Mon. Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. on WKAR-HD 23.1 & STREAMING | See how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game.
In 1963, Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty and 23 African American young men seized the opportunity of a lifetime. Now, the daughter of Minnesota Vikings football legend Gene Washington deepens her connection to her father as she uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.
The racial demographics seen on the field today are due in large part to Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty’s innovative approach to recruiting African American men from the South to MSU in the 1960s, known as the “Underground Railroad” of college football.
In "Through the Banks of the Red Cedar," Maya, Gene Washington’s youngest daughter, traces her father's journey from the segregated South to the North, and explores the impact of this legacy on the present generation.
Over the course of a modern football season, Maya uncovers both the triumphs and defeats of her father's teams. She also develops a newly formed appreciation for the game and a deeper connection to her father, just in time to witness MSU Spartan Football team ascend to national prominence 50 years later.
The success of MSU’s 1965 and 1966 back-to-back Big Ten and National Champion teams forces America to re-think prejudices that previously kept African American players from earning scholarships or starting positions. Gene Washington later makes pro-football history alongside Spartan teammates Bubba Smith, Clinton Jones, and George Webster when they are selected in the first round, within the top eight picks of the 1967 draft.