Breaking the Line

By: Samuel G. Freedman

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Synopsis: 1967. Two rival football teams. Two legendary coaches. Two talented quarterbacks. Together they broke the color line, revolutionized college sports, and transformed the NFL.Samuel Freedman brings to life the historic saga of the battle for the 1967 black-college championship between Grambling College and Florida A&M. Breaking the Line reaches its climax in a tense, excruciatingly close game between the two teams, recounted with suspense and drama that stands with David Maraniss' immortal description of the "Ice Bowl" game. As Maraniss showed in When Pride Still Mattered and Clemente how individuals can transform their sports, Freedman chronicles Jake Gaither of A&M and Eddie Robinson of Grambling, and their quarterbacks, Ken Riley and James Harris, as they bring about two historic firsts: the first game to be played in the South between a black and a white school, and the first starting black quarterback in the NFL. These four men and their teams made a profound difference in how America finally came to appreciate the talent of black athletes. They helped compel the segregated colleges of the South to integrate their teams. They forever redefined who could play quarterback, be a head coach, or run a franchise as general manager in the NFL. Their story is a missing piece of sports history, black history, American history. Breaking the Line is a moving and crucial addition to the history of the Civil Rights Movement.