The Pioneers Who Changed Football and History

In 1950, Willie Thrower made history as the first Black quarterback to start a game for the Chicago Bears. Nearly two decades later, Marlin Briscoe took the field as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, leading the team for an entire season.Over time, players like Warren Moon and Michael Vick became the faces of major NFL franchises, proving that Black quarterbacks could lead and excel at the highest levels.

Their success on the field helped break barriers beyond sports, paving the way for future generations—including Barack Obama, who would go on to make history as the first Black President of the United States.The impact of these trailblazers extends far beyond football. Their resilience and achievements challenged outdated norms, opening doors for change in sports, politics, and society as a whole.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Dan Riley. I regret that I didn't discuss
the NFL shift to black quarterbacks this February for obvious reasons,
but it's better late than never, honestly, especially given we
have a president nowadays who was caught having dinner with

(00:25):
a member of a hate group once. This story should
give us some kind of hope. You have to understand,
for the longest time, the National Football League didn't want
teams giving the position of quarterback to African Americans. It was,

(00:51):
of course, based on racism, the idea the African Americans
shouldn't have had power others. Other reasons included ugly, unjust
racial stereotypes, but it changed for the better over time.

(01:15):
In the nineteen fifties, a black man named Willie Thrower
played in a game for the Chicago Bears. That was
the beginning of an evolution we honestly don't talk enough about.
It was. That moment was a perfect metaphor for a

(01:35):
society that would eventually put Barack Obama in the Oval office.
One event leads to another leads to another in the
civil rights era. Ten years later, the Denver Broncos put

(01:56):
a running quarterback named Marlon Briscoe under center. That was
a big deal. But it's what was happening in the
nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties that really should give us hope.

(02:17):
A team in Houston, in the state of Texas, mind you, called,
the Oilers, signed a man named Warren Moon to play
quarterback for them. And yes, this was in Texas of
all places. When I was eleven, the Falcons, the Atlanta

(02:40):
Falcons drafted a man named Michael Vick. We are talking
about the state of Georgia. Here, a team in the
state of Georgia, which was not historically humane towards African Americans.
Those two, Warren Moon and Michael Vick wind up wound

(03:09):
up celebrities be loved by people of many different races
down there in Texas and Georgia. The reason this gives

(03:30):
me hope is that a matter involving letting a man
of color lead an NFL team's offense way back in
nineteen fifty started a chain of events that led to

(03:56):
black men getting other positions of authority, mayors, presidents. That's
why I have optimism going forward and why I want
my listeners to vote for politicians who can help people

(04:17):
in poverty of all races in the United States get
out and be and improve their circumstances. One small decision
led to another, which led to another, which led to

(04:40):
another that should give us hope going forward in sports
and other places. This is Dan Riley. Thank you so
much for tuning in and so long