African Americans and college football, Part 2: The Golden Era of HBCU football
By Dante Pryor
Legendary coaches
Much like the player’s list, the legendary coaches of HBCUs need their own separate space to properly do justice to the men who built many of these programs from the ground up.
These men not only built football programs, but they also built men. These coaches led the fledgling careers of many future NFL stars and hall of fame players. Though incomplete, these are some of the great coaches during the golden era of HBCU football.
Jake Gaither, Florida A&M
“I want my players hostile, mobile, and agile.” Those are the words of legendary Florida A&M head football coach Alonzo “Jake” Gaither. There is one word to describe Gaither: winner.
In 25 years of coaching, Gaither’s team won an astounding 84 percent of their games going 203-36-4 while he walked the sidelines of Tallahassee. Gaither was so well respected as a coach Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes would show up at his annual coaches clinics.
During his time he coached the likes of Willie Galimore and “Bullet” Bob Hayes. He led some powerhouse teams in his 25 years as the Rattlers’ head coach. Gaither never had a losing season as head coach. He had three undefeated teams, 15 of his teams lost only one game and the other seven they lost only two games. He’s also one of only 23 coaches in college football history to win 200 games. Of that club — which includes coaches like Bobby Bowden, Eddie Robinson, Joe Paterno and Nick Saban — he’s the only one with a winning percentage above .800.
W.C. Gorden, Jackson State
William C. Gorden is the all-time winningest coach in Jackson State Football history with a record of 119-48-5. He won or claimed a share of eight SWAC championships and went to the FCS playoffs nine times. Gorden’s Tigers also won a SWAC record 28 consecutive conference games and was named coach of the year six times.
Eddie Robinson, Grambling State
When you think of black college football, you think of Eddie Robinson. He is an institution not only in HBCU football but in college football. He was football’s all-time winningest coach until Joe Paterno and John Gagliardi passed him up. His coaching career wasn’t too bad — the national coach of the year award is named after him.
During his career, Robinson won 408 games and sent over 200 players to the NFL including Buck Buchanan who was the second black player to be drafted No. 1 — Ernie Davis was the first, but he never played.
When Robinson at Grambling, there were no paid assistants, no grounds crew, and no trainers. He chalked the field himself and he even made sandwiches for his players since they couldn’t eat at segregated lunch counters during road trips. By the time he retired in 1997, he’d amassed 17 conference championship and nine black college championships.
Archie Cooley, Mississippi Valley State
Archie Cooley might not have the wins or championships the other coaches have on this list, but he makes this list for two reasons: 628 and 59. In 1984, Archie “Gunslinger” Cooley and the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils scored 628 points and averaged over 59 points per game.
When you think of wide-open, pass-happy offenses, most people think of June Jones, Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Nick Rolovich and Lincoln Riley. Before any of them came on the scene, there was the Gunslinger and his “Satellite Express” offense. That offense and the Willie Totten to Jerry Rice — yes, that Jerry Rice — lit up scoreboards in little Itta Bina, Miss.
While giving defensive coordinators fits, Cooley came up with another idea: tempo. “No one was doing the no-huddle — I think the only ones doing that was Portland State with Mouse Davis and Neil Lomax,” Totten said. “They did a little bit of that back then, but they didn’t take it to the extreme like we did.”
The next time you watch a team go fast without a huddle, remember it all started down in the Delta.
Rod Broadway, North Carolina A&T
Though Rod Broadway technically isn’t from the golden era — he became a head coach in 2003 — he’s the greatest HBCU coach, and on of the best coaches overall, in the modern era. He has an impressive resume — 127-45 in 15 seasons between North Carolina Central, Grambling State and North Carolina A&T. He has five conference championships in three different conferences and five black national championships, winning at least one at each school he’s coached.
What’s most impressive about his resume, and the reason he makes this list, is the era in which he’s doing this. This is the most difficult time to recruit to HBCUs and Broadway has found a way to do it. Not only that, he’s proven himself to be a program builder and stabilizer. He took over three programs in poor condition and turned them into winners; in the case of Grambling, he restored it to its former glory.