Football Player

Football player and entrepreneur Ben Davis was born on October 30, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama to B. Frank and Sallye B. Davis. His sister is activist, author, and professor Angela Davis. He graduated at age fifteen from Fair Lawn High School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey in 1961, and attended Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine from 1961 to 1963. He received his B.A. degree in business education from Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio and was a running back and wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets football team. He led the team to an undefeated season (9-0) during his senior year and received honors as a Little All-American.

Davis was the 439th overall draft pick in the 1967 NFL Draft, selected by the Cleveland Browns as a defensive back in the seventeenth round. In his rookie season with the Browns, Davis led the league in punt returns, averaging 12.7 yards per return, including one fifty-two yard return for a touchdown. Davis also led the Browns in kickoff returns, with twenty-seven returns totaling 708 yards, including one sixty-three yard return in 1967. In 1968, he started as a cornerback, and led the team with eight interceptions. In 1968, he also led the NFL in interception return yards with 162, the third best in Browns’ history and he holds the record for seven consecutive games with an interception. That same year, he was named All Pro Defense Back by Sporting News. A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) benched Davis for one and a half seasons from 1969 to 1970, but he started for the Browns for three more seasons from 1971 to 1973. He was traded to the Detroit Lions for a fifth-round draft pick in 1974, and played three more seasons for the Lions before retiring in 1977.

After retiring from a ten year NFL career, Davis joined the Xerox Corporation as a sales representative. In 1982, Davis co-founded and served as president of Telecable Broadcasting of America (TBA), a cable TV provider in the greater Cleveland area. TBA was one of the first African American owned and operated cable TV companies in the U.S. Davis started another cable TV company in Jefferson Township, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, in 1986, which he later sold to the Centel Corporation. In 1989, Davis started a radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma (94.1 FM) that he ran for five years, eventually selling the station to Shamrock Communications. In 1990, Davis created Britt Business Systems in Cleveland, Ohio which sold and serviced Xerox office equipment in Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. Davis operated Britt for seventeen years until his retirement in 2007.
 
Davis and his wife Sylvia have two adult children, Cecilie and Benjamin, III, and three grandchildren.

Ben Davis was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 26, 2018.

Football player Derrick Brooks was born on April 18, 1973 in Pensacola, Florida to Geraldine Brooks and John Brooks. Raised by his mother and stepfather, Arthur Mitchel, Brooks graduated from Pensacola’s Booker T. Washington High School in 1990, and enrolled at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee. At FSU, he was a member of the 1993 Seminoles National Championship team. He was also a four-year letterman, a consensus first-team All-American his junior and senior years, a three-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection from 1992 to 1994, and named two-time Consensus first-team All-American in 1993 and 1994, and Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. Brooks received his B.S. degree in business communications from FSU in 1995, and his M.S. degree in business communications from Florida State University in 1999.

Brooks was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. During his fourteen year career with the Buccaneers, Brooks was an eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and nine-time All Pro. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year after the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl victory in 2002.  He recorded 2,198 tackles, the most in franchise history, along with eight defensive touchdowns, second highest in Buccaneers history. In 2009, Brooks was released from the Buccaneers, and was declared a free agent for the 2009 season. During that time, Brooks joined ESPN2’s First Take as an NFL analyst and signed with Sirius NFL Radio in 2009. In 2010, Brooks announced his retirement from the NFL and was elected to the 2000s All Decade Defensive Team. In 2011, he became the co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm team of the Arena Football League. Brooks was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2018, Brooks became a minority investor in the minor league baseball team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

He founded Derrick Brooks Charities, Inc. in Pensacola in 1997, which worked to develop educational youth programs and opportunities in the Tampa Bay community. In partnership with Pro Football Hall of Famer Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Brooks co-founded the Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa in 2005. Brooks received an honorary doctorate degree in human letters from St. Leo University, in St. Leo, Florida in 2006.

Brooks and his wife, Carol Brooks, have four children: Briana, Derrick Jr., Darius and Dania.

Derrick Brooks was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 12, 2018.

Football player Mel Blount was born on April 10, 1948 in Vidalia, Georgia to Alice Sharpe Blount and James Blount. A natural athlete, Blount excelled in football, baseball and track at Lyons High School. He graduated in 1966, and received an athletic scholarship to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During his college years, Blount was named a Pro Scouts All-American as both a safety and cornerback. In the spring of 1970, Blount was drafted in the third round by the Pittsburg Steelers just months prior to earning his B.S. degree in physical education.

By his third year in the NFL, Blount was a starting cornerback for the Steelers. Known for utilizing the bump and run technique, Blount’s dominance as a player inspired the NFL to impose a rule that prohibited contact between defensive backs and receivers until the five yard line. The rule, which was later known as the Mel Blount Rule, was meant to slow Blount on the field and make gameplay more competitive. However, Blount made three Pro Bowls and earned first-team All Pro in 1981. He had 57 career interceptions for 736 yards, more than any player in Steelers history, with thirteen fumble recoveries. After retiring in 1983, Blount became the director of player relations for the NFL, serving until 1990. He also established The Mel Blount Youth Home in 1983, opening the first home in his hometown of Vidalia. Blount wrote the book The Cross Burns Brightly about the adversity and racism he faced in opening the second youth home in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Blount is a four time Super Bowl champion, a four-time All-AFC selection, and was named All-Pro from 1975 to 1979 and in 1981. He was also named the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1975 by the Associated Press. In 1989, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Blount has two daughters and five sons.

Blount was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 18, 2018.

Football player Doug Williams was born on August 9, 1955 in Zachary, Louisiana to Laura Williams and Robert Williams, Sr. He attended Chaneyville High School, where he began to show an interest in sports. Under the mentorship of his older brother, Robert Williams, Jr., Williams excelled in baseball. As a football player, Williams initially trained as a linebacker, but disliked the rough nature of the position until he was switched to playing quarterback. As a senior at Chaneyville High School, Williams threw for 1,180 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was recruited by Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana upon graduating in 1973, where he was mentored by legendary college football coach Eddie Robinson.

In 1978, Williams was drafted 17th overall in the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the first African American quarterback to be picked in the first round. During his five years with the Buccaneers, he led the team to the playoffs three times. Williams chose to leave the Buccaneers in 1983 to join the United States Football League. After the league ended in 1985, he was recruited by the Washington Redskins in the following year as a backup quarterback to Jay Schroeder. In the subsequent 1987 season, Williams replaced an injured Schroeder as the starting quarterback, leading the team to Super Bowl XXII. The Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos 42-10, and Williams was named MVP with 340 yards passing, and 18 of 29 completed passes. That same year, he founded the Doug Williams Foundation, which awarded more than a $100,000 in college scholarships in 1988. In 1989, Williams retired from the NFL, and went on to coach at several schools at the high school and college level, including Zachary’s Northeast High School, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Morehouse College. In 1998, Williams succeeded his former coach as the head coach at Grambling State University. He also served as personnel executive with his former NFL teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins. In 2017, Williams was named the senior vice president of player personnel with the Washington Redskins.

In recognition of his accomplishments as a quarterback, Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001, and into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor and the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame in 2015.

Williams and his wife, Raunda Ashner Williams, have eight children.

Doug Williams was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 22, 2018.

Football player John Randle was born on December 12, 1967 in Mumford, Texas. He received his B.S. degree in sociology in 1990 from Texas A&I University, in Kingsville, and played defensive lineman for the Javelinas football Division II championship winning team, receiving Little All-American honors.

The Minnesota Vikings invited Randle to training camp, and later signed him to a free agent contract in 1990. In 1991, Randle started in eight games with 8.5 sacks. In 1993, Randle was credited as one of the dominant defensive tackles of his era and went on to his first NFL Pro Bowl after recording 11.5 sacks. He ranked third in the NFL in sacks, with 9.5 through the Vikings' first 11 games in 1994. During this period, Randle recorded double-digit sacks including a career-high and league-leading 15.5 sacks in 1997. Named All Tackle Machine of 1999 by Tackle: The Magazine, he was chosen as starting tackle on the NFL Team of the Decade by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Selection Committee in 2000. Randle recorded 8 sacks and 31 tackles from 2000 to 2001. Having become a free agent, Randle was released by the Vikings and signed a $25 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks in 2001. He achieved 11 sacks, and went on to the Pro Bowl in 2001. In 2003, Randle, after sustaining injuries the year before, led the Seahawks with 7 sacks in twelve games. That year, Randle acquired his final sack and then retired from professional football in 2004 tied with Richard Dent for the fifth in number of career sacks. His 137.5 career sacks remain the second highest total by a defensive tackle in NFL history, ranking below fellow Vikings legend Alan Page who had a total of 148.5 sacks. Over his career, he was named to seven Pro Bowl squads.

Randle was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and inducted into the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor in 2008. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and his number retired by his alma mater, Hearne High School team in 2010.

Randle has one daughter, Brittany, and he and his wife Candace, have twins, Ryann and Jonathan.

John Randle was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 18, 2018.

Football player and coach Art Shell was born on November 26, 1946 in Charleston, South Carolina to Art Shell Sr. and Gertrude Shell. Shell graduated from Bonds-Wilson High School in 1964, and earned his B.S. degree in industrial arts education from Maryland State University in Princess Anne, Maryland in 1968.

After graduating from Maryland State University, Shell was drafted by the American Football League to play offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders. In 1977, Shell earned his first Super Bowl ring after the Oakland Raider’s victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. He then played in Super Bowl XV in 1981 in which the Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Shell also competed in eight Pro Bowls, and was named to the AP First Team All-Pro in 1974 and 1977, and to the AP Second-Team All Pro in 1975 and 1978. He played a total of 207 games with the team from 1968 to 1982. After retiring as a player in 1983, Shell became an offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Raiders. In 1989, Shell was promoted to head coach of the Raiders, making him the first African American head coach in the National Football League in the modern era. Shell left the team in 1994, and became an offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1995; and from 1997 to 2000, he served as an offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Shell also served as a senior vice president in charge of football operations for the NFL, before returning to coach the Oakland Raiders for the 2006-2007 season.

Shell was included on the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team, and inducted into the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Shell was selected as NFL Coach of the Year in 1990. Sporting News ranked Shell as number fifty five on their list of the 100 greatest football players in 1999.

Shell and his wife, Janice Jeter Shell, have two children, Arthur Shell III and Christopher J. Shell.

Art Shell was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 7, 2018.

Football player Barry Sanders was born on July 16, 1968 in Wichita, Kansas to William and Shirley Sanders. Sanders graduated from Wichita North High School in 1986. He earned a football scholarship to attend Oklahoma State University, where he remained until his junior year in 1988. That year, Sanders led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, 37 rushing touchdowns, 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns.

In 1989, Sanders was selected by the Detroit Lions as the third overall pick in the National Football League (NFL) Draft. Sanders began his career as the running back with the Detroit Lions in 1989. In 1991 and 1993, Sanders led the Lions to NFC Central division titles. In 1994, Sanders rushed for 1,883 yards, on a 5.7 yards per carry average. He also totaled 283 receiving yards. That season, he broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game without scoring a touchdown with 237, and was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year. In 1995, Sanders posted 1,500 yards rushing with 398 receiving yards. In 1996, Sanders rushed for 1,553 yards with a career-low 147 receiving yards. In 1997, he became the third player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Sanders announced his retirement from professional football in 1999. During his career, Sanders led the Lions to the playoffs five times and amassed 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving yards, 99 rushing touchdowns, and ten receiving touchdowns. Sanders held the record for the most seasons with 1,500 or more rushing yards (ten seasons) and is ranked third on the all-time list of rushing yards, behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. In 2017, he returned to the Detroit Lions organization as a brand ambassador.

In 2003, Sanders published his autobiography, Barry Sanders: Now You See Him.

As a college athlete, Sanders was awarded the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, and the Heisman Trophy. He was also unanimously named an All-American. Upon entering the NFL, Sanders was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was the recipient of the Bert Bell Award, and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1997. Sanders was also named to the Pro Bowl during each of his ten seasons in the NFL. He was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and, in 2004, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sanders’ number was retired by the Detroit Lions.

Sanders has four children: Barry James, Nigel, Nicholas, and Noah.

Barry Sanders was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on December 22, 2017.

Football player John B. Wooten was born on December 5, 1936 in Riverview, Texas to Elmo Wooten and Henrietta Young. As a child, Wooten moved with his mother and siblings to Carlsbad, New Mexico. He graduated from Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and received his B.S. degree in education from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Boulder, Colorado in 1959. There, he became the second African American varsity football player in the university’s history, and as a senior, Wooten earned American Football Coaches Association All-America honors and was selected to play in the Chicago College All-Star Game.

After graduation, Wooten was selected in the fifth round in the 1959 National Football League Draft (NFL) as a defensive lineman by the Cleveland Browns. He played a total of 136 games for the Browns, and helped lead the team to their 1964 NFL Championship win against the Baltimore Colts. After nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Wooten played a single season with the Washington Redskins before he retired from professional football. In 1975, he became the director of professional scouting for the Dallas Cowboys, where he worked to make higher level coaching and staffing opportunities more equitable and accessible to African Americans. Wooten then joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992 as vice president of player personnel. He resigned from the Eagles organization and was hired by the Baltimore Ravens in 1998 as the team’s assistant director of pro and college scouting. Wooten was then appointed as chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance in 2003, where he worked to prevent racial discrimination in the NFL’s coach and personnel hiring processes. He also used his position as chairman of the Alliance to encourage harsher penalties and stricter guidelines against the use of offensive language on the field. As of 2017, Wooten was the president of Wooten Printing in Coppell, Texas.

Wooten was awarded and honored numerous times for his successful football career. He was named as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1965; and, in 1979, was named as part of the Cleveland Browns All-Time All-Star Team. Wooten was also selected as a member of the University of Colorado’s All-Century Team. In 2010, he was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor, as well as the Browns’ Legends Program. Wooten was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Wooten has five children and five grandchildren.

John B. Wooten was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 13, 2017.

Football player Harry Carson was born on November 26, 1953 in Florence, South Carolina to Gladys Carson and Edgar Carson, Sr. He began playing football as a defensive end during his sophomore year at Wilson High School in Florence, where he also joined the Air Force Junior ROTC. In 1969, Carson transferred to the integrated McClenaghan High School, where he became a starting defensive end. Carson attended South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he was a four-year starter as a defensive lineman under Coach Willie Jeffries. Carson played a role in setting a college football record for the fewest points allowed in 1974. He graduated with his B.S. degree in education in 1976.

Carson was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL draft. Under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer, Carson was trained to play middle linebacker. He was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie Team in 1976, and selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1978, the first of nine in his career. Under Bill Parcells, who became head coach in 1983, the Giants improved, making the playoffs in 1984 and 1985. During the 1986 season, the Giants led the league with a 14-2 record, and Carson served as team captain for the team during the Super Bowl XXI victory in 1987 against the Denver Broncos. Carson led the team in tackles for five years, and served as captain for ten years. He retired from professional football in 1988.

Carson was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome in 1990, due to the head trauma sustained during his NFL career. He became a leading voice in speaking out for the rights and proper care of retired NFL players who suffer from diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He released his autobiography, Captain for Life in 2011, and appeared in the documentary League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis in 2013. He was also active in healthcare organizations like Meridian Neuroscience Health System Inc., the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the Aplastic Anemia Foundation. Carson was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Harry Carson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 1, 2016.

NFL Hall of Famer Gale Eugene Sayers was born on May 30, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. Sayers grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Omaha Central High School. As a running back at the University of Kansas, he was a two-time All-American player known as "The Kansas Comet." In 1963, he set an NCAA Division I record with a 99-yard run against Nebraska.

Sayers was drafted in 1965 by the Chicago Bears and remained with the team for his entire NFL career. He was the unanimous choice for NFL Rookie of the Year in 1965. He was named the MVP of the 1967, 1968 and 1970 Pro Bowl Games, and he was named to the 75th Anniversary All Time NFL Team. Sayers was inducted into the Black Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, the NFL Hall of Fame in 1977, and the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In July 2000, he was named to the NFL All-Time Millennium Team.

After completing his professional football career in 1971, Sayers returned to the University of Kansas to receive his B.A. degree in physical education while also working as the assistant athletic director. Sayers accepted the assignment as assistant director of the Williams Education Fund for three years and received his M.A. degree in educational administration. Sayers served as athletic director at Southern Illinois University from 1976 to 1981.

Sayers moved back to Chicago and launched a sports marketing and public relations firm, Sayers and Sayers Enterprises. He then started a computer supplies business in 1984 and built that business into a provider of technology products and services. In 1999, Sayers was inducted into another Hall of Fame - the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Sayers spends a great deal of time supporting and fundraising for a variety of charitable organizations including the Better Boys Foundation, the Cradle Adoption Agency, the Gale Sayers Center, Grid Iron Greats, Junior Achievement, and Wesley House. The University of Kansas has established the Gale Sayers Microcomputer Center in recognition of Sayers’s commitment to both education and technology. Sayers has authored an instructional publication on the fundamentals of football's offensive strategies called Offensive Football. In addition, his 1971 autobiography, I Am Third, was produced into an award-winning television movie, Brian's Song, starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams. In 2007, he released a new book, Gale Sayers, My Life and Times.

Sayers serves on the board of directors at American Century Mutual Funds, located in Kansas City, Missouri.