African Americans and college football, Part 2: The Golden Era of HBCU football
By Dante Pryor
Grambling vs. Morgan State (1968)
Five months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Grambling State Tigers, and the Morgan State Bears played a football game in New York City at Yankee Stadium. It was the first time two HBCUs played in the Big Apple. Not only was the country reeling from the assassination of Dr. King, but the country was also mourning the assassination of presidential hopeful Bobby Kennedy.
The Morgan State Bears came into the game with a chip on their shoulder. “We had something to prove,” said Morgan State defensive back Marvin Washington. Grambling came into the game with the most of the attention. They integrated the Tangerine Bowl in 1966 and were undefeated in 1967. Willie Lainer was one of three Morgan State Bears drafted in 1967.
Grambling had Eddie Robinson. More than a coach, Robinson was an institution at Grambling. He built that program from the ground up.
No one knew how the game would be received. Would alumni support the game so far from the south? It was a tremendous feat just to have the game at Yankee Stadium. Not only was the game a success, over 60,000 fans showed up for this nationally televised game between two black schools.
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Consider something even more significant about the game: since it was played between two HBCUs, this might have been the first time blacks could sit close without fear of reprisals. This game was the forerunner to many “Northern” annual classics like the Circle City Classic and the Chicago Classic. In the end, Morgan State pulled the upset 9-7, but the game’s significance was far greater than the box score.