Digital Ink Los Angeles

Burl Toler was the first black official in professional football, and any professional sport for that matter. His story is one of courage and profound passion for the competition and camaraderie of the game of football. But the real story begins with the college football team and the players he played and competed with.

The University of San Francisco Dons football team was undefeated in 1951, going 9-0. The following is an explanation for the dilemma faced by the team, when they had to decide whether they would go to a bowl game without their two best players — All-American Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, who were both black.

The following is taken from the USF sports information website:

“The announced reason for rejecting USF was its weak schedule, but San Francisco sportscaster Ira Blue reported that he was told by Gator Bowl president Sam Wolfson that the Gator, Sugar, and Orange Bowl committees had all decided to avoid teams with ‘Negro’ players.”

“There was also an insinuation that had the Dons been willing to play without Matson and Toler, they might have been granted a bid. Without hesitation, the players decided they would never play in a bowl game or otherwise without Matson and Toler.”

“The school needed the financial reward a trip to a bowl game would reap, in order for the football program to be sustained. The sport was costing the University nearly $70,000 a year, a deficit the school couldn’t endure any longer.”

“On December 30, 1951, the Reverend William J. Dunne, S.J., then USF’s president, announced that the school would no longer field a football team because of the financial burden. The school’s best football team was to be its last Division I team.”

Pete Rozelle — who would lead the NFL as its commissioner for three decades — was the team’s sports information director, and he proclaimed their accomplishments as his proudest moment in football.

Three players from that team went on to gain NFL Hall of Fame honors, and Burl Toler was elected to the Hall of Fame as an official with more than 25 years of dedication to the game.

In remembrance to Burl Toler, who died August 16, 2009, check out the YouTube video of the Fox Sports special during the Fiesta Bowl about the magical season of the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons, and their willingness to go beyond the game and embrace their “Negro” teammates.

Special people do special things.

Ernie Barnes was an artist and a football player. His “Sugar Shack” painting to the left is famous from the TV show “Good Times” and as the album art for Marvin Gaye’s I Want You.

Born Ernest Barnes, Jr. on July 15, 1938, to Ernest Sr. and Fannie Barnes during the Jim Crow era in Durham, North Carolina, his mother worked as a home helper to a wealthy lawyer’s family.

Ernie got through college on a football scholarship to the all-black North Carolina Central University, majoring in art.

According to the Ernie Barnes.com website, “The Company of Art“:

He was drafted by the then-World Champion Baltimore Colts football team. He then spent the next five seasons as an offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. In 1965, New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin recognized Barnes’ artistic potential and replaced his football salary for one season so he could devote himself “to just paint.”

One year later, Barnes made his debut in a critically acclaimed solo exhibition at Grand Central Art Galleries in Manhattan and retired from football. His autobiography “From Pads to Palette” chronicles his transition from athlete to artist.

Ernie Barnes’ first professional exhibition was a sell-out, beginning an ongoing, long relationship with the Grand Central Art Galleries, as well as the McKenzie and Heritage Galleries in Los Angeles.

Ernie Barnes: Born July 15, 1938 – Died April 27, 2009