Published: January 02, 2009 09:24 pm      

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Jackson links 1958 Buffalo team, Obama's election

TORONTO — The Rev. Jesse Jackson linked a "gallant" stand against segregation by a University at Buffalo football team 50 years ago to Barack Obama's historic election as president, and credited athletics with "changing our mind about what matters" in a speech Friday.

Speaking at the International Bowl luncheon one day before the Buffalo Bulls play the Connecticut Huskies at Toronto's Rogers Centre, Jackson paid tribute to Buffalo's 1958 team, whose players voted to refuse an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl because of a law in Orlando, Fla., that barred black players and white players from competing on the same field.

Buffalo had two black players who would not have been allowed in the bowl game: star halfback Willie Evans and defensive end Mike Wilson.

"There's a line from the University at Buffalo standing up to Barack being the president in 2008," Jackson said. "We are a better nation and a better world because of these changes. No place has been more fundamental, socialized and civilized than this athletic arena."

With Evans among the 25 members of the 1958 team in attendance Friday, Jackson paid tribute to the team's historic decision.

"We celebrate one of the greatest games never played, where games were played without shoulder pads and the team scored the winning touchdown without the ball," Jackson said. "The University at Buffalo players chose dignity over the Tangerine Bowl and paved the way for a generation of people who now live together as if it's normal. It was not always so."

The decision to refuse the bowl invitation has gained renewed attention as the '58 team celebrates its 50th anniversary. The tribute arrives at a fortuitous time: This year's Bulls team is only the second to be invited to a bowl and will be the first to play in one.

"Beyond color and cult, there's something called character," Jackson said. "These men will live forever because they seized the moment and tore walls down to make America a better place."

As honored guests of the current team, the '58 team has been attending practice this week and will receive a special presentation Saturday from university president John Simpson. The team received recognition Friday from New York Gov. David Paterson, who is black.

The Buffalo athletics program has established a solid reputation as being at the forefront of racial diversity. The Bulls remain the only Division I school with African Americans in its three most high-profile positions — athletic director (Warde Manuel), football coach (Turner Gill) and men's basketball coach (Reggie Witherspoon).

Gill, who is completing his third season, is one of only six black head coaches among Football Bowl Subdivision programs. His success has not only raised Buffalo's profile, turning a perennial loser into a contender, but also his own.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley took notice after Auburn, his alma mater, hired Gene Chizik last month. Barkley said "race was the No. 1 factor" behind the Tigers' decision to hire Chizik, who is white, instead of Gill.

Gill is Buffalo's second black football coach, behind Jim Ward, who headed the team for three seasons in the early 1990s.

Jackson, who played quarterback in high school and received a football scholarship to Illinois, said bowl games are more than exhibitions because they have the power to be "socially transformative." He also cited interracial friendships in sports such as Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese in baseball and Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo in football to show that "athletics helps define common ground."

Jackson called the Toronto game "the ultimate bowl," because it symbolizes the globalization of football and provides a link to Canada's history.

"We live in a one-world community. While the world celebrates Barack Obama's victory, much of it is rooted in Canada's role to end the despicable system of slavery. The underground railroad made its way to Canada. Runaway slaves and abolitionists met in Canada," he said.

He ended by asking the current athletes to follow the example of the '58 team in paving the way for equality.

"If Barack can take us to higher ground, you can take us even higher," Jackson said. "As we move in this age from racial battlegrounds to economic common ground, to moral higher ground, seize this moment, do a lasting thing, and love each other."