Snapshot of the NFL's Caste System courtesy of The Sporting News issue of May 22, 1971:
The Sporting News was a full-size newspaper long known as the "Baseball Bible" by hard-core baseball fans until it was sold by the Spinks family to corporate interests and was quickly ruined. For many years it almost solely covered baseball, but by 1971 it had small sections for football, hockey, basketball, golf and track. The May 22, 1971 issue had 56 pages. The first 44 pages was baseball coverage. Every box score and every imaginable statistic could be found along with weekly articles on each MLB team, and even the best-known minor leagues had their own page that gave all the scores of the preceding week along with in-depth lists of batting and pitching leaders.
But it was the football section that caught my eye in this particular issue. "Scouts Turning to New Prospects" is the title of the American Football Conference column written by Larry Felser. He writes: "The 1971 scouting file is bulging with notes already. Judging from observations made off this spring's college practices, these are some of the most likely names to appear on the premium first round of the NFL common draft next winter."
22 likely first round players are then listed. 14 of them are White. The league had 26 franchises at the time. Here's Felser's descriptions of them in the order he listed them (some have been shortened a bit):
-- John Reaves, Florida quarterback -- The best of the senior quarterbacks. It's not an impressive list, as last year's was. Reaves has been a fine passer since his sophomore season and should be among the early picks.
-- John Vella, Southern California offensive lineman -- The best of the offensive linemen. . . Vella is a fine athlete who might play any position in the offensive line and probably could be a good defensive lineman, too.
-- Tommy Casanova, LSU defensive back -- Most scouts say he's sure No. 1 and probably would be an even more outstanding prospect if his team's needs would allow him to be left in one spot on either offense or defense.
-- Gary Kosins, Dayton fullback -- Carried 51 times in a game against Louisville last year. Scouts conclude he has enough speed to blend with that strength and endurance.
-- Jim Bertlesen, Texas running back -- LBJ's favorite. The pros like his kind of durable, hard-running style.
-- Dan Yochum, Syracuse offensive tackle -- Some scouts question his all-round skills, but with offensive linemen in short supply, he should go quickly.
-- Bobby Majors, Tennessee defensive back -- Quick and attracted to the ball. He had 10 intercerptions, best in the nation last year. He's the type the pros put at free safety.
-- Royce Smith, Georgia guard -- Some say he's the top offensive line prospect.
-- Joe Colquitt, Kansas State linebacker -- Not a good year for pro-sized linebackers. At 6' 2" and 226, he has the dimensions.
-- Mark Arneson, Arizona linebacker -- Ditto Colquitt.
-- Walt Patulski, defensive lineman, Notre Dame -- Huge, willing, strong, a surefire No. 1.
-- Greg Marx, defensive tackle -- There's only one catch with Marx. He may receive another year of college eligibility.
-- Mike Kadish, defensive lineman -- The only question with him is how well he rebounds from knee surgery.
-- Fred Swendsen, defensive end, Notre Dame -- He's 6' 3" and 250 and he can motor.
Also mentioned are two players from the University of Montana as possible first rounders -- tackle Steve Okoniewski and guard Wolfgang Posler.
The NFL was still majority White in 1971 albeit a fast shrinking majority, as the Caste System had begun in earnest several years earlier and an article on the facing page of Felser's was a strong harbinger of what was going to take place with increasing speed through the rest of the 1970s and ever since. A piece by Bob West was given the awkward title "Beaumont Talent Pipeline Coupled With NFL Camps." The following gives a nice sampling of the drooling found throughout along with commentary by me; in fact this article could easily have been written in 2024:
"Green Bay was billed as 'Titletown USA' during the Vince Lombardi era. . . but the actual Football Capital of the World is this southeast Texas community of 115,000.
"Although best known for its oil industry, Beaumont's real gusher has been the turning out of professional football players. When NFL training camps open this summer, 15 products of five city high schools will be on the payroll." All were Black as best I could tell.
However, the "scouts" were only interested in two of the five high schools: "Chief supplier of Beaumont's pro talent have been the city's two black high schools, Hebert and Charlton-Pollard. . . Whenever the two schools meet, an overflow crowd and a press box full of college scouts are always a certainty. The game, dubbed the 'Soul Bowl, became so big it finally had to be moved to the Lamar College stadium, which seats 17,000. With standing room, 20,000 can be squeezed in for the classic."
"Southern Cal, Michigan State, SMU and UCLA are a few of the major colleges aware that Beaumont is the 'Football Capital of the World.' They have been the most prolific recruiters of Hebert and Charlton-Pollard talent in the past."
Hebert over the previous 12 years had compiled a record of 102-24-4 and won one Texas state championship, back in the first of those 12 seasons. Charlton-Pollard was 97-38-7 over the past 14 seasons, making it to the state semifinals in 1962 but no state championships. Good records, certainly, but hardly unbeatable dynasties. And what about the other three high schools in Beaumont, presumably all White or nearly so? Given how popular high school football was and remains in Texas it's hard to imagine those schools weren't producing players worthy of football scholarships.
But all glory to the two Black high schools. The slobbering over them by the White establishment was beyond cringeworthy. From the article:
"It was [Jerry] LeVias (one of the black Beaumont players in the NFL) who labeled Beaumont the 'Football Capital of the World.' Appearing on the 'Tonight Show' a couple of years ago, that's how he answered Johnny Carson's query on what city he called home. The designation was quickly seized upon by the Chamber of Commerce. For a time, all Chamber correspondence bore a 'Football Capital of the World' label.
"On May 16, the city paid tribute to its unique asset by holding a Pro Football Honor Day. All 15 homegrown pros were flown in to participate in a golf tournament and gala banquet. One of the tri-chairmen for the event was Beaumont adman Tommy Vance, who also happens to be public relations director for the National Football League Players Association.
"Among those invited to help honor their fellow pros were John Mackey. . . Alex Karras, Bill Munson, Bill Curry, Kermit Alexander, Dick Butkus, George Webster and Duane Thomas. Astronauts Alan Bean, Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Jack Swigert. . . also were invited. Texas Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes attended."
Tody Smith, the coach of Charlton-Pollard, gives the party line indirectly justifying the Caste System, variations of which we're heard ever since: "For a long time, teaching was about the only field the Negro could look toward. Then along came pro football and its big bonuses. I think that, more than anything, has been the incentive. Even though the kids now have a better chance in other professions, they see money can be made faster in pro football, if they are good enough.
"Having so many outstanding players from here has been a tremendous help. The kids can relate because they know most of them. Whereas the more affluent youngsters can find plenty in the way of entertainment, ours can't, so they spend most of their free time on the playgrounds throwing a football around."
Apparently no Black kids can afford any kind of "entertainment," while all the White kids are "affluent." Really? So there are no poor, forgotten dead-end towns and cities in Texas filled with Whites, such as the fictitious one portrayed in "The Last Picture Show," which came out in that same year of 1971 and in which almost all the White characters were shown in a derogatory manner?
The Caste System not only justifies its existence by wanting to "uplift" Blacks, but does so at the expense of deserving Whites and doesn't have, and never has had, any empathy at all for the Whites who are victimized by it. Always remember Rule No. 1 of the regime's media: Whites as a group can never be shown in a positive light or as having any redeeming qualities at all.