Delay of Game Explores African American History

During my internship at the Neville, I had the opportunity to work on Delay of Game: Experiences of African American Football Players in Titletown (2018-2019). When first told about the exhibition, I was thrilled to hear of the museum’s plans to explore African American history. But, because Delay of Game centers on the Packers, I worried football would overshadow the stories off the field. Thankfully, I was wrong. Not only did I learn more about the Packers, but also more about the community I grew up in. I found that the African American history of the Packers, and Brown County, reflected wider social histories.

Packers First African American Player

Bob Mann was the first African American Packer to play a regular season game. Recruited in 1950, Mann joined the team just four years after Kenny Washington signed to the Rams in 1946 (One year before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers). Washington was the first black NFL player since 1933.

Bob Mann was the first African American to play in a regular season game for the Packers in 1950

Packers and Jim Crow

Into the 1960s the Packers continued to integrate football. The team broke black player restrictions and bypassed Jim Crow hotel rules. While there was still much progress to be made in professional sports, Green Bay was at the forefront of player equality. That does not mean that black players had it easy. During his first trip to the South, Willie Wood was subject to discrimination. He was thrown out of a hotel lobby, and a cab, because they were white only. Before making it to his hotel room, Wood was fuming. The treatment that Wood faced was far too common in the black community.

1961 Green Bay Packers Team
NFL Commissioner Tries to Stop an Interracial Marriage in Green Bay

Lionel Aldridge, however, faced difficulty in Wisconsin. Aldridge wanted to marry his college girlfriend, Vicky, but had to think twice because she was white. Cookie Gilchrist had been blacklisted from the NFL for his interracial marriage, and Aldridge feared he faced the same fate. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle visited Green Bay and attempted to stop the marriage. In 1967, the same year as Loving v. Virginia, Aldridge married Vicky.

Through my internship, I gained museum education and knowledge about my hometown. It is important for people to take the time to learn about their community and the people within. Different people are subjected to different experiences; we all must be aware of that. Not everyone shares the same privileges, as Delay of Game shows. Jordy Nelson sums it up well, “… just because I don’t see it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.”

Noah Mapes

Intern

University of Wisconsin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Things You May Not Know about Stompy the Mastodon

Image
1. He’s not a Woolly Mammoth Stompy is a mastodon, but what’s the difference?   For starters mastodon tusks were less curved than a mammoth's. Mastodon teeth were different from a mammoth’s as well.   Why was that?   Because Mastodons lived in swampy areas and chewed on branches and shrubs.   Mammoths grazed on grasses in open plains. You can see the difference between the two species teeth just behind Stompy in the exhibit!   2. His fur is made of cow tails Stompy is covered in 1,500 cow tails!   The cow tails were washed, bleached, and colored before being adhered to his body.   This was done by the artist to achieve the look of shaggy curly hair which would’ve helped him stay warm at the end of the last Ice Age. Photo taken in 1983 right after the diorama was installed for the new museum.   3. He sheds… so please don’t pet the mastodon   Stompy is now 37 years old!   Over the years he lost some of his hair but who wouldn’t after entertaining the masses for three d
Read more

What's This Thing? Artifact Spotlight

Image
Why is there a ledge on the inside of this cup? It's a mustache guard! Mustaches became trendy in the 19th century, which lead to extensive grooming and mustache care. Men used mustache wax, mustache brushes, mustache combs, and mustache scissors to shape and maintain their preferred style. Some even dyed their mustaches. All of these products did not fare well when mixed with the heat and steam from tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. Mustache wax would melt. Dye would drip. Tea and coffee could stain facial hair. Mustaches would be complete disasters. Mustache guards like this one protected a man's mustache, while allowing him to still enjoy tea time. This earthenware mustache cup was donated in 1937 by Mrs. Sophia Thelen. It is one of several mustache cups in the Neville's collection. The mustache cup was invented in the mid 19th century by English potter Harvey Adams. It soon spread across Europe and over to North America. Mustache cups were originally sold individuall
Read more

Green Bay’s Titanic Ties are Unsinkable

Image
On April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. It sank less than three hours later in the early morning of April 15, 1912.  The sinking of the RMS Titanic may feel distant in time and place but Green Bay has deep connections to the disaster. Dr. William E. Minahan, who died on the Titanic, is buried in a crypt in Woodlawn Cemetery, visible from Riverside Drive.   Dr. Minahan was traveling home from Europe with his wife, Lillian, and sister, Daisy, after an extended vacation abroad.   The Minahans had planned on sailing home sooner but a coal strike prevented their intended ship from leaving.   They thought they were lucky having been able to book first class tickets on Titanic, but history would prove otherwise. On the night of the sinking, Dr. Minahan put his wife and sister into a lifeboat telling his wife, “Be brave.   No matter what happens, be brave.”   Those were Dr. Minahan’s final words.   His family received news on April 27, 1912 that Dr. Minahan’
Read more