The College Football community is mourning after a terrible loss this weekend. A legendary head coach who broke so many racial barriers has passed away. Prayers have been pouring in from the moment the news was announced.
Breaking: College Football Head Coach Who Helped Black Players Break Segregation Tragically Passes Away
There has been a passing of a very important college football coach who helped break the color barrier in the South. A hospice facility in Omaha, Nebraska, cared for him at the end of his life:
Bill Tate, the former coach at Wake Forest, was the first to start recruiting Black players in 1964. He died Monday night at the Josie Harper Hospice House at age 93. In 1964, Tate was asked by the school’s president if he wanted to start recruiting Black players. He did not hesitate.
“The first thing he said to me is ‘What do you think about recruiting black athletes?’ I said, ‘I’m all for it,’” Tate said. “I played with black athletes at Illinois. That doesn’t bother me.”
First Alert 6 in Omaha had more on his passing:
“That was not a pleasant experience. Wake Forest was the ideal school to do this because it was a small school,” Tate said. “It didn’t require a whole board of trustees to say I like this or don’t. It just took one person.”
“Hiring Coach Tate in 1964 remains a great moment in Wake Forest’s history,” said Dr. Gene Hooks, former Wake Forest Athletic Director.
“His commitment to doing what was right, even when it was difficult, left an indelible mark,” said John Currie, Wake Forest’s current Director of Athletics.
Tate left coaching because it didn’t pay very well.
He moved to Omaha in the late 70s for a sales job.
Prayers are pouring in for Tate’s friends and family members following his passing.
“Our condolences to the family of Bill Tate,” one fan wrote.
“Rest in peace to an all-time great Illini and 1952 @rosebowlgame MVP Bill Tate. The fullback and linebacker saved his greatest performance for the 1952 Rose Bowl Game against Stanford when he ran for 150 yards and scored twice in a 40-7 victory,” Illinois, where Tate starred in college, wrote.
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