Former Black College football standouts Walter Payton and Jerry Rice and coaches Eddie Robinson and Jake Gaither are among the 11-member inaugural induction class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame. The Black College Hall of Fame, established last year by former quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to honor the greatest players and coaches from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), will honor the inaugural class at its first enshirement ceremony Feb. 20, 2010 in Atlanta. The class of eight players, two coaches and one contributor was selected from a field of 260 nominees and 35 finalists.
Payton played at Jackson State from 1971-74 and later finished his pro career as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. Payton is already a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Rice had an All-American career at Mississippi Valley State and went on to set several receiving records in the NFL. Rice is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and a finalist for this year’s Pro Football induction class.
Chicago Bears RB Willie Galimore (Florida A&M Rattlers)
Robinson spent 56 years as the coach at Grambling State University, winning 405 games and nine Black College championships while sending more than 80 players to the NFL and AFL. The award presented annually to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) is named in his honor. Gaither won 203 games and six Black College titles during his 25 seasons at Florida A&M. Gaither was famous for saying he wanted his players ‘agile, mobile and hostile.’
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From: http://www.blackcollegefootballhof.org/
WILLIE GALIMORE
Willie “Gallopin’ Gal” Galimore, as a running back at Florida A&M University from 1953 to 1956, was all-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference choice four times and was named a Black College All-America by the Pittsburgh Courier three times. The Rattlers won four conference championships while Galimore was at FAMU and one Black College National Championship. He played for the Chicago Bears from 1957 to 1963, before passing away tragically at the age of 29 in an auto accident in Rensselaer, Indiana, on July 27, 1964. As FAMU’s all-time leading rusher, Galimore averaged 94 yards per game and was the Rattler’s first 1,000-yard runner (1,203 yards in 1954).
JAKE GAITHER
Coach Alonzo “Jake” Gaither spent 24 years at Florida A&M University, from 1945 to 1969, amassing an astonishing record of 203-36-4. His teams won 18 Conference Championships and were Black College National Champions six times. In a 10-year streak, from 1953 to 1962, his teams went 87-7-1. His “split line T” offense was adopted by several major college programs, and he retired in 1969 with a .844 winning percentage, the best ever among all NCAA coaches. In 1975 he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
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