It seems hard to believe now, but for a long time, there were no Black quarterbacks in professional football. This book by John Eisenberg is a very good read on the history of this injustice.
Title/Author:
“Rocket Men: The Black Quarterbacks Who Revolutionized Pro Football” by John Eisenberg
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
Professional football has become quarterback centric as people at that position, while always important, now more than ever will be important to their team’s fortunes. There are several Black quarterbacks now leading successful NFL teams and compiling gawdy statistics. They include Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray. However, it hasn’t always been this way. For a long time, due to the racism of NFL owners, talent scouts and the league in general, Black players were denied the opportunity to play at the position. Accomplished football author John Eisenberg gives a very good historical account of this travesty and how it has improved, albeit slowly.
Eisenberg makes the case throughout the book that there were many Black players who were denied the chance to play the position professionally and tells in detail what went behind the decisions to have other (read: white) players man that position. At times, it feels like Eisenberg is taking a sledgehammer to convince the reader that this was wrong and that it was only due to prejudicial thinking by white coaches, scouts or owners that was the reason for this. That is an exaggeration on the part of this reviewer, and surely Eisenberg did not mean to communicate the issue as such, but so many points and facts are repeated that it felt that way – such as frequent references that Doug Williams is the only Black quarterback to have led a team to a Super Bowl victory.
Putting that aside, otherwise the book is a fantastic look at the position and the Black men who either have succeeded at quarterback, were denied a chance, or were given the chance but would lose the job due to something like a bad game, a bad outcome on a play or an injured quarterback would be coming back. There are some of the stories that are well known. An example of this would be Warren Moon. He was shunned in the 1978 NFL draft, mainly because it was felt that he lacked the “smarts” to play quarterback. So, Moon went to the Canadian Football League (CFL) and led the Edmonton Eskimos to one of the greatest dynasties in that league as they won five Grey Cups (Canada’s version of the Super Bowl) before the NFL saw the errors of their ways and Moon signed with the Houston Oilers. From there, he passed for over 50,000 yards in the NFL and became the first Black quarterback to be enshrined in the pro football Hall of Fame.
An example of a lesser-known story would be that of Marlin Briscoe. Fans of the NFL in the 1960’s and 1970’s may remember Briscoe as a member of the Miami Dolphins when they won two Super Bowls – but as a defensive back. He was originally a quarterback, but after some ineffective games, he was asked to switch positions. This was a fate that was common to Black quarterbacks who may have succeeded in college, but after being drafted, their professional team felt they would help the team more in a position that required more “athleticism.” There are so many examples of this that at times it’s almost depressing to read about them, but they are important to know so that a reader understands the history behind the exclusion of Black quarterbacks.
There is much more to this history than a review like this can explain, but hopefully
readers will come away feeling educated about the history of the position and
understand that while there has been great progress in the use and acceptance
of Black players at quarterback, the NFL can still do better.
I wish to thank Basic Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The
opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
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