Late Bulldog football pioneer broke race barriers

On Thurs., Dec. 7, Yale football legend Levi A. Jackson, TC '50, the first African-American captain of any varsity sport at Yale, passed away at age 74. From the first day Jackson walked into the Bowl, the Yale football players could see he would be a tremendous asset to the team. Indeed, throughout his next four years, Jackson represented Yale's team so successfully on and off the field that a comic book and a song were written about him. He earned respect with his dazzling moves and made headlines because of his race.

COURTESY YALE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT Star fullback Levi A. Jackson, TC '50, became Yale's first African-American captain in 1949.

As a freshman, Jackson played fullback and punter on a team that went 7-1-1 and was ranked 12th in the nation. He rushed 806 yards that year, was named third-team All-American, and won the Bulger Lowe award for being the most outstanding football player in New England. After Jackson's rookie year, though, his seasons were hampered by various injuries. But by junior year Jackson led the football team in every offensive category except for passing, and by senior year he owned 13 records, including rushing, total offense, touchdowns, kickoff returns, and punting. He rushed for 2,049 yards in his four years, a figure that places him as the sixth highest rusher in Yale history. On top of his football achievements, Jackson earned two letters on the varsity basketball team.

As impressive as all the statistics are, Jackson's most impressive achievement occurred in a matter of minutes—when he was elected Yale's first black football captain in the 1949 season. Before his selection, there had been only one black football captain in the Ivy League, when William Lewis, a center on Harvard's team, was named acting captain after the regular captain was injured in 1893. Jackson's selection may have seemed an obvious one on paper, but it was even a surprise to Jackson himself. He once described the night he was chosen as captain: "Bill Conway, who was captain in 1948, raised a glass of champagne and said, `Here's to the 1949 captain.' When he mentioned my name, I almost fell out of my seat."

As much of a surprise as it was to Jackson, his teammates must have had no doubt who the leader of their team was, as they selected him unanimously. This leadership position was a particular achievement, since he was one of only three African-Americans out of 8,500 undergraduates and only the second African-American athlete to play on any sports team at Yale.

Jackson's transition as a prominent black athlete was not easy, but fellow competitors rallied behind him. One year on a trip with the basketball team, Jackson was denied access to a hotel dining room, so the other players ate with him in the manager's office.

Jackson's coaches on both teams also supported him in his ground-breaking athletic career. When Howie Odell, a Southerner, replaced the head coach of the football team, Jackson worried there would be tension and his position on the team would change. Odell, however, treated Jackson the same as any other football player. In fact, Odell used to enjoy telling about the day the team was having trouble polishing up a certain play, when, in frustration, he told his players they would have to stay until they were black in the face. Jackson tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "May I go now?"

When Jackson was named Yale's 70th football captain, newspapers and magazines picked up the story across the country. The New York Times ran a two-column, front-page article hailing Jackson's selection as a symbol of racial progress. Mirroring the University's pride in Jackson, Charlie Loftus once wrote in a press release, "Certainly he is a credit to his race—the human race."

Jackson graduated from Yale with degrees in economics, psychology, and sociology. He joined the Ford Motor Company, becoming the first African-American to hold an executive position there and retiring in 1983 as one of its vice presidents.

Jackson's death represents the passing of a true sportsman and pioneer. Interestingly enough, there has been only one other African-American captain of the football team since Jackson. Regardless, the death of Levi Jackson is a welcome reminder of how much change one person can affect and of how much change there is yet to come. To quote the song that Rudolph Toombs wrote about Jackson, "Makes us proud to see Levi on that grid/To do or die/For Aurelia and Eli Levi Jackson."

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