Let the Games Begin!: The Digital Archive and the American Football Tradition

Activities:

This week, my duties for the digital archive included discovering an underrated feature within the archive. Following a brief informational session I had with one of my special topic history courses, a classmate reached out to me with a question about the archive. They informed me that they had spent time browsing the archive, and discovered that it was taxing to individually click on each clip when they desired to watch an entire interview all the way through. Embarrassingly, I informed them that I would have to do some additional research to help them with their predicament. Following some time exploring, I discovered two exceptionally useful tools to solve this issue. If you desire to watch an interview continuously, simply click on the “Settings” tab at the top of the archive. Once there, check off the “Advance to the next story…” box under the “Video Page Settings. If you are looking to save even more time in your binge watch, be sure to select the “Autoplay” option right above it for less clicking and more watching!

Article

It’s official! Football season is in full swing again. As the season heats up with decisive wins for the Raiders, Broncos and Panthers in week two, fans are charged up and ready to crown the next NFL champions. The American zeal for the pigskin sport is no secret, and that sentiment is shared by many of the Digital Archive’s SportsMakers. 

The American South has an especially rich football culture. This is best explained by 1967 NFL Rookie of the Year, Mel Far. Far describes the professional football legacy of Beaumont, Texas, saying, “We had twenty-one guys in the National Football League in 1971 from the Golden Triangle and fourteen was from Beaumont, Texas, and I'm not--I'm not just talking about mediocre football players, you're talking about all pros. You’re talking about real stars...Warren Wells, Ernie Ladd, Mel Farr, Jerry LeVias, Miller Farr, 'Bubba' Smith, [Lawrence Edward] 'Tody' Smith, you know I can go on and on and they were just--you know these names are very familiar because these--they were All-Americans and all pros. So Beaumont, Texas created--I mean it--it created a lot of--of really outstanding athletes…”

SportsMaker Mel Far’s Interview with The HistoryMaker’s Digital Archive

However, football wasn’t as prominent in the lives of other HistoryMakers who went on to help define the sport. This is exemplified by SportsMaker and Chicago Bear Gale Sayers, who admitted in his archival interview to not watching much football even as he played the sport. “ I wasn't really watching a whole lot of pro football…. Because I had a black and white TV, you know, and it was small, you know. And so, I didn't watch a lot of that kind of stuff. But you know, I'm glad I went to the Bears…” Despite not participating in the consumption of football media, Sayers went on to accumulate multiple football honors including being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1977.

Like many other American traditions, football does not come without its own racialized history. Actor and athlete Bill Overton recalls his discriminatory experience his friend, Freddie Summers, experienced while playing for the NFL. He recounts, “First black quarterback. Drafted fourth round by the Cleveland Browns, and the SOBs drafted him as a defensive back because they didn't have no brothers playing quarterback...As a defensive back, he broke his neck up there and it caused him a lot of problems and it sort of ended his career. And caused him a lot of problems, you know, off the field. I mean, I'll never forget, I'll never forget that. And there were a lot of brothers along the way that were put into slots, you know, because that was all that is available.”

Entertainment and SportsMaker Bill Overton for the HistoryMakers Digital Archive

Despite the varied experiences of the selected HistoryMakers, there is no doubt that the football lexicon is here to stay! I look forward not only to this season’s highs and lows, but to see which of today’s players become the next SportsMakers to join the digital archive! To see the clips featured in today’s article, along with other football HistoryMaker highlights, be sure to check out this playlist!