Dazzling Debut Article - Golden Football Magazine

September 17, 1966 – Cotton Bowl, Dallas TX

Jerry Levias

In his first game of the 1966 season, WR Jerry Levias of Southern Methodist made history by becoming the first African-American player for a Southwest Conference team.

The story began four years earlier when the Dallas school courted Arkansas assistant Hayden Fry to be its head coach.

A native Texan, Hayden wanted the job but only if SMU agreed to let him recruit a black player. The school eventually agreed.
Once ensconsed in the position, Fry discovered that his task would be harder than he thought. SMU required a minimum 1,000 score on the SAT while all other conference schools accepted 750.
So Fry needed to find a black player who was an outstanding student. And he needed to be a terrific athlete. There was no sense recruiting the first African-American only to have him linger on the bench.

Coach Hayden Fry

It took several years, but Fry found his player in the QB of segregated Hebert High School in Beaumont.

Jerry Levias was only 5'9" 177 but flashed great speed and elusiveness.
He had already overcome a major obstacle after suffering a stroke at age 12 that left him unable to walk for five years.
Furthermore, Jerry wanted to play at an SWC school.
His mother allowed him to sign with SMU after sensing something "godly" about Fry.
Hayden needed all his divine powers to convince his team and assistant coaches to accept a black player.

Since freshmen were ineligible in those days, Jerry had to bide his time and adjust to the same challenges of any new college student plus the added pressure of being the first African-American.

The parents of his first roommate threatened to withdraw their son from school. Peer pressure forced his second one to move out.
A teammate spat in his face during practice. Others left the shower room as soon as he entered it after practice.
Even his old friends in segregated Beaumont, Texas, called him an "Uncle Tom" for attending an all-white school.
"I really didn't belong anywhere," he said. "The whites didn't want me, and the blacks made fun of me."
By the spring, he was injured and in danger of flunking out. He almost abandoned his dream.

Levias' first game was a 26-7 victory over Illinois on a rainy evening at the Cotton Bowl.

He caught a 60y TD pass from QB Mac White on the first play of Q4.
The Mustangs completed their retaliation for a 42-0 drubbing in Champagne-Urbana the year before on Jerry's 12y TD reception from backup QB Mike Livingston.
Levias led the team in scoring with 54 points as the SMU won its first Southwest Conference crown in 18 years and the Cotton Bowl berth that went with it.
They lost to Georgia in the New Year's Day Classic, 24-9, to finish 8-3.
Throughout the season, he had to endure death threats, taunts and late hits from opponents and the jeers of fans, even at home games.

Jerry Levias in action against Arkansas (L) and Texas A&M.

Nevertheless, in his three years, he set school records that still stand.

15 receptions against Ohio State in 1968.
1,131y receiving in 1968, the year he finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
A consensus All-American his senior year, he won the Fort Worth Kiwanis Club Award for Sportsmanship and was Most Valuable Player in the Senior Bowl.
He made all-SWC all three seasons.
In 1969, Levias was NFL Rookie of the Year for the Houston Oilers.

When Jerry was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003, the teammate who spit in his face apologized. An opposing player who had done the same thing told Jerry he was raising his children to respect all people.