Indiana announced reconciliation with the "IU 10" - the African-American football players who boycotted the last three games of the 1969 season
Reconciliation with the "IU 10"
Reconciliation with the "IU 10"
Reconciliation with the "IU 10"
- Thread starter peegs
- Start date
Can anyone provide links to articles or other writings on the subject that might provide specific details on the boycott (either from that time period or more recent) ? As an elementary school student at the time I remember the boycott and being bitterly disappointed at the shattering of IU football only two seasons after the Rose Bowl. Still I was too young to understand the nature of the conflict and what actually took place. If any good member here who was at IU or older at the time can provide some insight I would be very interested in gaining a deeper understanding of what happened.
Better late than never for the meeting. On a related matter I have stated on this board before that there should be a statue of George Taliaferro somewhere on campus. What he had to endure was an embarrassment for the University. The way he dealt with everything was truly inspirational.
I always heard it was a combo thing, part of a general campus-wide boycott called by the Black Student Union, and players thinking white guys got treated better. They talked to Coach Pont. Presnted grievances. He listened, understood the desire to support the civil rights movement on campus, disagreed they were treated different, and refused to let the players miss practice for those reasons. They boycotted. He suspended them. They talked again. He offered a return. Some came back - some didn't - and a season went down the tubes.
Attached link is an article written by a Northwestern guy - not sure if its accurate.
http://www.laketheposts.com/2008/10/24/the-darkest-days-of-indiana-football/
Here's a link to a page from the book by Bob Hammel and Kit Klingelhoffer:
https://books.google.com/books?id=8...iana university boycott football pont&f=false
Here's an AP article that also mentions a similar boycott at Iowa the prior year:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=O-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4880,1491862&hl=en
Here's an article that discusses Iowa, Wyoming, Oregon State and IU boycotts.
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2009/09/college_footballs_season_of_discontent.html
Here's a Chicago Tribune article - kinda harsh:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...at-winning-team-in-chicago-yes-bulls-are-home
I haven't seen #48 post here in quite some time, but he and his brother both played for Pont. I forget who was older, Marc or his brother (his brother I think). I think Marc said he was captain on Pont's last team, and Corso's first whipping boy (or words to that effect).
Marc posted about the boycott back about 2007. His point was that it became hard for IU to recruit black players for several years, and started the downward spiral in the program, that really has had an impact for 40+ years (except for a period of success under Mallory). Pont's records in his final three years were 1-9. 3-8 and 5-6, before he left to take over the Northwestern program.
I think I saved Marc's post somewhere. I'll look to see to see if I can find it.
Marc posted about the boycott back about 2007. His point was that it became hard for IU to recruit black players for several years, and started the downward spiral in the program, that really has had an impact for 40+ years (except for a period of success under Mallory). Pont's records in his final three years were 1-9. 3-8 and 5-6, before he left to take over the Northwestern program.
I think I saved Marc's post somewhere. I'll look to see to see if I can find it.
Here's a 2011 article about Marc - don't know if he is still engaged in the efforts regarding student-athletes.
Would love to hear his view on the IU commitment to 4 year scholarships, and the "pay toplay" movement. Mostly, I hope he still follows and enjoys IU football. The program is improving, slowly and solidly, and seemingly in all the right ways.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/college_athletes_rights_who_fi.html
I would like to hear from team members, regardless of which side they were on. I was 4 at the time, so know about it, but not much.
It was mentioned in Michael Rosenberg's book "The 10 Year War" as Bo felt bad for his college roommate, John Pont at the time.
It was mentioned in Michael Rosenberg's book "The 10 Year War" as Bo felt bad for his college roommate, John Pont at the time.
This was posted by #48:
Posted on 2/8 8:03 PM
Remember I told you my Mom kept all these newspaper clippings from back in my brother's and my playing days? I've been reading the stuff from the fall of 1969. You younger guys probably don't know it but the whole college fb world expected IU's Cardiac Kids to return to the Rose Bowl in the senior season.
In the Varsity Club's weekly newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 9 dated 11/3/69) the writer describes the way IU pounded MSU 16-0 to go 3-1 in the conference with 3 very winnable games left on the schedule: Iowa, at Northwestern, and Purdue at home. If we win those 3 games and OSU beats Michigan (which they did) we go to the Rose Bowl because OSU went the previous year. This newsletter is positively giddy with expectations of our 2nd Big Ten championship in 3 years.
48 hours later on Wednesday, Nov. 5 the floowing headline ran on page 91 of the Indianapolis News: IU BLACKS WILL RETURN, SAYS END JOHN ANDREWS.
The story's lead--"A Negro who is starting tight end for the Indiana football team said black players who boycotted yesterday's practice would return today. All 14 Negro varsity players, including tight end John Andrews, were missing from practice yesterday, which was marked by black dissent in several universities across the nation.
On that same day the headline in the Bloomington paper was NEGRO FOOTBALL BOYCOTT NEAR END, SAYS ANDREWS. In the final 2 paragraphs of that story the writer says "[Coach John] Pont appeared unconcerned by the matter after practice. "My mind's completely uncluttered, he said. "It'll be business as usual. I don't want to assume anything. But I'm more concerned about the other boys on the squad, because we have a game with Iowa here Saturday."
The next day Pont dismissed 10 of the 14 "Negro" players "for missing 2 consecutive practices without an excuse."
Three days later the 1-3 Iowa Hawkeyes came to Bloomington and beat IU 28-17. On the eve of the game, "The players who left the team issued a statement . . . charging racial discrimination by the coaching staff."
The virtually all-white Hoosiers lost there final two games and finished the season 4-6 after being rated in the Top 10 in that season's pre-season polls.
And as they say, the rest is history. The following year my recruiting class had 33 scholarship players including 2 blacks, Ken Starling and Lovell Williams. This was the beginning of the end of the Pont era. Only when Lee Corso was hired did IU sign more than 2-3 black players in any class. For you history fans, this was truly the watershed event in the modern era of IU football. In the space of 5 days we went from talking of a second Big Ten Championship to being unable to compete with even Northwestern and Iowa.
In the Varsity Club's weekly newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 9 dated 11/3/69) the writer describes the way IU pounded MSU 16-0 to go 3-1 in the conference with 3 very winnable games left on the schedule: Iowa, at Northwestern, and Purdue at home. If we win those 3 games and OSU beats Michigan (which they did) we go to the Rose Bowl because OSU went the previous year. This newsletter is positively giddy with expectations of our 2nd Big Ten championship in 3 years.
48 hours later on Wednesday, Nov. 5 the floowing headline ran on page 91 of the Indianapolis News: IU BLACKS WILL RETURN, SAYS END JOHN ANDREWS.
The story's lead--"A Negro who is starting tight end for the Indiana football team said black players who boycotted yesterday's practice would return today. All 14 Negro varsity players, including tight end John Andrews, were missing from practice yesterday, which was marked by black dissent in several universities across the nation.
On that same day the headline in the Bloomington paper was NEGRO FOOTBALL BOYCOTT NEAR END, SAYS ANDREWS. In the final 2 paragraphs of that story the writer says "[Coach John] Pont appeared unconcerned by the matter after practice. "My mind's completely uncluttered, he said. "It'll be business as usual. I don't want to assume anything. But I'm more concerned about the other boys on the squad, because we have a game with Iowa here Saturday."
The next day Pont dismissed 10 of the 14 "Negro" players "for missing 2 consecutive practices without an excuse."
Three days later the 1-3 Iowa Hawkeyes came to Bloomington and beat IU 28-17. On the eve of the game, "The players who left the team issued a statement . . . charging racial discrimination by the coaching staff."
The virtually all-white Hoosiers lost there final two games and finished the season 4-6 after being rated in the Top 10 in that season's pre-season polls.
And as they say, the rest is history. The following year my recruiting class had 33 scholarship players including 2 blacks, Ken Starling and Lovell Williams. This was the beginning of the end of the Pont era. Only when Lee Corso was hired did IU sign more than 2-3 black players in any class. For you history fans, this was truly the watershed event in the modern era of IU football. In the space of 5 days we went from talking of a second Big Ten Championship to being unable to compete with even Northwestern and Iowa.
Posted on 2/8 8:03 PM
Perhaps harsh, but spot on in my opinion. I played at Northwestern in the mid 70's, and the unrest at Indiana followed Pont to NU. Some AA players there griped about playing time and effectively killed recruiting for black players, contributing to the steep decline of the football program at NU. Those who griped the most were those who worked the least. One player made all sorts of claims of racism but he was so lazy he couldn't do one good push-up. I never saw any instances of racism by the coaching staff while I was at NU.
I have been curious about the 69 boycott for years but all I can find is the same griping about playing time that occurred at NU.. I chalk it up to general unrest in the AA community over significant civil rights issues that spilled over onto the practice field rather than any racism on the part of John Pont or his staff. I don't know what Coach Pont had to apologize for except to try to ease the hurt his black players felt over their suspensions. The fact that those who boycotted the program at IU could never articulate any specific grievances except for playing time suggests this was all an unfortunate mistake.
Another good article. The author correctly predicted the push for athlete's rights that occurred 4-5 years later.
The 60's constantly felt like the world was a roller coaster:
1960 - first TV debates, JFK beats Nixon, The Pill gets approval and lunch counter sit ins in the South
1961 - Bay of Pigs, The Berlin Wall goes up, the Russians beat the US to put a man in space, and Freedom Riders
1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis, "Silent Spring" is published, Marilyn Monroe dies, Ole Miss integrated by James Meredith
1963 - Viet Nam hits our conciousness with this:
Medgar Evers gets murdered, the "I Have a Dream" speech, 16th Ave. Church explosion, Freedom Summer voter registration produces the Chaney, Goodman, Scherner murders in Mississippi, Kennedy assassinated
1964 - The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passes. Clay knocks out Liston, and becomes Ali.
1965 - Viet Nam really ramps up, Malcolm X assassinated, Watts riots in LA
1966 - Black Panthers founded, NOW founded, Stokely Carmichael coins the term "Black Power", Mao starts the Cultural Revolution in China, draft protests start
1967 - Detroit riots, Tampa riots, Cincinnati riots, Atlanta riots, Newark riots, kill over 120 people. Ali refuses induction. 6 Day War in Israel, Stalin's daughter (!) defects to the West.
1968 - BOOM. Tet. Cronkite calls for end of the War. LBJ doesn't run. Martin Luther King, Jr. is murdered. Riots in 124 cities. RFK assassinated. USS Pueblo. "The Whole World Is Watching" Chicago Democrat Convention riots. And - in sports:
1969 - a little respite. Broadway Joe and the Jets beat the Colts. Man on the Moon. But also Woodstock, Manson Murders, Chappaquiddick, and huge anti-war protests after Nixon announces his "Plan" means more war.
IU's football future took a hit.
And in November, what eventually became the internet was hooked up for the first time.
Looking back, the 69 boycott was inevitable, a blip on the world and national stage, and a head shot to IU football.
