When White WR's Declined

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This is something I alluded to in a post on the Peyton Hilis thread. I recall reading a draft report back in 1973 in a football magazine. There was a quote from an anonymous NFL scout about a white WR from Florida State named Barry Smith. The scout called Smith a "shake a bush player." This meant that if you "shake a bush," many college WR's with good hands fall out who don't do much in the NFL.

Smith was drafted in the first round in 1973 by Green Bay. He played 3 years (1973-75) for the Packers and one year for Tampa Bay. Smith caught 46 passes for 4 TDs in four seasons.

From about this time forward, you didn't see many white wide receivers. There were a lot of them in the 1960's.
 

Borussia

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Well, not sure if there is one incident that was the genesis of the Caste movement towards black WRs.
I say it followed the general marxist media trend of the anti-White caste system. Largent and Beletnikoff were stars after this.
 
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Borussia said:
Well, not sure if there is one incident that was the genesis of the Caste movement towards black WRs.
I say it followed the general marxist media trend of the anti-White caste system. Largent and Beletnikoff were stars after this.

Biletnikoff had been with the Raiders since 1965. Steve Largent was drafted on the 4th round in 1976 by Houston who gave him away for an 8th round choice to the then-expansion Seattle team.

In 1977, Tennessee WR Larry Seivers was drafted by Seattle in the 4th round. He was cut without having a single pass thrown to him in the preseason. Seivers later tried out with Green Bay. The same thing happened.

Seiver's Tennessee teammate, QB Pat Ryan, who spent over a decade in the NFL, was amazed that no one gave Larry Seivers a chance. Ryan felt that he could have done nearly as well as Steve Largent.

From this time on, every tall white WR was looked upon skeptically by the scouts as "another Walker Gillette (a Joel Buschbaum expression)."
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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SH, I love to hear about the history of the NFL. A lot of this stuff happened before guys like me were born, so it is good to have an older historian here- on how and when the caste system emerged.
 
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ToughJ.Riggins said:
SH, I love to hear about the history of the NFL. A lot of this stuff happened before guys like me were born, so it is good to have an older historian here- on how and when the caste system emerged.

Thanks for the compliment. If you were around back then, you have seen things that younger people did not.
 

Colonel_Reb

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Ditto what Tough J said, sport historian. Its a huge help to me to get a grounded, historical perspective on the growth of the Caste System and the relegation of White athletes to second class status. Knowing and researching names, dates and stats is one thing, but having quotes and memories from the pre-Caste and early-Caste eras really help fill in the blanks for us younger men who don't remember when the NFL was majority White.
 

white is right

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I recall taller" slower" White receivers being around until the mid 80's. Steve Watson, Bob Chandler and Pat Tilley were all star receivers during this period.
 
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white is right said:
I recall taller" slower" White receivers being around until the mid 80's. Steve Watson, Bob Chandler and Pat Tilley were all star receivers during this period.

Chandler (6ft) and Tilley (5-10) weren't tall. Dave Logan was 6-4 and played several years.
 

Don Wassall

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Jeff Chadwick was 6'3" and played for the Lions in the '80s. His best season was 995 yards receiving in '86.
 
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