Hayden Fry and Jerry LeVias
Legendary college football head coach Hayden Fry is best known for his years coaching the Iowa Hawkeyes but his greatest contribution to college football came years earlier.
His first head coaching job came at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He took the job in 1962, but only after SMU reluctantly said that they would allow him to recruit black players. Rather, one black player. And only if the player Fry chose scored 250 points higher on the SAT than the white players had to.
Fry chose Jerry LeVias to be the first black college football player in the region because of LeVias' character and will, in addition to his talent on the field and in the classroom. Jerry LeVias suffered abuse on the field and off. Opposing players would beat him under the pile after the whistle blew to end the play. Hayden Fry was a joke in the conference, with the other head coaches publicly vowing never to recruit a black player.
Together, the two led SMU to its first championship title in 18 years. Jerry LeVias won both All-American and Academic All-American honors. He also set many records... some of which still stand today.
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His first head coaching job came at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He took the job in 1962, but only after SMU reluctantly said that they would allow him to recruit black players. Rather, one black player. And only if the player Fry chose scored 250 points higher on the SAT than the white players had to.
Fry chose Jerry LeVias to be the first black college football player in the region because of LeVias' character and will, in addition to his talent on the field and in the classroom. Jerry LeVias suffered abuse on the field and off. Opposing players would beat him under the pile after the whistle blew to end the play. Hayden Fry was a joke in the conference, with the other head coaches publicly vowing never to recruit a black player.
Together, the two led SMU to its first championship title in 18 years. Jerry LeVias won both All-American and Academic All-American honors. He also set many records... some of which still stand today.
[More Info]