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Bobby Grier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bobby Grier was the first African-American football player to break the color barrier of a College bowl game. In 1956 his Pitt Panthers played Georgia Tech in a racially charged Sugar Bowl. Many alumni, players and community members of both Georgia Tech and New Orleans openly fought to bar Grier or Pitt or both from the Bowl game. An equally strong contingent of Georgia Tech students and civil rights leaders, as well as most of the Pitt community succeeded in allowing Grier to play the game, which was decided on a GT score on a Grier penalty, one that was later shown to be a false call.
Grier grew up in Masillon, Ohio and after playing college football at Pittsburgh joined the Air Force for a number of years. He retired from military service to be an administrator at a Pittsburgh community college and is still active in the Pittsburgh community.