Calgary, Canada - At Robert "Stonewall" Jackson's memorial service last week, many former NFL players made the trip to attend. So did doctors and lawyers and teachers and coaches, all players and students whose paths he helped shape during his 30-plus years at N.C. Central. "There were quite a few people there I hadn't seen in 20-some years," former NCCU defensive back Robert Massey said. "The unfortunate part about all of us coming together is it would have taken a guy like coach Jack to have brought us all back together. I don't know if any other coach would have been able to do that."Trailblazer. Trendsetter. Teacher. Mentor. Witness to history. Jackson, who died earlier this month at 88, did it all. Jackson fought with Patton at the Battle of the Bulge. He was the first player from a historically black school drafted by the NFL. He touched countless lives as an assistant football coach, teacher and trainer at N.C. Central for 31 years, the touchstone of the football program for generations of players. "He was N.C. Central football," said Joe Simmons, the school's career rushing leader. "He was the first guy you meet on campus. He was one of the firmest guys you'll ever meet and probably the fairest guy you'll ever meet."
The nickname "Stonewall" was bestowed upon him in honour of his stout play at fullback by his high-school coach in Allentown, Pa. It would remain applicable for the rest of his life. After Jackson got home from the war -- he earned three bronze stars with the all-black 183rd Engineering Battalion, crossing the Rhine with General George Patton's Third Army -- he was a four-year starter for North Carolina A&T at fullback and linebacker. The New York Giants took him in the 16th round of the 1950 draft, one pick after the Washington Redskins picked North Carolina's Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice.
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