(See also: "Revisiting Rush")

 

When Warren Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, he paid tribute to the black quarterbacks who came before him. It was a nice gesture, and the way it was received without much comment hopefully means we've finally progressed beyond the point where black quarterbacks are an NFL issue.     

But Moon prompted us to remember some black quarterbacks whom the NFL avoided. We discovered – as the Cold, Hard Football Facts so often do – a few things that contradicted the general perception of the history of the issue. 

 

Namely, we found that plenty of college quarterbacks, black and white, weren't given a chance to play the position in the pros. In almost all instances, they were players with reputations as better runners than passers. We also found that certain pro coaches seemed quicker to cut black quarterbacks than others. There may or may not haven been institutionalized racism against black QBs in the NFL. But it certainly seems like there were personal cases of bias against black QBs.

Let's start with the story of Sandy Stephens (pictured here). Stephens led the University of Minnesota to the national championship in 1961, was the first black quarterback named All-American and finished fourth in the Heisman voting. He came from Uniontown, Pa., in the heart of America's Gridiron Breadbasket, the area of western Pennsylvania that produced quarterbacking greats John Unitas, Dan Marino and Joe Montana, among so many others. 

 

He took the Gophers to the 1961 Rose Bowl, where they lost, 17-7, to Washington and Huskies quarterback Bob Schloredt (the first two-time Rose Bowl MVP). Schloredt's claim to fame was being virtually blind in one eye, basically passing to receivers he saw only as colored blurs moving around the field. Sort of like an accurate version of Tommy Maddox.

But in the 1961 season, Stephens led Minnesota to the national championship (at 8-2) and to a 21-3 win over UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl. Stephens impressed primarily as a leader and a powerful runner, rolling out and often as not keeping the ball. He ran for a couple of scores behind a line which included Tom Brown at guard and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Bell at tackle (ironically, Bell had been a high school quarterback; when he played for the Chiefs, he was reputed to have the best passing arm on the team).

 

But Stephens' running strength was one of his NFL problems. He was drafted in the fourth round by the NFL's Browns and fifth by the AFL's N.Y. Titans. But he opted for Canada because both teams saw him as a running back or defensive back.  Thus, Stephens is remembered by many as one of the first black quarterbacks denied an NFL career by prejudice.   

Looking deeper at his decision to play in Canada, it's apparent that it was not purely a question of race. 
   
In the 1950s, a number of excellent quarterbacks couldn't crack the NFL for any number of reasons. John Unitas had to play semi-pro after being cut by the Steelers, while Len Dawson and George Blanda were NFL backups.   

 

UCLA's Schloredt, who was white and also played defensive back, wasn't a classic dropback passer. So he never made it in the NFL.

 

Hot-shot passers Frank Tripuka, Babe Parilli, and Tobin Rote all went to Canada and only returned when the AFL was launched. Canada gave chances to guys like Ron Lancaster, the "Little General." A prototype Doug Flutie, mobile with a good arm, Lancaster was small and had played at Division III Wittenberg, so he never got an NFL look. He thrived in the wide-open CFL, where he also coined the classic football quote, perhaps under-appreciated by the trolls here, that "stats are for losers."     

The Stephens Era produced lots of successful college quarterbacks, white and black, who were rollout runners, "football players" who often went both ways and played in offenses still influenced as much by the single-wing as the T formation. These formations had been long-since passed by in the NFL, but the college game has always featured successful schemes (wishbone, option, spread) which haven't made the jump to the pros.    

Frank Gifford, Tom Matte and Paul Hornung (pictured here taking a snap during his Notre Dame days) were quarterbacks of this type whom the NFL moved to halfback. Nebraska's Pat Fischer and Wisconsin's Dale Hackbart became defensive backs. Joe Kapp was the leading rusher when he led Cal to the 1959 Rose Bowl (they haven't been back since). The Redskins drafted Kapp with an 18th-round pick, but it was Jim Finks, then GM in Calgary, who gave him his pro chance. When Finks took over the Vikings, he hired CFL coach Bud Grant and they brought in Kapp, who had a great four-year career in Minnesota. If you ever saw Kapp play, you know his passing was erratic, but his leadership and guts were second to none. That description could have been applied equally well to Stephens. But Kapp had CFL success.        

Stephens signed with Montreal but didn't see much action. In fact, he didn't play QB at all when they lost in the Eastern Conference final in his rookie season. The Alouettes brought in Jim Trimble as coach, and he and Stephens had a falling out. Stephens got traded to Toronto but still didn't play. He finally decided to try out for the Vikings, but was involved in a near-fatal car crash the next day. He was told he would never walk again, but by 1968, he had progressed far enough to give it one last chance, as a running back with the Chiefs. He didn't make it.  Stephens died a few years ago, only 59, and deservedly still a popular celebrity in Minnesota. He still contributes to society through the scholarship fund that bears his name (http://www.sandystephens.org/).   

Perhaps he should have followed the CFL career path of other similar contemporaries, such as Northwestern's Dick Thornton and Tulsa's Jerry Keeling, whom even the CFL moved to defensive back. Thornton ran some slotback and halfback, but he only played quarterback for Bud Grant's Winnipeg Blue Bombers as an emergency fill-in for the injured Kenny Ploen in the 1965 Western Conference final. He scored the winning TD on a 38-yard run and then made a game-saving goal-line tackle and fumble recovery.     

The point isn't that Stephens encountered no prejudice. But he was a long shot to become an NFL quarterback, even had he been white. Fran Tarkenton and Bobby Douglas were exceptions, because of their arms, and few teams were willing to do what the Vikings did with Kapp (or the Redskins with Billy Kilmer), and implement a system built around a QB whose running skills were better than his passing.       

We were also surprised to find that legendary coach Lou Saban had the distinction of cutting both Marlin Briscoe and James "Shack" Harris, two black quarterbacks with a lot of potential who never quite made it in the NFL. Briscoe played primarily as a receiver. But in 1968, as a rookie 14th-round draft pick from Nebraska-Omaha, he started half the season (seven games) as Denver's quarterback. He threw for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns over 11 games. Not bad for a small-college rookie, though in fairness, Bricoe's completion percentage was a measly 41.5 and his passer rating a less-than-exciting 62.9.      

 

However, the designated starter in Denver was Steve Tensi, and HIS completion percentage that year was 40.3, with a passer rating of 46.5. Backup Jim LeClair completed 50 percent of his passes but had an even worse rating of 42.3 due to only one TD with 5 picks. Briscoe also rushed for 308 yards at 7.5 per carry and 3 more TDs. You'd think Denver might want to keep the rookie around. But Saban cut him outright after the season. (That's Briscoe passing the ball for Denver here).

In 1969, Saban improved from 5-9 all the way to 5-8-1 as Tensi completed 45.8 percent of his passes (rating 68.1), while backup Pete Liske's rating was 63.4. 

 

Briscoe, meanwhile, wound up in Buffalo, where Jack Kemp was established as the quarterback, and Tom Flores and Dan Darragh were kicking around. Coach John Rauch moved Briscoe to wide receiver, and he became their second option, after Haven Moses.

Buffalo also drafted Shack Harris, a quarterback from Grambling, in the 8th round of the 1969 draft. (They got O.J. Simpson in the first round.) Harris was a somewhat stronger version of Tony Banks, with a big arm, little mobility, and a penchant for loose balls in tight situations. For the next three seasons, two under Rauch and one under Harvey Johnson, Buffalo slid steadily downhill, from 4-10 to 3-10-1 to 1-13. 

Harris saw spot duty at QB in Buffalo during that time. He completed 90 of 189 passes for 1,120 yards, 5 TDs and 11 INTs.

 

Saban took over the Buffalo job in 1972 but didn't give Harris another look, releasing him outright.

Saban improved the Bills to a very Bronco-like 4-9-1, mostly by increasing Simpson's carries from 183 in 1971 to 292 in 1972. Harris spent the year out of football. In 1973, Chuck Knox signed him for the L.A. Rams, and he backed up John Hadl up as the Rams went 12-2. 

 

In 1974, Hadl was injured and less effective. So Harris played 11 games and made the Pro Bowl with the following line:

Black quarterbacks like Briscoe or Harris might never have been stars. But the Cold, Hard Football Facts certainly suggest they were as good as the players who replaced them after Saban let both go with no compensation. 

 

Obviously, since no one jumped to claim Harris and the Bills moved Briscoe to receiver, Saban's judgment wasn't that unusual. But remember, Saban is also the guy who drafted Curly Culp as a second-round pick in 1968 (the same year as Briscoe), tried him at offensive tackle and cut him too. Culp went on to Kansas City, where he had a few pretty good years as the prototype modern nose tackle.
 

Saban may or may not have had racist tendencies. He may simply have been guilty of some questionable player personnel decisions, and which coach or GM hasn't had those? Whatever the case, there's no doubting there was a period in NFL history when black college quarterbacks didn't get a fair shot from the pros. But it's also true that plenty of white college quarterbacks weren't given a shot, either, because pro coaches didn't think they could handle the position.

We do know this: Things have changed a lot in the NFL. Take the post-playing career of Shack Harris, for example. He had a pretty good career in the Baltimore front office and is now in charge of player personnel for Jacksonville. His quarterbacks – Byron Leftwich, David Garrard and Quinn Gray – are all black.