Robert Jacobus: Stories From The Integration Of Texas Football

Robert has written another book and it should be another good one:

To accurately capture their experience, Robert D. Jacobus interviewed some 250 former players, former coaches, and others with firsthand knowledge of the racial integration of high school and college football in Texas.

He collected their stories in his book, Black Man in the Huddle: Stories from the Integration of Texas Football.

In the audio above, he tells Houston Matters host Craig Cohen some of the stories he encountered.

Jacobus also chronicled the integration of college sports in his book Houston Cougars in the 1960s: Death Threats, the Veer Offense, and the Game of the Century. In 2015, he spoke to Houston Matters about that book.

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There are many alumni, particularly older ones, from the less diverse teams that made up the SWC that hated UH for breaking the color barrier. Many still do, though you don’t hear the racial slurs very often anymore – at least in public.

When we won the SWC 2 of our 1st 3 years, and with black QB’s, it really brought out the KKK at heart folks from UT, aTm, Arkansas, and even SMU. Being a Methodist, it really chaps my butt that a school that carries the denomination in its name actually had signs saying “Beat the Cougroes.”

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I am one of the people that Robert interviewed.

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Pre-sale copies of “Black Man in the Huddle,” are available on Amazon. Copies should be available at Houston area Barnes and Noble stores in the next 2-3 weeks. You can go to www.robertdjacobus.com to keep up with Houston area book signings and events. Attempts are being made to have some of the integration pioneers in the book, such as Warren McVea (has tentatively agreed to do so) and Jerry Levias, appear at some book events.

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Of course some people do not like how their ancestors acted back then and how their ancestors were treated back then but sounds like a possible upcoming movie.

Actions always speak louder than words, and I am proud of CBY and CGL for helping to break down the color barriers…
And I got my degrees from UH in the 80’s, and I was still hearing all sorts of insults (not suitable for print here) about our school because we chose as a University to go the right way…

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