Bobby Grier (Pittsburgh Panthers)

Bobby Grier (Pittsburgh Panthers)

Bobby Grier (born 1933) was the first African American football player to break the color barrier of the United States collegiate Sugar Bowl game, in 1956, which is held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Particularly in the deep South, the mid-1950s was a period of strident racial segregation for sports, as well as other areas of life. At the time, Grier's participation as a fullback and linebacker against a segregated all-white team on such a prestigious "stage" was a tremendously significant event.