Jackie Robinson, Wally Triplett, and Lasting Legacies
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”
Wally Triplett in 1953, when he was with the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League. Drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1949, he was the first African-American to play in a regular-season N.F.L. game. Associated Press
It was a tough game against Wisconsin on November 10, 2018, but Penn State prevailed with a commanding 22 to 10 win. We were there to cheer on my alma mater, but also to celebrate the senior season of Nick Scott, the co-captain of the team and our friend’s son.
It was also at the game that we heard about Wally Triplett who had passed away two days earlier. Wally was the varsity Penn State player who, in the 1949 NFL Draft, was the third African-American chosen but the first of the draftees to take the field in a league game. Undrafted "free agent" African-Americans had previously played in the league, but it was significant in 1949 that blacks were included in the draft for the first time.
Penn State safety Nick Scott celebrates following the 38-3 win over Maryland on Senior Day on Nov. 24, 2018. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
Fast forward to 2019 -- round 7, pick #243, Nick Scott became a member of the Los Angeles Rams. And a few weeks ago, at the Superbowl, Nick Scott, #33 for the Rams, earned his ring. He played straight through the game, just as he had throughout the season.
Nick’s life and choices were impacted by Wally Triplett’s life and choices 70 years before, as were multitudes of black players that followed him, including the legendary fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Franco Harris, who was also a Penn State graduate and receiver of The Immaculate Reception. Both the Scott Family and Franco are involved in the telling of Wally’s story through a scripted feature film that we have been developing over the past several years.
One of the unique storylines that our script writers uncovered was the unwillingness of any barbershop in State College to cut African-Americans’ hair, which meant finding a way to drive at least 20 miles to get a trim. Although Pennsylvania did not have the codified legal discrimination that was found in the south, this economic and social segregation was reflective of the racial barriers in place in the north.
The film will cover the remarkable season that ended in breaking the racial barrier in the segregated Cotton Bowl, but it will also account for the efforts of the black students at Penn State to overcome the economic barriers at home. The marches in the streets by black and white students in State College in 1948 to protest the situation resulted in funds being raised to open a barbershop that was willing to cut black students’ hair.
This theme of economic empowerment, the racial wealth gap and the importance of business ownership is something that Clapham has taken initiative on with a friend and rapper Derek Minor. Ownership is the New Black is a project that we’ve highlighted in the past, but we have just announced a kickoff event here in DC on June 1 at Union Stage on The Wharf, with a performance by the New Respects (more on that and how to snatch tickets to come).
It is very easy today to complain today or even protest about something we don’t like, but it is not easy to work toward a positive, redemptive resolution, especially in partnership with people who aren’t in our “tribe.” In fact, as we turn our opponents into our enemies, those of us willing to work with people we otherwise disagree with are considered traitors or worse. Derek and I could not come from more different backgrounds, but we agree that the racial wealth gap is an injustice, and we have found a way to work together to address it. Black and white students marched together at Penn State to protest the shops which would not cut African-American hair, but also worked together to establish a barber shop that would. Change happens when unlikely partners come together over a shared need, and I hope that our work here at Clapham gives you the courage to risk wrath from some in your tribe to be a redemptive agent in the culture at large.
Jackie Robinson, circa 1945. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Jackie Robinson was a friend of the Triplett family, and would stay with them when he played in Philadelphia. His impact on Wally was direct, and their impact is felt today with players like Nick Scott. This is what stepping up to the plate looks like, into the tension, to make a difference for generations to come, rather than sitting on the bench.
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." – Jackie Robinson