In the mid 1960’s there was supposedly something of a gentleman’s agreement in the old Southwest Conference agreeing that none of the coaches would offer scholarships to black recruits.
The Southeastern Conference was not any better, or any other school located in the old South. The only ones that really broke those unwritten codes, were the University of Houston and the Kentucky Wildcats, that I remember.
There were plenty of talented black players in the South, but if they wanted to play college football they had to either go to a predominately black school such as Grambling State University in Louisiana. Or, they had to leave the South and play in the Big 10, or head West to the Pacific Coast. Michigan State had quite a pipeline to the South back in those years and brought in All Americans such as Bubba Smith and George Webster. Ohio State and Michigan had a few black players back in those days, but they were mostly local guys.
UCLA and USC were integrated years earlier and the Trojans were the first team in major college
football history to have an all black offensive backfield and defensive line.
But, none of that was happening in the old South. The schools like Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Texas were not allowing black players on their teams yet.
Young Jerry Levias grew up in the middle of that environment.
He was always a smaller guy and too small to play football. When he finally got his chance at old Hebert High School in Beaumont, Texas he showed himself more than worthy. With his outstanding speed, he was a major star.
The odd thing about his recruitment is the traditionally black colleges of the South, such as Grambling, did not recruit Jerry Levias at all, or maybe only mildly. They considered him way too small. But, with his speed, the schools like UCLA wanted him really badly.
A strange thing happened with the recruiting of Levias. A coach from SMU of the SWC started coming around. Hayden Fry made his name by turning around the program at Iowa, but he was coaching at SMU back in the 1960’s. Hayden Fry liked to throw the football around back in the times when most schools were still 3 yards and a cloud of dust. They ran the football and thought passing was some kind of trick play.
Fry wanted Jerry Levias because of his tremendous speed. Levias was supposed to be 5-9, 170 but in reality, he was much smaller than that, maybe even 5-7, 140. That kind of explains why Grambling, or Jackson State, Prairie View, Alcorn and other schools did not pursue him. They probably had guys with his speed and in a much bigger body.
For some reason, Hayden Fry saw something in Levias and he wouldn’t let go. UCLA was pretty persistent as well. Going to UCLA would have been the much easier path for Levias at the time. But, Fry was like a pit bull and grabbed onto Levias and never gave up on him. They developed a relationship and eventually Levias decided to sign with SMU.
Levias became the first black player to sign with a SWC school.
I’ve seen Jerry Levias quoted as saying his life was a ‘living hell’ at SMU in the 1960s. There were very few, if any, black students at SMU at the time. Levias only had coach Hayden Fry to lean on and he was truly all alone, otherwise. He caught everything from teammates from insults, to being spit on and everything imaginable.
By all accounts, Jerry Levias was a class act and he was treated like a pile of garbage which is really heart breaking. He had a private dorm room because nobody would room with him, but it wasn’t just his own teammates. Other teams treated him poorly as well.
Freshman had to sit out in 1965, the year he signed with the Ponies. But, in 1966, Levias was a sophomore and a starter. He only caught 18 passes, but he averaged over 23 yards per catch and scored 7 touchdowns. He was definitely a deep threat.
Levias became a more popular threat from his quarterback Mike Livingston. That season Livingston threw 10 touchdown passes and 7 of them were to Levias.
Jerry Levias made All SWC, but it did little good as the Mustangs finished with a 3-7 record.
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Their next game was also on the road and this one at Columbus, Ohio. Usually, Columbus is a really tough place to play, but the Buckeyes had been down the last couple of seasons. Nobody yet knew about the Super Sophomores.
The now senior Jerry Levias was unstoppable in Columbus even with a future All Pro defensive back Jack Tatum roaming the secondary. Levias caught 15 passes from quarterback Chuck Hixson for 160 yards that day, but Ohio State still came away with a convincing 35-14 victory.
The Buckeyes went on to finish the season unbeaten and win the national title.
Levias was nearly unstoppable all season long coming down with 80 receptions for 1,131 yards and 8 touchdowns. That’s All American numbers and Levias was a consensus All American in 1968.
The Mustangs had a really good year in 1968 winning all of their season games other than Ohio State, Texas and Arkansas.
On the road in Austin, the Longhorns and their new Wishbone offense just killed SMU and the Longhorn defense had no problems with the Pony passing game while the Horns won, 38-7.
Levias didn’t hear any racial slurs, or put downs from Texas players because of his good friendship with Texas defensive back and former quarterback, Bill Bradley. The Texas captain told his teammates to leave Levias alone.
All of the Mustangs’ tough games were on the road in 1968 and they very nearly came away with a victory in the hills of Arkansas only to lose, 29-35.
The season highlight was a win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Bluebonnet Bowl, 28-27.
Football aside, these were tough times for the gentle spirited Jerry Levias. He fulfilled it all on the field and he worked hard in the classroom to get his degree. But, he was treated like a second class citizen. Hayden Fry was more than good to him, but it wasn’t enough.
Baylor had a walk on that was also African-American that played one week before Jerry Levias, but Levias was the first ever black player on a scholarship to play in the Southwest Conference. He was a pioneer and he took it on the chin over and over again. It was not just his enemies on the field, but his own teammates as well. It was tough for Jerry Levias and I can believe his description as a living hell. He paved the way for others who had it somewhat easier, and then a whole lot easier. Those
guys should thank Jerry Levias for his suffering at the hands of racists.
The NFL didn’t have an official combine back in those days, so it was still hard to get a grasp on the actual real size of our speedy hero, Jerry Levias. The NFL listed him as 5-9, 177 but even that may not be realistic. He was a bolt of lightening, but a very small one.
He was picked in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers which was like going home for him. He did have some success at that level, but from everything I have ever read and seen from Jerry Levias, he was never happy in the NFL. Another thing that must be understood is the NFL just didn’t pay very well back in these years.
Levias played 2 seasons in Houston before being traded to the San Diego Chargers where he played 4 more seasons. Levias was no dummy, and he knew at his size especially, that the NFL was a short lived career. He was already a businessman while playing at the highest level.
As soon as football was over, Jerry Levias had business operations already underway.
Jerry Levias, my hat is off to you. In spite of your lack of size, you are a real man that tolerated more than most of us ever dreamed of. Thank you Hayden Fry for giving Levias a shot.