in December when no one was playing. The whole nation had nothing else to do but turn on the SEC Championship game that day to watch #2 Alabama vs. #8 Florida. It was enormous for the conference because that very first SEC title game was a play-in game for a berth in the national championship in the Sugar Bowl, and turned out to be one of the most electrifying games ever played. Alabama eventually won that game on a late 4th qtr pick 6 INT by Antonio Langham. When Alabama went and destroyed the supposedly unbeatable Miami Hurricanes on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship, conference championship games proved they weren't liabilities to your season. The next piece in the equation came around this time also, and that was Steve Spurrier returning to Florida to revolutionize the way offense was played in the SEC. The dominant SEC teams of the 80s were Auburn and Georgia-- teams who believed the only time you shouldn't call a run play was on 4th down when you had to punt. Once Spurrier hit the league with the Fun 'N Gun & Peyton Manning went to Tennessee, the SEC became the most competitive and high profile conference in the country with high scoring offenses to go with their bone crushing defenses. By the 90s, the SEC had become the NFL's primary "minor league" that coaches, scouts, and GMs pulled from the most when drafting for the NFL.

Grambling was the most dominant football team in all of college football back then.

The Trojans were great back than

This is all well and good but the game that should be highlighted occurred the year before when Tennessee beat Alabama. The Vols had black players Jackie Walker and Lester McLain as starters. Walker scored a touchdown in that game. I guess it makes a better script if it's a west coast team coming to the south to show 'em how it's done.

Bear Bryant first coaching job was at Texas A&M just thought y'all should know

Wow!! What a treat to see all the coaches and ole friends from Bama. As a student athlete, history never entered my mind. I simply wanted to win and graduate. Silly me.

Thanks for sharing this vid.Great Job.

FIGHT ON USC ✌️🏈🌴😎

very very nice. Good stuff, more ppl need to know about these things.

i love the music for this...does anyone know what songs are used?! :]

"Hi paul" "HI John" They then proceed to the nearest bar

anyone know where i can find an article on this?

Thanks for the history

@Loganh12. How many Heisman Trophy Winners does Bama , Have.?

Do a documentary on the 1961 Donna Redskins it's a bit similar to this and played with only 18 players .

Wish they can do a movie on this

Interesting tidbit 1 of USC's star players was clarence davis....he grew up in the shadow of legion field...but his mom moved him to los angeles for better opportunity..then Davis became a teammate of ken stabler with the raiders

John McKay is one of the best college coaches ever! he won 4 National Championships and would have won many more if he had gone to the NFL at age 52. In Southern California where I grew up we didn't see that much ( easy for me to say I'm white ) racism. But even at USC and UCLA there was kind of an unwritten rule you could have blacks but not too many. When McKay got SC that changed. A friend of mine that I went high school with became an All American at SC in the early 70's, he told me that after four years of playing for McKay he wasn't sure if McKay even knew he was black.

We are all brothers and sisters. Black and white. Please for heaven sakes let go of the hatred or misunderstanding you have in your heart. It is no way to live, have love in your heart for your fellow man. "For only love can conquer hate."- Marvin Gaye

@ranger69me What USC has done lately? They are ranked #5 in the AP poll while being put on probation by the NCAA..

$100,000 & $250,000 was a lot of money in 1970 and 71

Have we seen a movie about this?? I can't remember one ... I think someone should make a movie about this story because it's the very foundation of how college football looks today

Bryant and MacKay were bird hunting so the story goes and some birds landed quite close to their duck blind when the Bear took a shot and missed. He turned to MacKay his good friend and reportedly said, "John, your watching a dead duck fly". This story was in MacKays book. LOL

Just goes to show, sickness of the mind and heart is still with us, front and center!

One thing that all Tide fans can agree on is that Alabama wouldn't be the program it is without black players. Bobby Humphrey, Siran Stacy, Shaun Alexander, Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas, Eric Curry, Antonio Langham, John Copeland, and countless other talented players have made a tremendous impact on Alabama football, the SEC, and even in the NFL. Coach Bryant saw the need for change and stepped up to make it happen. If we argue about all white vs all black teams, we miss the point.

@LOLz420k Really? Who did USC lose to that year and what was their ranking?

Wonderful post. Roll Tide Roll!!

Thank, Coach.

"Sam 'Bam' Cunningham did in one day what Martin Luther King couldn't do in ten years."

woody hayes played a all-black backfield in 1954 and won the national championship.but you're right most teams even up north didn't start too many blacks.except maybe michigan state and usc.

I love Tennesee because of the rich tradition that program has with scheduling the Pac 10. For 40 years Vols were the only SEC team to extend the olive branch to the west coast. Especially the tradition of Tennesee vs UCLA. For that Tennesee will always my favorite SEC East team.

Great Post

@kylemas2005 You do know this game was played in 1970 and not 2011, right?

USC & Bans two of the greatest college football programs! but don't forget about Notre Dame as well!!!

@Bishop4695 but your forget according to nationals and conference champions there is only one other team that comes close and thtats notre dame

USC football is important in regards to the evolution of SEC and Alabama football. USC's beat down helped speed up the integration of SEC football. Bama's 1960's titles should be labeled with an asterisk, being that they didn't play any integrated schools who had equal to better talent.

@Deathbyomega to bad im german right?

This is going to be made into a movie. The screenplay is about done and various actors' names are being bandied about

@80svideoluvr Congratualations...when we played you in Bammy, that 1970 team was not a great team...nor was the 1971 team you played in the Coliseum...would have loved for little bammy to play our 1972 team, one of the greats of all time, lol.

It’s “Devine Irony” that crimson looks so much better on the black players... I’m sure the originators had no intention of that! 😂🎉

good job Bear.

We will however have some possible problems with our gutted defense. I do think Mitch Mustain will lead us to another Rose Bowl or perhaps Fiesta Bowl. Our coaching staff is depleted as well and its going to be a rebuilding year for us. Either way I want to see USC vs the SEC whatever team from that conference will do. Its all about bringing back the glory OCC scheduling of the 70's where USC would face Alabama, LSU, etc. I want to see that.

I remember listening to this game on the radio and feeling proud of the Trojans for trouncing Alabama. Little did I know the significance of this game. Then the following year, the Tide got us back in LA with Johnny Musso leading the charge. It's been a good rivalry when it happens.

triumphs?

SEC teams only had a handful of black players prior to USC playing Alabama. USC's victory against the Tide helped speed up the integration of SEC football. Period.

yes, with basically the same team and USC still had Sam Cunningham.

It's always strange to see Pay Dye talk about "we" when he mentions Alabama.

k. Enjoy Lane. Oh, and apparently Alabama was the first SEC school worth mentioning.

Man in this day/age, to see a coach smoking on the field is startling....

Well thats the good thing about them. You don't have to play the guessing game and speculate. Makes decision making easier.

Black people have and always will pave the way for prosperity in The United States of America

i'm a big alabama fan.been one since 1970.but usc usually gets the best talent .i'm talking over the years they do.coach bryant in his book even said usc was one of the teams he always wanted to coach because of the talent they get .its true.just look at pete carroll's teams.

How is it that we don't see anything about the University of Tennessee and their integration program? I'd love to see that... (Tennessee fan in the Pac-10)

My thoughts exactly Captain America. Same thing with Kentucky basketball.

Fight On Trojans Fight On!

There was no stopping Sam "BAM" Cunningham

that's the game forrest gump played in!

'bama's probably the only college football team that can say that it's played USC more than once in L.A. and won every encounter there.

When gambling I have a saying: always bet on the bigger blacker guy - Norm MacDonald 50 Year anniversary of the game this year, let's hope the Pac-10 gets to play

"Hey y'all c'mon..."

bear was a class act.

My Dad said Bama vs USC changed college football. And football forever. Everyone wants to win!!!

Barry Switzer took advantage this

@1usctroj Some school from Palo Alto called Stanford ruled at the time the PAC-8 in the 70 and 71 seasons beating Ohio State and Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Near OG YT post

@ebf1957 Also it has to be noted, that 1970 USC team was not a great team, nor was the 1971 Trojan team. I would have loved to see that Bammy team go up against the 1972 USC team, arguably one of the greatest teams in CFB history.

@Crimson13Tide i guess you didnt see my last comment, yes Florida didnt when their first til 96, and LSU's in 2003 was their first since the fifties and same with auburn, (recent), and bama is 7-1 against texas, whoopie and all those other titles you mentioned before 96 was mostly just bama, and yes bama was the usc of the sec for a while, and u should be proud of that for your team bro, and you left three titles out of the pac 10 washington huskies 60,84,90,91, some were shared title...

Sam Bam dominated that game. If not for him, we would have lost. One guy having a dominating game against your all white team, a dominating game to lead your team to a win, will have an impact.

@1usctroj Except that I'm not from 'bama. I'm actually from Pac-10 country (though not California). I was just pointing that little fact out. I'm more or less neutral about the all-time USC vs. Alabama football series.

@80svideoluvr We can also say USC beat Bammy in Alabama in 1970 and in 1978 and we split the championship even though USC won the head to head matchup. If this would have happened to any SEC team, there would have been burning couches, riots and killings - of their own people.

@BAMAPERRY It was more about fan perception than the actual integration. Coach Bryant realized an age-old truth when it came to integration: In order to make it work, you had to hit the segregationists where they lived.

Texas won the 1969 National Championship with an all-white varsity, although there was one black player on the freshman team.

I agree with the post above, not pride in being the last State to catch up and even then for the wrong reasons.

The Tide beat USC 17-10 in LA in '71.

Yes, I know, but Alabama's all white teams had a winning record against integrated teams from 1959 to 1970. My point is that USC won in 1970 because Alabama was a 6-5-1 team, not because it was all white vs. integrated team. I do think it would have been interesting to see an all white team vs. an all black team back then.

130 yds on 12 carries???? Its game over!!!!

Alabama needs to bring back ..black football jerseys rolltide

I wouldn't worry about less Pac 10 teams on Tennesee's future schedules. Lane Kiffin is a west coast native and has a serious axe to grind with SC and the rest of the teams. Watch him to lean on the Vol's AD to keep the tradition up, due to the fact that Tennesee is the only SEC program that has a special relationship with the Pac 10. All the other SEC teams appear to blackball the Pac 10 sadly.

You know athletics saved the south. I'm talking about the integration of athletics. Why? Because some blacks and whites may not like each other, but they have to know how to get along. Integration of athletics in the South helped that.

At least the BEAR had since enough to know in order to continue to win they were going to have to change there way of thinking. What is the old saying? "If you can't beat them, join them."

Good post - end of an error.

November 2007: 4.7% October 2009: 10.2%

By the way, the FIRST black to actually PLAY for Alabama was John Mitchell not Wilbur Jackson, although Jackson was the first given a football scholarship.

All that needs to be said it this...USC's first All-American in 1925 was Brice Taylor, a Black player. 1925.

@LOLz420k USC lost to a Chump Arizona St. team. Alabama beat the number one team in the nation in their Bowl game. That's why Alabama won, and deserved the 1978 Title. They also played the toughest schedule in the nation that year.

@starVol from what I have read SC had 19 black players on their squad at that time. i think you're misinterpreting what i'm saying. I know Tennessee was a good program and i do think Bryant feared losing good players to them and that is why he decided to play SC to send a message to Bama's higher ups which was "we need to integrate to compete" .

lol i live in tuscaloosa roll tide .

they played Nebraska and destroyed them two years in a row.also oklahoma in the orange bowl 17-0.

that's not true at all,alabama first played penn state(1959 liberty bowl) who had a black player,then Alabama played Oklahoma(who had several blacks starting) in the 1963 orange bowl and won 17-0.then Alabama played against Nebraska in :66 and 67 and 'bama won 39-28 and 34-7,so you don't know what you're talking about.

@greymoose1000 you're the on wit the little schoolgirl crush on Alabama, you tell me.

The point is, this was a fabricated story. The game happened, like the one the next year when Bama beat USC in L.A., but the rest of it was just made up. It's never good to pass a lie off as the truth, no matter how good the intent is.

What made the PAC -8 and the bi-8 so much better in the late 60's thru early 70's?! The sec was bullsh*t