‘Champions for all to follow’: ’65 and ’66 football teams inducted into Michigan State Hall of Fame

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The scene at the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame ceremonies Friday at Breslin Center summed up Michigan State football as a singular story under College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty, and the impact his most famous teams had on the lives of its players, and – through word, example, athletic achievement and social relevance – a nation and the world.

This was all evident before Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller spoke to the audience. Hundreds attended as Michigan State enshrined its 1965 and 1966 national championship football teams for titles won on the field and social barriers broken off it.

The number of Black and White faces – not to mention Bob Apisa as the first Samoan All-American player – in their late 70s, dining together can’t be duplicated by 1960s rosters at other schools. Daugherty ignored the unwritten quota of the era which customarily limited Black athletes to a half-dozen or so for teams which chose to partially integrate. His 1960s teams were college football’s first fully integrated rosters.

USC numbered only five Black players on its 1962 National Championship team and only seven on its 1967 National Championship roster. USC was seen as a forerunner for integration, but their numbers pale in comparison to Michigan State.

Alabama and Texas fielded all-White rosters when Alabama shared national titles in 1961, 1964 and 1965 and Texas won national crowns in 1963 and 1969.

These are numbers that have to be repeated to understand how far ahead of the nation was Daugherty with his teams.

“Tonight is a special night,” Haller said. “We have the opportunity to celebrate two iconic teams in Spartans history. Yes, you were great on the field. But that’s not why we’re here tonight. We’re here for your transcendent impact on your sport, your university and our society.

“I don’t think enough credit has gone to you for what you have done for Michigan State University. You were young men from different states and races. You were the very fabric of who we are and who we strive to be. Your legacy will be your impact. Your success paved the way for athletes of color. By any measure you are champions in life and champion for all to follow.”

A tipping point to college football was the 1966 Game of the Century when Michigan State lined up 20 Black players, 11 Black starters, two Black team captains, College Football Hall of Famers George Webster and Clinton Jones , and the South’s first Black quarterback to win a national title, Jimmy Raye of segregated Fayetteville, N.C.

Notre Dame lined up one Black player, Alan Page.

Page wanted to attend Michigan State. On his recruiting trip to Michigan State, his host was Jim Proebstle, a White player who was a year older than Page as high school teammates at Canton (Ohio) Central Catholic. He told Proebstle he wanted to play for the Spartans.

But Page’s parents wanted him to attend a Catholic school, and he went to Notre Dame.

When the Spartans and Irish took the field on November 19, 1966 at Spartan Stadium, a record TV audience of 33 million saw the contrast of rosters. Michigan State was the future. Notre Dame and USC the past. Alabama and Texas, the far past.

A total of 58 players from the ’65 and ’66 teams attended Friday’s Hall of Fame ceremonies. Among those who have passed away were College Football Hall of Famers George Webster in 2007 and Bubba Smith in 2010. Charlie Thornhill, who led the team in tackles at linebacker when he cleaned up plays as opponents ran away from Smith and Webster, passed in 2006.

There were six widows who attended, which also was a statement on the bond among the 1965 and 1966 players.

The evening began at the Clara B. Smith Center for the unveiling of the Hall of Fame plaque.

“This may be the last time we get together like this,” said Jimmy Raye, 78.

Once the players were assembled for a team photo, Katie Souder, the MSU S Club director, asked for a “Go Green! Go White!” cheer as the staff photographer clicked away.

Michigan State president Kevin Guskiewicz, who took over his post in March, also spoke.

“Tonight is about celebrating our history,” he said. “An athletic program is the front porch to a university.”

By the end of the night, 1965 team captain Steve Juday and 1966 team captain Clinton Jones spoke to the audience. The late Don Japinga had been Juday’s co-captain and Webster shared the role with Jones.

“I’d like to have a moment of silence for those who are not with us,” said Juday, who was enshrined in the MSU Hall of Fame in 2016.

Jones, who was enshrined in MSU’s Hall in 2012, read from a poem written by the team’s unofficial poet laurate, Pat Gallinagh, an Academic All-American in 1966. Gallinagh was unable to attend while caring for his ill wife.

Jones’ voice cracked as he got to the final two lines about the Spartans breaking ground as leaders of college football integration.

“But perhaps our most significant accomplishment was not the final score

But in helping make America a better place and helping our ideals to restore

***

In addition to the 1965 and 1966 teams enshrined, six individuals also were inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame on Friday:

— Laura (Kueny) Smith women’s golf.

— Anson Carter, hockey.

— Jessica (Beech) Bograkos, softball.

— Beth (Rohl) Saylors, women’s track and field.

— Darqueze Dennard, Football.

During Dennard’s remarks to the crowd at the ceremonies, he referenced the segregation his grandparents endured while growing up and living in rural Georgia. He took a moment to congratulate the 1965 and 1966 teams.

“I thought about my grandparents sharing your journey,” Dennard said.

Their journey will continue for years to come, within those who learn about their accomplishments and contributions when they see the ’65 and ’66 teams’ plaques at the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Tom Shanahan is an author and freelance writer. He has authored “ Ray of Light: Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, The Intigration of College Football, and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans”; “ The Right Thing To Do : The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s; and “ Bubba’s Dad, Duffy and College Football’s Underground Railroad.”

Tom Shanahan (far left) and MSU play-by-play broadcaster George Blaha with MSU 1965 and 1966 Hall of Famers. L-R: Jimmy Raye, Regis Cavendar (back), Eric Marshall (front), Chuck Bailey (back), Clinton Jones and Don Moore.

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