Marlin Briscoe didn't want to be pigeonholed simply because of stereotypes against black men. He was a star quarterback in college and he
believed he had the talent
Youth Cullen Gillaspia Jersey , intelligence and leadership skills to be one in the pros.Fifty years ago, during an era of massive social upheaval in the United
States, just getting a chance to prove it took a risky ultimatum.Briscoe refused
to switch positions after being drafted as a cornerback by the Denver Broncos,
telling his team that he'd return home to become a teacher if he couldn't get a
tryout at quarterback. Denver agreed to an audition, and that season the
5-foot-10 dynamo nicknamed "The Magician" became the first black quarterback to
start a game in the American Football League."It's just so many different
historic things that happened in the year 1968, it was unfathomable," Briscoe
said. "It just seemed poetic justice, so to speak, that the color barrier be
broken that year at that position. For some reason, I was ordained to be the
litmus test for that. I think I did a good job."Briscoe's groundbreaking
accomplishments were somewhat lost in the shuffle during one of the most
transformative years in U.S. history. Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in
1968. Civil rights riots broke out across the country and there were numerous
protests of the Vietnam War. And less than two weeks after Briscoe's first
start, U.S. track and field stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised
black-gloved fists on the medal stand at the Olympics to protest America's
social injustices.But Briscoe's legacy resonates among his contemporaries 50
years later, hitting on race as well as the pressures athletes face in pro
sports. The Pro Football Hall of Fame calls Briscoe the first African-American
starting quarterback in modern pro football history. Carolina's Cam Newton and
Seattle's Russell Wilson have both considered Briscoe's past as they contend for
championships.Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl,
counts Briscoe as one of his most important inspirations."I know the little bit
that I had to go through, so I can imagine what he had to go through," said
Williams, who won the 1988 Super Bowl with Washington. "People were a little
more accepted when I came through than when he came through."Wilson and Newton
can relate to Briscoe's resistance to switch from quarterback. Both dealt with
being steered toward other positions."I had a couple opportunities ??ell I
wouldn't say opportunities
White Cullen Gillaspia Jersey , I think quarterback's the opportunity I wanted ??but more so, people wanted to change me to play defensive back," Wilson said.
"Even my freshman year in college. But I had other plans, and I guess God had
other plans."Though he's happy more black athletes are playing quarterback at
the professional level, Briscoe sees parallels with his experiences even five
decades years later. Last week, a white Texas school superintendent resigned
after posting on Facebook that "You can't count on a black quarterback," while
talking about Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson."It's unfortunate because in
sports is the one realm in which race, you forget about it for the good of the
outcome of a game or whatever you have from a sports standpoint," Briscoe said.
"To have that broken with attitudes like that from an executive ??it's mind
boggling. It hurts. It really does."GETTING ON THE FIELDBriscoe said the
pedestal for quarterbacks in the hierarchy of sports made his quest about much
more than football."People of color were only expected to reach certain heights
in life," Briscoe, now 73, told The Associated Press. "In my particular
instance, it was the packing house. They (white people) thought that was our
end-all, be-all. It came back to my wanting to play that position."Though
Briscoe starred at Omaha University and eventually landed in the College
Football Hall of Fame, the odds were stacked against him in Denver. He was
drafted as a cornerback in the 14th round, and during his three-day tryout,
Briscoe started last among the eight quarterbacks during drills."When it got to
me, all of a sudden, the reps got shorter. Instead of 10 reps
Xavier Crawford Houston Texans Jersey , I got five," he said. "So I made sure that all of my passes were completions with zip on the ball. When it came
to the long bomb, I'd wait till the receiver would get damn near out of sight.
They couldn't believe a kid this small could throw the ball that far."Though the
AFL was considered more progressive than the rival National Football League, a
black man didn't play quarterback in a regular-season game until its ninth
season.Briscoe broke through helped by injuries and erratic play. He eventually
stepped in for the Broncos as a reserve on Sept. 29, 1968, nearly leading a
comeback against the Boston Patriots. He earned the next start against the
Cincinnati Bengals, making him the first black quarterback to start in the
AFL.Briscoe started five games that season and was runner-up for AFL rookie of
the year, attracting strong crowds to games and energizing a franchise that had
yet to establish a winning tradition.But when the games ended, reminders of
racism came quickly."Here you are just playing a professional football game and
endeared by the public as an athlete, then you go to a restaurant and you can't
get something to eat," Briscoe said. "Those were the times that we lived
in."Despite his electrifying season ??he passed for 1,589 yards and 14
touchdowns and ran for 308 yards and three scores ??Denver didn't give him a
chance to compete for the quarterback job in 1969. He said he was never given a
reason why, so he asked to be released."The more I've known him and been around
him and talked to him, you've got to give him respect for what he did during
that time and what happened to him after that time," Williams said. "That's the
part that gets me. But that's the time he was in."Briscoe headed briefly to
British Columbia but decided Canadian football wasn't for him. He returned to
the United States and was picked up by Buffalo. He became a Pro Bowl receiver
with the Bills and won two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins.Briscoe played on
the 1972 Dolphins team that had a perfect season. But he never started at
quarterback after 1968.MENTORING HARRISAs a senior at Grambling, James Harris
kept up with Briscoe's 1968 season by going to the library to look up his
statistics.As fate would have it, Buffalo drafted Harris as a quarterback in
1969, putting him on the same team as Briscoe. It was Harris who became the
AFL's first black quarterback to open the season as a starter, and he said his
roommate Briscoe was a critical mentor."We used to talk a lot about the dos and
don'ts and things that he had been through. He was telling me the things I
needed to be prepared for
Xavier Crawford Jersey 2019 ," Harris said. "I felt that Marlin was the only person on the team that understood what I was going through."That included
death threats, Briscoe said. "We had the race card on our careers because we
were the first," he said.Harris refused to show the Bills the full range of his
athletic ability because Tennessee State's Eldridge Dickey and Michigan State's
Jimmy Raye, two quarterbacks he considered capable, were drafted in 1968 and
forced to switch positions.Grambling coach Eddie Robinson noticed the trend and
told Harris not to run the 40-yard dash for scouts. The Bills still wanted him
to practice at receiver while learning to play quarterback, and Harris responded
by running less than full speed in drills."I knew they were looking for the
opportunity to switch me, and I didn't want to face that," he said. "So when
we're out there just working out, if anybody was around, I didn't want anybody
to think about my speed."Harris blossomed at quarterback. In 1974, he played for
the Los Angeles Rams and became the first black quarterback to win an NFL
playoff game. He also was Pro Bowl MVP that year.GROWTH OF BLACK QUARTERBACKSThe
list of prominent black quarterbacks eventually grew.Warren Moon is in the Hall
of Fame. Steve McNair was the first black quarterback to be named NFL MVP.
Michael Vick is the NFL's all-time rushing leader for quarterbacks. Randall
Cunningham, one of the most electrifying players in NFL history, was a
first-team All-Pro twice. Wilson became the second black quarterback to win a
Super Bowl.Newton said the strategy of the position itself has shifted
dramatically along with racial dynamics."It doesn't even have to be
African-American," said Newton, who met with Briscoe at a quarterback camp about
10 years ago. "The quarterback position is kind of molding and changing over the
years. You see the Carson Wentzes taking a more athletic approach to that
position and making it more dynamic for teams to prepare for."Briscoe said more
work needs to be done both in the league and society. He has noticed that Colin
Kaepernick has not been given a contract since his decision to kneel during "The
Star Spangled Banner" to protest racial and social inequality. He believes
President Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Kaepernick and other
black NFL players who have protested to draw attention to issues like
incarceration and the shootings of unarmed black men by police, also bears some
responsibility for the Watson quip and others like it.Trump's rhetoric toward
people of color, Briscoe says, has made some people feel safe expressing overt
racism. After all these years
Color Rush Xavier Crawford Jersey , Briscoe still sees shades of his old struggles."I grew up in the '50s and the '60s, when all that stuff was rampant,
but you knew where you stood," Briscoe said. "Today, you thought that all those
attitudes were nonexistent or filtered away to some degree, but with the
Trump-isms, his philosophy has brought out of the woodwork that old-time thought
process. That's scary ??it really is."Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter:
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Talkin’ James Snook-USA TODAY SportsWe’re on the way there. I’ve watched the
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