Third and a Mile: The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback: An Oral History

by William C. Rhoden

Long after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier and after Texas Western beat Kentucky to shake up the basketball world. America's African-American quarterbacks found themselves trapped on football's sidelines, unable to play the game they loved unless they moved to wide receiver—or Canada. A collection of voices young and old, William C. Rhoden's Third and a Mile chronicles for the first time the heroic struggle to topple the sports world's staunchest racial barrier. Filled with personal anecdotes and firsthand recollections, the book includes testimony from NFL greats such as Warren Moon, Doug Williams, Vince Evans, James Harris, Martin Briscoe, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Daunte Culpepper, and Michael Vick.

William C. Rhoden has been a reporter and sports columnist for The New York Times since 1983. Prior to that, he worked at The Baltimore Sun and Ebony magazine. He is also the author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. In the late 1960s, he studied black quarterbacks up close as a starting defensive back on Morgan State University's football team. He lives with his wife and daughter in New York.

Genres: Sports, Football, History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2007

Reviews

[Adam Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a football guy and a history guy, books like this are the best of both worlds. I was of course familiar with the struggles of Joe Gilliam, Doug Williams, Warren Moon etc., but digging into people like James Harris trying desperately to earn respect for their skill helps you realize both how far football has come and how far it still has to go. Well worth it for any lover of football history, even if it is a tad dated being twenty years old now.

[Rodrigo Quintanar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good oral history of the evolution of African American Quarterbacks in the NFL. I would define it as an extremely important piece of literature if you want to understand League´s history.

Favorite part: Warren Moon responding to teams when they asked him to change positions: "Never. No one´s ever going to get me to forsake my dream. I was born to be a quarterback."

[Staustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third and a Mile was a very different book. First of all, the subtitle to this book is "An Oral History" which can seem kind of strange given that this is in a print medium. However, once you start the book the subtitle makes perfect sense. William Rhoden, the author, spent hours upon hours interviewing athletes, coaches, team owners, league officials, and other relevant historical figures as he traces the struggles of a multitude of African-americans who faced and (and is some cases were overcome by) extreme racial prejudice within the realm of pro football. Starting with Fritz Pollard, the book walks you through oral history as shared collectively by the interviewees, and you get an "eyewitness" account that takes you all the way up to current NFL qurterbacks like Donovan McNabb. Special attention is given to the "Field Generals" - a group of African-American QBs, each having contributed to civil rights history in their own era by achieveing important milestones - comprised of Marlin Briscoe, Doug Williams, Warren Moon, and James Harris. Because of the interview/eyewitness style of the book, it is an easy read. I think this book is a great way to introduce civil rights history and issues to people who love sports but may seem uninterested in thinking about issues of both personal and systemic racism in America. I plan to use a chapter in my pop culture class this fall to get my students thinking about how politics and ideologies are expressed and even battled out within pop culture.

[Dan Solomon]

Tons of smart, useful information and perspective here. Also, this is a sad book, because it purports Vince Young to be the answer to all of the problems and stereotypes that have plagued black quarterbacks for generations, and when you read it with the perspective on what happened to him and how his career ended, it is a strong reminder that the world is pretty unfair to even the most gifted of black men for no good reason at all.

[Mscout · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really disappointing. Rhoden took a fascinating topic and a wealth of sources ad took the lazy way out. Instead of taking the information and weaving a narrative, each chapter opens with one or two paragraphs of explanation then has 30-40 quotes from various poeple, in no particular order. This is a story that really needs to be told, but it really could have been so much better done.

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't able to get through the second chapter of this book. The book is so riddled with reverse rascism it is difficult to even comprehend the content. Unfortunate because I think the story really was worth telling, I just wish it was told from a facts prespective as oppossed the bs way in which Rhoden is attempting to.

[Michael Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little oral history about the trials of being a black quarterback in the NFL. Very interesting in that I've lived during this period and heard every excuse in the book why black quarterbacks could not win. Interesting read

[Dontairobinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

That how it was back then and how people coach. The coaching was different. This book is all about coaching and how they do it well in the book its not toally different but its different from how it is today

[Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories, amazingly sad, but I highly recommend it.

[Alex Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy is autographed by Warren Moon