- Johnny Bright
Infobox Gridiron football person
Name =Johnny Bright.jpg)
|thumb
ImageWidth =
Caption =1962 Topps CFL Card-brady's cards.com [ [http://www.bradyscards.com/football/1962_topps_cfl/1962_topps_cfl.html http://www.bradyscards.com/football/1962_topps_cfl/1962_topps_cfl.html] ]
DateOfBirth =birth date|1930|06|11
Birthplace =Fort Wayne, Indiana , U.S.
DateOfDeath =death date and age|1983|12|14|1930|6|11
Deathplace =Edmonton ,Alberta ,Canada
position1 =Running back
position2 =Linebacker
College =Drake
NFLDraftedYear =1952
NFLDraftedRound =1
NFLDraftedPick =5
(By thePhiladelphia Eagles )
career_highlights =
Awards =1959 CFL Most Outstanding Player
Honors =
playing_years =1952-1954
1954-1964
playing_teams =Calgary Stampeders Edmonton Eskimos
CFHOF =24&player=Bright,%20Johnny
CollegeHOF =50010Johnny D. Bright (
June 11 ,1930 –December 14 ,1983 ) was a professionalCanadian football player in theCanadian Football League . He playedcollege football atDrake University . He is a member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame , theNational Football Foundation 'sCollege Football Hall of Fame , theMissouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, theEdmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and the "Des Moines Register's" Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.In 1951, Bright was named a First Team College Football All-American, and was awarded the Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Sportsmanship Award. In 1969, Bright was named Drake University's greatest football player of all time. Bright is the only Drake football player to have his jersey number (#43) retired by the school, and in June, 2006, received honorable mention from "
ESPN .com" senior writer Ivan Maisel as one of the best college football players to ever wear #43.cite web |url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/newsstory.php?nid=1151679923 |accessdate=2006-07-08 |title=Johnny Bright's Football Jersey Number Recognized |publisher=DrakeBulldogs.org |date=2006-06-30] In February 2006, the football field atDrake Stadium , inDes Moines, Iowa , was named in his honor.cite web |url=http://www.kcci.com/sports/7374962/detail.html?rss=des&psp=sports |accessdate=2006-08-12 | title=KCCI-TV8 Des Moines, Iowa - Drake Names Football Field After Johnny Bright: OSU Apologizes For Player's Actions |publisher=KCCI.com |date=2006-02-23] In November 2006, Bright was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#19) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.cite web |url=http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10866 |accessdate=2007-04-28 |title=TSN Top 50 CFL Players |publisher=TSN.ca |date=2006-11-28]In addition to his outstanding professional and college football careers, Bright is perhaps best known for his role as the victim of an intentional, most likely racially motivated, on-field assault by an opposing college football player from Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) on
October 20 ,1951 , that was captured in a widely disseminated andPulitzer Prize winning photo sequence, and eventually came to be known as the "Johnny Bright Incident ."Early life and college football career
Born in
Fort Wayne, Indiana onJune 11 ,1930 , Bright was a three-sport (football, basketball, track and field) star at Fort Wayne's Central High School.Following his graduation from Central High in 1947, Bright accepted a track and field scholarship from
Drake University inDes Moines, Iowa , that allowed him to try out for the football and basketball squads.cite web |url=http://desmoinesregister.com/sports/extras/hall/bright.html |accessdate=2006-08-14 |author=Turnbull, Buck |title=Bright joins Iowa "Hall" |publisher="Des Moines Register"|date=1970-03-24] Bright eventually lettered in football, track, and basketball, during his collegiate career at Drake.cite web |url=http://desmoinesregister.com/sports/extras/hall/bright.html |accessdate=2006-08-14 |author=Turnbull, Buck |title=Bright joins Iowa "Hall" |publisher="Des Moines Register"|date=1970-03-24]Following a mandatory freshman redshirt year, Bright began his collegiate football career in earnest in 1949, rushing for 975 yards and throwing for another 975 to lead the nation in total offense during his sophomore year, as the
Drake Bulldogs finished their season at 6–2–1.cite web |url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |accessdate=2006-08-12 |title=2005 Drake Bulldogs Football Media Guide: The Legend of Johnny Bright - Drake's Greatest Football Player |publisher=Drake University |year=2005 |format=PDF] In Bright's junior year, the halfback/quarterback rushed for 1,232 yards and passed for 1,168 yards, setting anNCAA record for total offense (2,400 yards) in 1950, and again lead the Bulldogs to a 6–2–1 record.cite web |url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |accessdate=2006-08-12 |title=2005 Drake Bulldogs Football Media Guide: The Legend of Johnny Bright - Drake's Greatest Football Player |publisher=Drake University |year=2005 |format=PDF]Bright's senior year began with great promise. Bright was considered a pre-season
Heisman Trophy candidate, and was leading the nation in both rushing and total offense with 821 and 1,349 yards respectively, when the Drake Bulldogs, winners of their previous five games, facedMissouri Valley Conference foe Oklahoma A&M at Lewis Field (nowBoone Pickens Stadium ) inStillwater, Oklahoma , onOctober 20 ,1951 ."Johnny Bright Incident"
Bright's participation as a halfback/quarterback in the
Drake University vs. Oklahoma A&M football game onOctober 20 ,1951 was controversial, as it marked the first time that such a prominentAfrican-American athlete, with national notoriety (Bright was a pre-seasonHeisman Trophy candidate and led the nation in total offense going into the game) and of critical importance to the success of his team (Drake was undefeated and carried a five game winning streak into the contest, due in large part to his rushing and passing), had played against Oklahoma A&M in a home game at Lewis Field, in Stillwater.cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=26&REC=2 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=White, Maury |title=Aggies Outlast Drake, 27-14 |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with the permission of the "Des Moines Register") |date=1951-10-21]During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright had been knocked unconscious three times by blows from Oklahoma A&M
defensive tackle , Wilbanks Smith. While the final, elbow blow from Smith broke Bright's jaw, Bright was able to complete a 61-yard touchdown pass to halfback Jim Pilkington a few plays later before the injury finally forced Bright to leave the game. Bright finished the game with 75 yards (14 yards rushing and 61 yards passing), the first time he had finished a game with less than 100 yards in his three year collegiate career at Drake. Oklahoma A&M eventually won the game 27-14.cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=26&REC=2 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=White, Maury |title=Aggies Outlast Drake, 27-14 |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with the permission of the "Des Moines Register") |date=1951-10-21]A photographic sequence by "
Des Moines Register " cameramen Don Ultang and John Robinson clearly showed that Smith's jaw breaking blow to Bright had occurred well after Bright had handed off the ball to fullback Gene Macomber, and that the blow was delivered well behind the play.cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=40&REC=8 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |first=John |last=Robinson |coauthors=Don Ultang |title=Bright's Jaw Broken, Drake Streak Ends, 27-14 |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with the permission of the "Des Moines Register") |date=1951-10-21]Recalling the incident without apparent bitterness in a 1980 "Des Moines Register" interview three years before his death, Bright commented: cquote|There's no way it couldn't have been racially motivated. Bright went on to add: What I like about the whole deal now, and what I'm smug enough to say, is that getting a broken jaw has somehow made college athletics better. It made the NCAA take a hard look and clean up some things that were bad.cite web |last=Hanson |first=Dave |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=36&REC=4 |title=Bright not bitter: Blow helped clean up sports |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with the permission of the "Des Moines Register") |accessdate=August 12 |accessyear=2006]
The "Johnny Bright Incident", as it became widely known, eventually provoked changes in
NCAA football rules regarding illegal blocking, and mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards.cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=36&REC=4 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Hanson, Dave |title=Bright not bitter: Blow helped clean up sports |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with the permission of the "Des Moines Register") |date=1980-11-13]Bright's jaw injury limited his effectiveness for the remainder of his senior season at Drake, but he finished his college career with 5,983 yards in total offense, averaging better than 236 yards per game in total offense, and scored 384 points in 25 games.cite web |url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |accessdate=2006-08-12 |title=2005 Drake Bulldogs Football Media Guide: The Legend of Johnny Bright - Drake's Greatest Football Player |publisher=Drake University |year = 2005|format=PDF] As a senior, Bright earned 70 percent of the yards Drake gained and scored 70 percent of the Bulldogs' points, despite missing the better part of the final three games of the season. Bright finished fifth in the balloting for the 1951
Heisman Trophy , and played in the post-seasonEast-West Shrine Game and theHula Bowl .Professional football career
Bright was the first pick of the
Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 1952 National Football League draft. Bright spurned the NFL, electing to play for theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League . Bright was the first NFL first-round draft pick to bypass the NFL for the CFL. Bright later commented: cquote|I would have been their (the Eagles') first Negro player. There was a tremendous influx of Southern players into the NFL at that time, and I didn't know what kind of treatment I could expect.">cite web |last=Soutar |first=Ted |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 |title=CFL|publisher=CFL.ca |accessdate=August 12 |accessyear=2006]
Bright joined the Calgary Stampeders as a fullback/
linebacker in 1952, leading the Stampeders and the CFL Western Conference in rushing with 815 yards his rookie season.">cite web |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Soutar, Ted |title=CFLEdmonton Eskimos in mid-season. He would enjoy the most success of his professional football career as a member of the Eskimos.Though Bright played strictly defense as a linebacker in his first year with the Eskimos, he played both offense (as a fullback) and defense for two seasons (1955-1956), and played offense permanently after that (1957-1964). He, along with teammates
Rollie Miles ,Normie Kwong , andJackie Parker , helped lead the Eskimos to successiveGrey Cup titles in 1954, 1955, and 1956 (where Bright rushed for a Grey Cup record 171 yards in a 50-27 win over theMontreal Alouettes ).">cite web |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Soutar, Ted |title=CFLCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award , the firstAfrican-American orAfrican-Canadian athlete to be so honored.Bright was approached several times during his CFL career by NFL teams about playing in the
United States , but in the days before the blockbuster salaries of today's NFL players, it was common for CFL players such as himself to hold regular jobs in addition to football, and he had already started a teaching career in 1957, the year he moved his family to Edmonton. cquote|I'd established a home andCanada had been good to me. I might have been interested, if the offers could have matched what I was making from both football and teaching.">cite web |last=Soutar |first=Ted |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 | title=CFLBright retired in 1964 as the CFL's all-time leading rusher (Mike Pringle and
George Reed have since surpassed him). Bright rushed for 10,909 yards in 13 seasons, had five consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, and led the CFL in rushing four times. While Bright is currently 15th on the All-Pro Rushing list, his career average of 5.5 yards per carry is the highest among 10,000+ yard rushers (Pro Football Hall of Fame rJim Brown is second at 5.2 yards per carry).">cite web |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Soutar, Ted |title=CFLEddie James Memorial Trophy in the process, and was a CFL Western Conference All-Star five straight seasons from 1957 to 1961. Bright played in 197 consecutive CFL games as a fullback/linebacker. Bright's #24 jersey was added to the Edmonton Eskimos' Wall of Honour at the Eskimos' Commonwealth Stadium in 1983. Bright was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame onNovember 26 ,1970 . In November, 2006, Bright was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#19) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.cite web |url=http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10866 |accessdate=2007-04-28 |title=TSN Top 50 CFL Players |publisher=TSN.ca |date=2006-11-28]Post-football career and death
Bright earned a
Bachelor of Science degree ineducation atDrake University in 1952,cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=47&REC=16 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Podolsky, Mickey |title=Johnny Bright All-Time Drake Great |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections (reprinted with permission of the "Des Moines Register") |date=1963-11-01] putting his degree to use as a teacher, coach, and school administrator, both during and after his professional football career, eventually becoming the principal of D.S. Mackenzie Junior High School and Hillcrest Junior High School in Edmonton,Alberta ,Canada . He became aCanadian citizen in 1962.">cite web |url=http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=56 |accessdate=2006-08-12 |author=Soutar, Ted |title=CFLBright died of a massive heart attack on
December 14 ,1983 , at a hospital in Edmonton, while undergoing elective surgery to correct aknee injury suffered during his football career. He was survived by his wife and four children.cite web |url=http://desmoinesregister.com/sports/extras/hall/bright.html |accessdate=2006-08-14 |author=Turnbull, Buck |title=Bright joins Iowa "Hall" |publisher="Des Moines Register"|date=1970-03-24]
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