Remembering Joe Gilliam, pioneer Black quarterback
By Monica
Moorehead
The National Football League's 2000 season will be
remembered by many as the year of the Black quarterback. A
number of young, intelligent and talented African American
quarterbacks have led their teams to the playoffs. They
include Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, Aaron Brooks, Steve
McNair and Shaun King.
NFL analysts have singled out Culpepper as
"revolutionizing" the position that for decades was the
exclusive domain of whites.
The NFL has been in existence for more than 80 years. But
the very first Black quarterback was not even drafted until
1968, at the height of the Black liberation struggle. His
name is Marvin Briscoe.
James Harris, the first Black quarterback to start a NFL
season, played from 1968 until 1981. On HBO's program "Inside
the NFL," Harris pointed out that NFL scouts wanted to switch
him from quarterback to another position once he graduated
from college. Harris refused to bow to this form of racial
profiling and went on to have a successful career as the
leader of a number of NFL teams.
This was the typical attitude of white scouts who felt
that Black quarterbacks were not "intelligent" enough to
learn the complexities of offensive plays.
Breaking down racist barriers
The third Black quarterback to enter the NFL was Joe
Gilliam Jr., also known as "Jefferson Street Joe." Gilliam
died of an apparent heart attack on Dec. 25, just four days
shy of his 50th birthday.
Gilliam was an All-American quarterback at Tennessee State
University. The predominantly Black college is known for its
track and field athletes--including the great sprinter Wilma
Rudolph.
Gilliam was an 11th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh
Steelers in 1972. He sat on the bench for two years.
Unfortunately, he was forced to scab during a pre-season
strike by NFL players in order to showcase his abilities.
Steelers Coach Chuck Noll made an offer to Gilliam to compete
for the starting quarterback position. The first-string
quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, who is white, was out on
strike.
Gilliam became the Steelers' starting quarterback in 1974.
For the first six games, he had a winning record.
But Gilliam soon found out that being a Black quarterback
meant more than just having a winning record. It meant that
he had to prove time and time again that he was superhuman in
the eyes of the white Pittsburgh fans and sports critics.
During the only loss while Gilliam was the quarterback,
fans chanted, "We want Bradshaw." During media call-in shows,
racist fans would make disparaging remarks about Gilliam.
Gilliam's reaction to this racism was: "'I was totally
shocked. I thought if you played well, you got to play. I
guess I didn't understand the significance of being a Black
quarterback at the time." (New York Times, Dec. 27, 2000)
Gilliam received numerous death threats. He stated that
his apartment was filled with a pile of hate letters three
feet high and three feet wide. Three Rivers Stadium, the
former home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, received bomb threats
while Gilliam was the quarterback.
In response to all this racist pressure, he turned to
drugs and alcohol. Gilliam subsequently benched himself and
turned over his starting job to Bradshaw.
The Steelers dropped him in 1975. He never played for
another NFL team.
Gilliam was homeless for two years. He checked himself
into a rehabilitation center. Later he started a football
camp for urban youths in Pittsburgh.
One can only speculate how successful Gilliam could have
been as a quarterback if racism had not tragically cut short
his career and his life.
The new wave of Black quarterbacks owes a debt of
gratitude to Joe Gilliam because he, along with Briscoe and
Harris, attempted to break down the tremendous racist
barriers in professional sports that are still alive and well
today.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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