- Homer Harris
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Homer E. Harris Jr. (March 4, 1916 - March 17, 2007) was a groundbreaking African American athlete who became the first black captain of a Big Ten Conference team.
Born in Seattle, Washington, he became the first black captain of the school's football team as an end at Seattle's Garfield High School. He then played for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, and in 1937, he became the team's Most Valuable Player and the first black player to captain a Big Ten team. He was named an All-Big Ten End three years in a row.
As the National Football League wasn't integrated when he graduated, Harris went to medical school and became a dermatologist. He also served as head coach of the North Carolina A&T football team in 1940.
He was inducted into the Hawkeyes' Hall of Fame in 2002, and had a Seattle park named after him the same year.
External links
North Carolina A&T Aggies head football coaches Lonnie P. Byarm (1922–1930) • Harry R. Jefferson (1931–1932) • Inman A. Breaux (1933–1936) • S. A. Barksdale (1937) • Inman A. Breaux (1938–1939) • Homer Harris (1940) • Roland K. Bernard (1941) • Charles U. DeBerry (1942–1944) • Charles W. Carter (1945) • William M. Bell (1946–1956) • Bert C. Piggott (1957–1967) • Hornsby Howell (1968–1976) • James McKinley (1977–1981) • Mo Forte (1982–1987) • Bill Hayes (1988–2002) • George Small (2003–2005) • Lee Fobbs (2006–2008) • George Ragsdale # (2008) • Alonzo Lee (2009–2010) • George Ragsdale # (2010) • Rod Broadway (2011– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Categories:- 1916 births
- 2007 deaths
- American football tight ends
- Iowa Hawkeyes football players
- North Carolina A&T Aggies football coaches
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