Black History Month has been celebrated in some form since 1924. For sports fans, it is a chance to reacquaint themselves with those who broke down barriers in all areas of competition and all segments of society. Many are now household names and American icons: Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Muhammad Ali, up to Tiger Woods, Tony Dungy and Venus and Serena Williams today.
Every day throughout February, FanHouse will shed light on the other figures in the history of sports whose breakthroughs were as significant as those mentioned above, but who aren't as instantly recognizable as pioneers. During Black History Month 2010, FanHouse aims to give them their due.
Eldridge Dickey
First African-American quarterback picked in the first round of a pro football draft
The American sports landscape should mourn the loss of the opportunity for Eldridge Dickey to realize his full potential, if only because it was denied one of the great nicknames ever created: The Lord's Prayer.
One has to be of a certain time and place to remember Dickey or his ethereal moniker. Natives of his hometown of Houston and former coaches and teammates have created a website and DVD to keep his memory alive, but they'd also swear that he had to be seen to really be believed.
As a dazzlingly talented and accomplished (not to mention ambidextrous) quarterback at Tennessee State, Dickey led the 1965 and '66 teams to undefeated seasons and national championships, the first two of his three years he was named the best quarterback in black college football. Sports Illustrated once described him as having "a Johnny Unitas arm and Gale Sayers speed.''
This is part one in FanHouse's nine-part series examining memorable moments and players from past Super Bowl games played in Miami. Coming next: Baltimore Colts wide receiver Jimmy Orr, Super Bowl III.
SUPER BOWL II Date: Jan. 14, 1968 Site: Orange Bowl Score: Packers 33, Raiders 14 (MVP: Bart Starr)
It wasn't that Vince Lombardi didn't like rookies. He knew they were necessary (necessary evils, that is), but that didn't mean he had to trust them.
Or play them much.
"Lombardi was such a taskmaster when it came to mistakes," recalled former Green Bay tailback Donny Anderson. "And young players made more mistakes than older guys. That was a fact."
Didn't matter how much money they were making, either.
In 1966, the bidding wars between the NFL and AFL were at their peak. Anderson, the seventh overall pick of the draft out of Texas Tech, signed a three-year contract for the most money ever given a NFL player: $600,000.
The Oakland Raiders have reportedly hired Hue Jackson as their offensive coordinator, even as the team refuses to confirm that head coach Tom Cable will return for the 2010 season.
ESPN's Michael Smith and Fox Sports' Jay Glazer are both reporting that Jackson, previously the Baltimore Ravens' quarterbacks coach, interviewed with Raiders owner Al Davis last week and agreed to run the team's offense.
Despite weeks of speculation that he would be fired, Tom Cable will reportedly remain the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2010.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Raiders owner Al Davis has decided to bring Cable back.
Raiders spokesman John Herrera denied the ESPN report to the Associated Press.
"We've never made any statement that the head coach would not be back, that has been media speculation from the beginning," Herrera said in a statement Saturday night.
Three weeks after the end of the 2009 regular season, the Oakland Raiders have still not said whether Tom Cable will be back as head coach in 2010. But they insist that they're not looking for any new head coaches until they've decided whether or not Cable will stay.
Responding to reports in the Carroll County Times and the Baltimore Sun that Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson was in Oakland to interview to become the Raiders' head coach, Raiders senior executive John Herrera vehemently stated that no head-coaching interviews are taking place.
Black History Month has been celebrated in some form since 1924. For sports fans, it is a chance to reacquaint themselves with those who broke down barriers in all areas of competition and all segments of society. Many are now household names and American icons: Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Muhammad Ali, up to Tiger Woods, Tony Dungy and Venus and Serena Williams today.
Despite weeks of speculation that he would be fired, Tom Cable will reportedly remain the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2010.
Three weeks after the end of the 2009 regular season, the 
