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As a longtime Bama fan this story has been way overblown. Bryant had already started recruiting black players with John Mitchell and Wilbur Jackson on the team and Bryant was pushing hard for Conredge Holloway from Huntsville and Calvin Culliver from Montgomery. Bama was integrating whether this game was played or not. yes, USC came in with a fully integrated team and Beat Bama but Bama went to LA the next season with only one black player on the roster and beat a fully integrated USC team. In 1970 USC won with better players regardless of race. In 1971 Bama won with better players regardless of race. Sam was a beast no matter who USC was playing. This wasn't the only great game he had but to say THIS game started Bama's integration is not true.
Make no mistake, Coach Paul Bryant set the State of Alabama up with this game. He knew exactly what the result would be and used that to get black players in school. I’m not saying he did it for a social reason but, he knew if the University didn’t integrate, his football team would become irrelevant quickly. He did it for one reason and one reason only, to win. That is how all social change should be implemented, not forced. I believe if they had used athletics alone to push integration, you would have never seen the resistance and the violence that occurred. People will generally overlook it when you are being an ass for being an ass’s sake but, when your being an ass affect peoples beloved anything(football teams in this case), they will force you to stop being an ass, which is exactly what happened to Democrat politicians in Alabama. They didn’t dare oppose the Crimson Tide’s legion of fans. The fans wanted the team, and the university integrated, so they stopped opposing it. Was it for honorable reasons? No, but it worked just the same!
My family are very close friends with the Cunninghams. I knew Sam better than most. Sam was a humble man. He NEVER wanted the spotlight. He was very good to me and my family. A real stand up guy. I wish all in sports were like him. We miss you Sam!!! Thank you for being such a good example to me.
Coach Bryant had been working for a long time to integrate Alabams football program. Bear got together with his friend AT USC , JOHN MACK KAY, . BEAR INVTED MACKAY TO SCHEDULE THE GAME IN BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM. Mac kay KAY AGREED USC WON BIG, BOTH COACHES WERE HAPPY AND THE REST WAS HISTORY!
Rest In Peace Sam Cunningham rest easy sir. Mr Cunningham softened hard hearts he actually made a difference on this planet. It shouldn’t have taken kicking Alabama’s ass on a football field to soften those hard hearts but regardless he did it. My condolences to the Cunningham family.
@@moester75 Sports can have a positive reach far into society when it is used for racial justice, like of course the Jackie Robinson signing by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mississippi State's basketball team in 1963 defied the segregationist governor who tried to forbid them from playing integrated teams in the post season. They boarded a plane anyway to face eventually NCAA champion Loyola of Chicago. And Sam and the Trojans in Birmingham in 1970. They got through to white southerners and inspired blacks there.
@@nedstewart1 yes sir, they unveiled the wishbone that night. Bryant had holed up with D.Royal and Emory Bellard that summer , learned it, and made the decision.
Two black players. ON ALABAMA SCHOLARSHIP that night. Awaiting eligibility. No freshmen played prior to 1972. Bryant 1st black player QUIT. Bryant tried to integrate UK sports in 1953. You're another race hustler
I remember this Game like yesterday! This was a Historic College Football Game that changed the Racial outlook on the Segregated South ! Coach Bryant and John McKay were great friends ! They got together to promote this game but only Coach Bryant and John new how this game would Change College Football HISTORY! Coach Bryant new his Team couldn’t Beat USC because they had superior Black Players ! Coach McKay and Coach Bryant put their Thumb prints on Segregating the Whole South showing Racism wasn’t going to be excepted Ever AGAIN! Thank you to both Coaches and all Players who played a hugh roll in changing the History of all🏈 🏀⚾️🎾🏉⚽️🏐 College Sports ! 🙏
so many people are were oblivious to racism from those days. I grew up like that ....we were all poor and struggling...the fact that USC came into town and had black athletes perform at the same or better level was historic and opened a lot of doors.
Bama had already signed an African American but he was a freshman and back then freshman couldn't play. So the wheels were already turning but Sam helped! Also, Bear Bryant tried to recruit black athletes as early as when he was at Kentucky but was shot down. He used to go watch all back high schools play football games.
Just like in life, it’s not always the first. Sometimes it’s the most significant with the best recognized. Jackie Robinson was not the best black BB player that came from the Negro leagues, but he was the best for the times of that day. Sam’s national televised game display showed how silly it was of our nation attitudes we’re back then. After that game the whole south took a look at themselves and did a 180 on all southern universities. Now college sports were forever changed for the better with full integration.
I wonder if he did that outta the kindness of his heart,& his sense of moral obligation or the fact he knew black players were more athletic & better athletes and he was simply just trying to save his job🤷🏾♂️ How embarrassing would it have been if Alabama St could've been allowed to go to legion field & beat the brakes off Alabama?
The thing is he was about as accurate if not more so. USCs O-line at the time just didn’t help an in the pocket passer, that tried to play a “smarter game” let’s say. Seriously they were trash. Sam Darnold ran hard and often, so it helped them at the time. Think Russel Wilson with the Seahawks last season. Drew Brees would get demolished in that situation. Darnold’s throwing motion was also inordinately slow and I would argue that he was a bit too quick to roll out and still is with the Jets.
