Two Guys.... One Heck Of An Accomplishment

In the spirit of Black History month, I felt compelled to give a bit of history lesson. See in today’s game, there are a number of Black Quarterback’s, but in the 1960’s it was a rarity. Although Black Quarterback's (QB) have come a long way, they still have a very, very long way to go. Nothing annoys me more than listening to people talk about Black QB's like they are indentured servants. Underneath that uniform is a man. A man that has to endure a set of rules that are not spoken anymore, just understood. Most people think sports are just sports. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sports, football especially, are a microcosm of society. And no position in football reflects that more than the Quarterback position.

Pictured above is the first Black QB in modern day football. Marlin Briscoe, stood a mere 5'10" tall. Coming into the 1968 football season as a Rookie, Briscoe was 8th on the Denver Broncos depth chart. He was pretty much buried alive. Drafted in the 14th Round he was hardly given a chance to survive professional football. Sure enough, Briscoe saw action due to an injury and spotty play by QB's ahead of him on the Denver Broncos' depth chart. Briscoe may not have ripped it up with his completion percentage, but he did set a Rookie record with 14 Touchdown passes (still to this day a Broncos Rookie record). The Broncos thanked him for his services by not bringing him back in the 1969 season. As a result, Briscoe never played QB again. What is most disturbing, is the fact that he was never given another opportunity to play QB in the NFL. Although Briscoe did win two Super Bowls playing Wide Receiver (WR), most people don't even know that he was the first Black QB. It was guys like Marlin Briscoe, who paved the way for others like Warren Moon, Vince Evans and Randall Cunningham. But one guy broke down another barrier following Briscoe’s historic achievement. And I had the pleasure of watching him do it, and do it what a “Touch of Class.”

Douglas (Doug) Lee Williams was born in Zachary, LA on August 9, 1955. Doug had the pleasure of playing college football for Hall of Fame Coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling State University. Although Williams was red-shirted in 1973, Doug became the starting Quarterback the next year. Doug really left an indelible mark on Grambling guiding them to three SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Championships and three Black College National Championships. In his Senior year, Williams was up for the Heisman. Although he only finished fourth, that alone is one heck of an accomplishment. Most players at Black colleges aren’t even considered equally as good as the players at the major colleges. But when you have a 35-5 record and set numerous school records, people may take notice. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one NFL team that thought his accomplishments were worthy of an NFL Draft selection. So with the 17^th overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the laughing-stock of the NFL. That was, until Doug got there. Over the next four seasons, Doug Williams guided the Buccaneers to three playoff appearances which included the 1979 NFC Championship game. If you want to talk about a guy carrying a franchise, Doug’s name should be mentioned. Sadly Doug was only being paid $120,000 a year, the lowest of any starting QB in the NFL, and also lower than 12 backup QB’s at that time. To put that in perspective in relation to today’s game. That is not even the league minimum today. For some players, that is a week’s salary. When it was time to talk about money, Doug wanted a raise and rightfully so. Doug wanted $600,000, the Bucs offered $400,000. Doug would have still been one of the lowest paid starting QB’s in the NFL. So in a standoff Doug took his talents to the USFL. Although his stint in the upstart league was short-lived, Doug’s finest moment came in the Nation’s Capitol. And boy was a special moment.

Can you imagine being unemployed and getting a phone call from Coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins asking you to come to the Redskins to play QB for the team? Well this is exactly what happened to Doug in 1986. Coach Gibbs used to the Offensive Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and remembered Doug from his days in Tampa. Because of spotty play along with injuries from Jay Schroeder, Doug Williams was in and out of the line up for the Redskins in early 1987. Couple that with the fact that the NFL season was shortened because the players strike, which included replacement players playing 3 games, and the fourth game being cancelled, Doug had to wait a while for his moment to come. But as the Redskins inched closer to the playoffs, Doug Williams inched closer to the field. And once the Redskins qualified for the playoffs, Coach Gibbs made the bold move of naming Williams the starter. Although I was a young man (11 years old), I remember the 1988 (technically the 1987 Season) Playoff run. After knocking off the Chicago Bears (21-17) in Soldier field, and beating the red hot Wild Card team in the Minnesota Vikings (24-17), Doug became the first Black QB to appear in the Super Bowl (XXII). And what a game it was.

After falling behind 10-0, Doug Williams caught fire in the 2^nd quarter leading the Redskins to a record 35 second quarter points (still a record to this day) while throwing four Touchdown passes. This resulted in the Redskins winning 42-10 and Doug being named Super Bowl XXII MVP. And to think, this man had a root canal a few days before that made it impossible for him to get ANY sleep and Doug sprained his knee early in the game. Although Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair followed in Doug’s footsteps, Doug Williams is still to this day, the only Black QB to win a Super Bowl. Doug has been mentioned as a good player, but among the greats he gets lost in the shuffle. But we all know there are moments in time that can’t be undone. And Super Bowl XXII was one of them. I would hate to think what would have happened had the Redskins lost that Super Bowl with Doug at QB. But because Doug won, we see guys like Michael Vick (first Black QB ever drafted #1 overall in the NFL Draft [2001]), Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Troy Smith, David Garrard, Vince Young and others get the opportunity to play in the NFL today.

This is why when I sit down to discuss football I acknowledge the fact that I am a Redskins fan first. I like the Steelers second. And my third team is every, and any team that has a Black starting QB. At that point it is bigger than football. They are carrying the burden of representing Black men in society. I always say that sports are a microcosm of society. No sport reflects this more than football and no position in football reflects this more than the QB position. But it doesn’t matter who your favorite NFL team is/are, you have to tip your hat to Doug Williams and Marlin Briscoe both were trailblazers. And both should be recognized.