Louisville football's first Black starting quarterback overcame obstacles to make history

Many things come to mind when thinking about the 1970s.

But Black college football quarterbacks aren’t one.

There was Condredge Holloway, who made history at Tennessee as the first Black starting quarterback at an SEC school in 1972 . Derrick Ramsey became Kentucky’s first Black signal caller three years later.

In 1976, Randy Butler became Louisville’s first Black starting quarterback.

The 6-foot Georgia native was also the first Black starting quarterback during his senior year at Commerce High School.

The quiet-but-focused Butler didn’t understand the magnitude of his accomplishments at the time. To him, it was simply about playing the sport he loved.

But for Butler’s teammates — and Louisville football history — it meant more.

“Just having an opportunity to play with a Black quarterback and knowing that he was capable was just uplifting for all Black players on the team,” said Lamont Collins, Butler's former teammate who played defensive back and running back at Louisville (1978-81). “We felt it was time for Black leadership at quarterback.”

A moment of history

A wave of boos showered down on Fairgrounds Stadium.

U of L was up, 42-14, against Wichita State during the 1977 season when then-head coach Vince Gibson put Butler in the game. Fans booed when Butler entered and left the game.

According to a Courier Journal article, Gibson, now deceased, called it one of the worst things he’d seen in his coaching career.

“I'm like, 'Why are they booing me?' " Butler remembered thinking nearly five decades later. “Whatever they expected, they didn't get from me, so they have the right to do that. But, yeah, it was kind of mind-blowing. I haven't even ran a play yet.”

Knowing Butler's journey getting to that point made it even more frustrating and hurtful. A year before the spectacle, Butler came to Louisville as a walk-on. The Cardinals offered him a partial scholarship and a spot on the JV team. Louisville had 13 quarterbacks on the team.

Butler was No. 13.

He used his opportunities on the JV squad to prove he was better than that. Gibson eventually moved Butler to varsity. He earned a scholarship and made his debut by replacing freshman starting quarterback Stu Stram in a 34-0 loss to Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1976.

Three weeks later, Butler made his first official start against Cincinnati to end the season.

What should’ve been a celebratory, groundbreaking moment for Louisville was spoiled by a 20-6 loss for a 5-6 season. Additionally, Butler didn’t feel supported by all his teammates. He felt accepted by the Black players but noticed the offensive line didn’t block the same for him as the other quarterbacks.

In a Courier Journal article from the 1976 season finale, the late Mike Sullivan described the O-line as having done “a fair impersonation of a hoop with clowns jumping through it.”

“The clowns were enemy defenders who blew into the visitors’ backfield and made life miserable for Randy Butler, a freshman quarterback who did fairly well under the circumstances (five pass completions, one fumble),” Sullivan wrote.

The next season, Butler was the starter for the 1977 opener and led Louisville to a 38-0 win over Northern Illinois. The next game against Cincinnati ended in a 17-17 tie. Butler and the Cardinals went 2-2 over the next four games before dropping a 55-6 decision at third-ranked Alabama. Butler was 4-of-11 passing for 48 yards with three interceptions and had 46 yards on 16 carries. He scored the team’s lone touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter.

The game cost Butler his job as a starter and his position as a quarterback.

"When I lost my starting position, I was distraught," Butler said. “I couldn't beat Alabama by myself. We were outmanned. Their talent was a lot better than what we could compete against. ... Alabama, they've always been a powerhouse. So, I guess I was the fall guy. (Gibson) had to make a change, so I got removed from the starting position.”

Still a quarterback

When Collins transferred from Western Kentucky to play for his hometown university in 1978, Butler had transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver.

Stram, the son of the late Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints head coach Hank Stram, got his spot back as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback. He led the team to a 54-7 win over South Dakota State in the 1978 season opener. Butler had a 33-yard catch in his first contest as a receiver.

“Not bigger, not faster, not stronger, but yet (Stram) got the position to play quarterback,” Collins said. “... We knew it was more racially motivated than it was (Butler’s) physical play. Even when he went to wide receiver, the Black players always treated him as the quarterback. He never lost that position. He was just a guy that could play quarterback that had to move to wide receiver to be on the field.”

Prior to Butler switching spots, the extent of his experience as a receiver was lining up wide during his junior year at Commerce High School.

“The quarterback we had was a white guy as the starter,” Butler said. "When we needed to pass the ball — because he couldn't throw — I would come in as a quarterback. So, I was a throwing quarterback in high school. When we had a running game going, I was a wide receiver.”

Butler contemplated transferring to a historically Black college and university but was persuaded to stay at Louisville. He had only three pass attempts in his final two years with the Cardinals but tallied 518 yards and four touchdowns on 31 catches in 22 games played. Louisville went 7-4 in 1978 and 4-6-1 in 1979.

Butler moved closer to home and signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons. After getting married and starting a family, he finished his degree at Georgia State.

Louisville’s legacy of Black quarterbacks

The rarity of a Black college quarterback couldn't be further from the case now. The last three Heisman Trophy winners were Black quarterbacks. Last season, there were three Black starting quarterbacks in the ACC and five in the SEC.

Thirty-five years separated Butler’s historic start at Louisville and Teddy Bridgewater’s Big East Rookie of the Year campaign in 2011. Five years later, Lamar Jackson became the youngest Heisman-winning quarterback as Louisville’s signal caller. And then there was Malik Cunningham, whose six-year college career ended with him being the program’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (50), consecutive starts at quarterback (40) and overall quarterback starts (47).

Butler’s eyes began to fill with tears as he sat frozen while thinking of the three.

“As I get older, I get a little more emotional,” he said with a smile.

Butler met Cunningham at The Galt House Hotel the day Jackson’s jersey was retired a few years ago. It was a quick-yet-powerful moment between Louisville’s first Black quarterback and its most recent one.

“I said, ‘Do you know who the first Black quarterback was for the University of Louisville?’ He said, ‘It was probably you, right?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’” Butler recalled. "So, we shook hands. I continued to follow his career. That was a great moment for me.”

Butler still hasn’t met Jackson and Bridgewater. He hopes to do so one day as the trail blazer who preceded them. Butler’s time as Louisville’s first Black starting quarterback may have been brief, but its impact is unforgettable.

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football's first Black starting quarterback overcame obstacles to make history