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Welcome back to the Tigers Football Insider, where we bring you the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II, Geoff Calkins and John Martin each week.
Glenn Rogers Sr. remembers going to a football game in 1967 to watch Memphis State play Florida State. It was a game that helped put in motion one of the most historical moments in Memphis football history.
He shared the memory with Tiger football fans as a guest on the weekly coach’s radio show on Tuesday.
“I wasn’t thinking about playing college football at that time,” Rogers said. “But after looking at the football game I thought maybe I should go out and try. So in the spring of 1968, I did go out for football and it was tough but a very rewarding experience for me.”
Rogers became the first Black athlete to join the Memphis football team when he walked on during the spring of 1968 and earned a scholarship during the spring of 1969. Stan Davis also joined the team in 1969 and they became the first Black players to appear in a game for Memphis State that fall.
Rogers played for the Tigers until 1971 and he will be honored by the program at a halftime ceremony during Thursday’s Tulsa game. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
Rogers will be an honorary captain while his name and No. 26 will be painted on the field of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
“I do look forward to the ceremony on Thursday because it’s something unexpected by me,” Rogers said.
While Rogers acknowledged how rewarding of an experience it was for him, he also confessed that he didn’t have the best time playing college football. Dealing with unruly behavior at different stadiums on the road came with the territory of being pioneers of the sport for Rogers and Davis.
“We did what we were supposed to do as athletes, Rogers said. “Sometimes some things were said that shouldn’t have been said. But at the same time those situations did not deter us from finishing up at Memphis State.”
“Coming to Memphis State was basically nothing dealing with race or anything like that. I just wanted to play football. I didn’t see my situation as one that warranted anything other than doing it and giving it the best that I had.”
It’s a much different experience for the Black athletes who’ve come through the program decades after Rogers first created the path. Former Tiger Russell Copeland is one of the many Black players who followed in his footsteps before playing six years in the NFL. He said Rogers was the reason why he chose to come to Memphis.
Rogers’ son Glen Rogers Jr. also played for the Tigers and was Copeland’s host on his recruiting trip. Rogers Jr. told Copeland about the history of the city and Memphis State while sharing details of what Rogers Sr. went through to play for the Tigers.
The impact that Rogers Sr. had on the program will be honored appropriately on Thursday and the Tigers are hoping to cap the recognition by celebrating a win over Tulsa.
“Mr. Glenn Rogers Sr. changed the landscape of college football when you look at segregation and being the first player to integrate in 1968 in the spring,” Copeland said. “When you look at you’re in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and that spring you also lose the great Martin Luther King Jr. in April. So for what he had to endure and what he had to go through is unimaginable for me.”
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