Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Run the tape back to the 2026 MEAC Football Media Day🎥

Posted by at No comments:

Norfolk State Football Returns to Lincoln Financial Field for Marquee HBCU Showdown with Delaware State | Oct. 31, 2PM

Posted by at No comments:

BOXTOROW 2026 HBCU Football Preseason Media Poll: South Carolina State at No. 1

Posted by at No comments:

FAMU Extends Fall Deposit Window for Florida Residents to August 14

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, July 27, 2026

Forgotten Heroes: The Legacy of UMES Hawks Football | Dr. Joshua K. Wright, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History and Global Affairs, Trinity Washington University



PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — One of my guilty pleasures is watching the TV One documentary cable series Unsung and Unsung Hollywood. If you have never watched either series, they tell the stories of African American singers and actors who experienced substantial success for a short period of time before their shining star abruptly faded away. If I could create a new series called Unsung Sports my pilot episode would focus on the Maryland State College football program, arguably the best sports program in American history. 

Don’t believe me, check the stats! The program saw 142 wins and just 38 losses between 1946 and 1970, seven undefeated seasons, multiple conference championships, four legendary coaches, 30 eventual professional players, five Super Bowl participants, collegiate and professional Hall of Famers, a rock star, a civil rights activist, and an aide to Bobby Kennedy. Maryland State College, now known as The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, has one of the greatest football programs most people have never heard of. The story of this tiny HBCU (historically black college and university) is a fascinating tale of race and collegiate sports.

Posted by at No comments:

A Lost Legacy of Excellence: UMES Legendary Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain and the Hawks

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — For more than a quarter of a century, University of Maryland Eastern Shore was recognized as a football powerhouse among Historically Black Colleges and Universities. From 1946 to 1970, UMES had a combined win-loss record of 142 wins, 36 losses and 7 ties or an astounding 76.8 winning percentage. In addition, UMES produced six (6) undefeated seasons during the period from 1947 to 1960. Then, UMES was known as Maryland State College from 1948 to 1970, and the name became the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, thereafter.

No one person was more instrumental in UMES’s success than Vernon “Skip” McCain. The history of UMES’s football program is inextricably linked to Coach McCain’s tenure. During his tenure Coach McCain had a phenomenal success record of 101 wins, 16 losses and 5 ties (1948-63). Those who knew him say Coach McCain was the embodiment of the teacher-coach. From 1948 to 1953, he was the most successful coach in the country. Coach McCain, himself a student of the game, did not miss many coaching clinics during his tenure.

In 1950, he was selected “Coach of the Year” by the Pigskin Club of Washington. Coach McCain’s dedication to understanding the deeper qualities and disciplines of the game laid the foundation for what many have called the “Golden Years of Hawk Athletics.” In addition to being head football coach, Coach McCain was also the head basketball coach and athletic director, thus, giving him almost total control over the UMES athletic budget and pool of athletic talent.

Vernon “Skip” McCain was inducted into the Hawk Hall of Fame in 1973. If only the ESPN television cameras and the national media had found their way to the eastern shore of Maryland and the tiny village of Princess Anne! What a story they would have uncovered!!! The entire nation would have discovered a football powerhouse that broke both racial barriers and the competitive spirit of the teams they played. Everyone would have known the name, Skip McCain. It is a shame that only a few do.


America would have recognized that this humble, 5-foot-5 man, who never cussed or missed church, who also had a higher winning percentage (83.7%) for a 16-year period than some of his most famous coaching contemporaries recorded during the same era — men such as Woody Hayes of Ohio State University (74.3%), Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama (72.7%), and Eddie Robinson at Grambling State University. But, the 1950’s were a time when news of the exploits of Historically Black Colleges and Universities rarely escaped the confines of their own communities. And the Internet was not invented, nor cable television, nor exclusive sports networks in radio and television that we take for granted today.

UMES achievements on the gridiron included six (6) undefeated seasons, four (4) of which were perfect seasons in 1949, 1950, 1952, and 1955. When Coach McCain came to Maryland State College (MSC) in 1948, he was to serve as the head football coach, head basketball coach and the athletic director. It became apparent that this man could build winners no matter what the sport. While concentrating on his football duties, he directed the basketball team to a record of 76 wins and 11 losses from 1948 to 1952.

In 2006, Coach McCain finally got his due when he was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. Coach McCain touched the lives of hundreds of young men to whom he will always be remembered simply as “Coach.”

UMES Pro Football Hall of Famer, Art Shell

As a result, during the period from 1946 to 1970, over twenty-four (24) UMES student-athletes went on to pursue professional careers in the National Football League. In addition, several others went on to successful careers in the Continental and Canadian Football Leagues. The most notable of these athletes is Art Shell, eight (8) time Pro-Bowl player, NFL Hall of Fame Player, and the first African American head coach of the modern era of professional football with the Los Angeles Raiders (now the Oakland Raiders).

UMES Football Legends

Roger Brown, DT, Detroit Lions' Fearsome Foursome, Los Angeles Rams (1960-69), College Football Hall of Fame
Willie Belton, RB, Atlanta Falcons/St. Louis Cardinals (1970-74)
Earl Christy, CB/DB/HB, New York Jets (1966-68)
Moses Denson, RB, Washington Redskins (1974-75)
James "Jim" Duncan, CB/S, Baltimore Colts (1969-71)
Curtiss Gentry, CB, Chicago Bears (1966-68)
Douglas Goodwin, FB/RB, Buffalo Bills/Atlanta Falcons, (1966, 68)
Gerald Irons (M.B.A/J.D., Univ. of Chicago), DT/LB, Oakland Raiders (1970-79)
Arthur L. Laster, T, Buffalo Bills (1970)
Roy Kirksey, G, New York Jets/Philadelphia Eagles (1971-74)
Arthur "Art" Shell, OT, Oakland Raiders (1968-1982) Pro Football Hall of Fame
Robert "Bob" Taylor, DE/DT, New York Giants (1963-1964)
William Allen "Billy" Thompson, CB/S Denver Broncos (1969-1981)
Mack Alston, Jr., TE, Washington Redskins (1970-1980)
William Arthur "Bill" Belk, DE/DT, San Francisco 49ers (1968-1974)
Emerson Boozer, HB/RB, New York Jets (1966-1975), College Football Hall of Fame
Marsh Cropper, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (1967-69)
Charles Stukes, CB, Baltimore Colts/Los Angeles Rams (1967-74)
Carl Hairston, DE/DT, Philadelphia Eagles/Cleveland Browns/Phoenix Cardinals (1976-1990)
Ray Hayes, FB, Minnesota Vikings (1961)
Anthony Jones, HB/TE, Washington Redskins/San Diego Chargers (1984-88)
Sherman Plunkett, OT, Baltimore Colts/S.D. Chargers/NY Jets (1958-1967)
Johnny B. Sample, DB/S, Baltimore Colts/NY Jets (1958-1968)
Erwin B. Williams, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (1969)

The UMES Hawks Football Program was discontinued in 1979. 

A brief list of UMES Hawks firsts:
  • In 1948, UMES and Albright College played the first intercollegiate football game between an HBCU and majority White institution.
  • In January 1950, the 5-foot 5-inch McCain took his basketball team to Hanover, N.H. to play Dartmouth. That match-up also made history; Maryland State became the first historically Black college team to play an Ivy League school. The Hawks lost 60-to-59, which one news account described as a “heart-breaking … thriller.”
  • In 1958, Johnny Sample (1954-58) was the first player from an HBCU to play in the prestigious College All-Star Game.
  • UMES had five of its former players in the famous 1968 Super Bowl III game, Baltimore Colts vs. New York Jets.
  • In 1989, Art Shell became the first modern era African American head football coach of an NFL franchise--the Oakland Raiders.
  • From 1948 to 1963, Maryland State won more than 80 percent of its games under McCain, making him at the time the most successful Black head coach in college football history. Four times – in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1955 – his teams were unbeaten and untied.
  • Grambling State University Coach Eddie Robinson Tigers went 0-4 against each McCain-led squad.
  • Coach McCain was posthumous induction in 2006 to the College Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
  • Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain achieved a stellar 102–21–5 football record and a 77-16 Men's basketball record at Maryland State College. 
  • The Enville, Okla. native was inducted in the UMES Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973 and posthumously was honored by the American College Football Coaches Association in 2012 with its Trailblazer Award.

  • Coach McCain came to Princess Anne from Tennessee State University, where he was head basketball coach and the top assistant football coach. His friend thought that he was making a mistake. McCain proved everyone wrong by attracting and producing NFL stars like Johnny Sample, Roger Brown, Sherman Plunkett and Emerson Boozer.

  • Vernon E. McCain died April 5, 1993, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. He was 84. The Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on campus was the site of his funeral.

Posted by at No comments:

Welcome the newest addition to our coaching staff, @Coach_Harrell 💙🤍

Posted by at No comments:

07-21-26 (Bossman Show) | Byron Smith Interview

Posted by at No comments:

The first official CSG FCS Preseason Poll is now live!

Posted by at No comments:

National Honors Highlight Morgan State’s Commitment to Democratic Engagement, Military-Affiliated Students and Women’s Leadership

Posted by at No comments:

USA Today Readers' Choice Awards official ranking of the top 10 winning bands will be revealed on August 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ET | Florida A&M University Marching 100 | 1-20 Active Nominees

Public voting runs daily until August 17, 2026, at 11:59 a.m. ET on the USA Today Readers' Choice Awards page.  Active Nominees: The 20 Contenders on the active 2026 leaderboard include groups like the University of Illinois Marching Illini, Penn State Blue Band, Ohio State Marching Band, Western Carolina Pride of the Mountains Band, Jackson State Sonic Boom of the South, Southern University Human Jukebox, Florida A&M University Marching 100, and North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine.

VOTE HERE FOR THE BEST MARCHING BAND: LINK | What is the Best College Marching Band for 2026? You must vote DAILY for band to remain competitive in the rankings!!!

  Best College 

Marching Band Leaderboard - July 27, 2026

Posted by at No comments:

National Battle of the Bands founder details move from Houston to Dallas | Kyle Mosley

Posted by at No comments:

Alabama A&M Names Rufus Green Head Softball Coach

Posted by at No comments:

Rajah Caruth replacement confirmed amid late NASCAR playoff push | Asher Fair

Posted by at No comments:

MEAC Week 1 Preview: The Celebration Bowl Champs Set the Standard Source: https://blog.rallyfuel.com/meac-week-1-predictions-2026

Posted by at No comments:

Tuskegee University bans bonnets and du-rags for upcoming school year in updated dress code

Posted by at No comments:

Cramilton or Ramsees, FAMU by Fawty?

Posted by at No comments:

Kohnke Finalizes 2026-27 Langston University Coaching Staff

Posted by at No comments:

HBCU Coaching Legend Bill Hayes, WSSU, and NCA&T | MEAC Digital Network

Posted by at No comments:

HBCU Coaching Legend Doug Porter, MVSU, Howard, and FVSU | MEAC Digital Network

Posted by at No comments:

HBCU Coaching Legend Willard Bailey, Virginia Union, Norfolk State, Saint Paul's College and Virgina University of Lynchburg | MEAC Digital Network

Coach Bailey served as head football coach at Virginia Union University from 1971 to 1983 and again from 1995 to 2003, Norfolk State University from 1984 to 1992, Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia from 2005 to 2010, and Virginia University of Lynchburg from 2011 to 2013, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 238–169–7.
 
Posted by at No comments:

49 players to know for the 49th season of FCS football | Stan Becton

Posted by at No comments:

Following conclusion of the summer evaluation periods, NCAA DI men's basketball now enters a dead period from July 27-Aug. 19

Posted by at No comments:

JUCO Lake Sumter CF Matthew Dumas Committed to Florida A&M | 3.8 GPA | 6.3/60

Posted by at No comments:

We are thrilled to announce that the FAMU Rattler Boosters and the Eddie Jackson 220 QB Club have renewed their partnership for the upcoming 2026 football season! 🏈🤝

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)