Catching Up With ... Willie Jackson
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 | Football, Chris Harry
From our 'Where Are They Now' series on notable Gators alums.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Nearly five decades ago, a young boy with no inclination he would one day be a Florida football standout would park alongside his mother on the UF sidelines and stare, starstruck, at his father.
"It's almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be him," Willie Jackson Jr. told The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in 1991. "You have to admire the man. He's always been my hero for what he did."
In 1970, Willie Jackson Jr.'s father and Leonard George became the first African-American players to play football for the Gators.
Two trailblazers.
Two very different trails.
"It didn't register that much at the time," the elder Willie Jackson said recently when he stopped by a UF football practice. "It was something we were supposed to be able to do. We wanted to show we could play like everybody else. if I look at it now, it was a major accomplishment because so many more have matriculated through the system. its just been a fantastic journey."
That journey actually was easier on the home front than on the road. At the time, Gainesville was a progressive city with a black mayor and most local schools have been integrated. If there were nasty catcalls, they usually came when the Gators ventured to opposing SEC venues.
"Our teammates helped get us through the tough times," Jackson said.
For that, he has fond memories.
THE WILLIE JACKSON FILE
WHEN: 1969-73
POSITION: Receiver and running back
HOMETOWN: Sarasota, Fla.
UF CAREER: Jackson and George, a running back from Tampa, made Florida football history when they became the first African-American players to sign scholarships with the Gators under Coach Ray Graves. UF was one of the last SEC programs to bring blacks into the fold. Jackson was from Sarasota but played his final high school season at Valley Forge (Pa.) Prep. For his career, Jackson totaled 75 receptions for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns, but also had a role as an activist on campus. In 1971, a Black Student Union protest led to the arrest of 66 students. UF president Stephen C. O'Connell announced the school would press charges against the students, resulting in nearly a third of the university's black students (and several members of the faculty) leaving school. Jackson stayed. "There's got to be somebody left here to keep the pressure on so changes can be made," Jackson told The Florida Independent Alligator.
SINCE: After graduating, Jackson had a short stint in the doomed World Football League before eventually settling into a career selling insurance in Jacksonville. Now retired, Jackson has a lawn service in the same area. His post-career legacy, however, has meant much, much more, as any UF football fans would know. His sons, Willie Jr. and Terry, attended Gainesville P.K. Yonge and were in the middle of it all when Steve Spurrier unleashed the Fun-N-Gun on the SEC during the 1990s. Willie was a two-time All-SEC receiver who caught 162 passes for 2,172 yards (both the second-most in UF history when he left) and 24 touchdowns. Terry was a tailback for the 1996 national-championship team who had a 42-yard TD run vs. Florida State in the Sugar Bowl title game. Jackson, the father, as well as his two sons, all wore No. 22 during their Florida careers.
QUOTE: "I'm proud of what we did, but I'm prouder of what my boys did. What we did, it didn't seem like that big a deal because it had been done before at other places. But my boys? When they were here, they were winning championships and that had never been done before here. They were a bit part of getting Florida in the national spotlight and I am very, very proud of that."
Previous "Where Are They Now?" Installments
* Kyle Morris
* Arden Czyzewski
Florida Women's Basketball Highlights | South Alabama
Monday, December 08
Florida Women's Basketball | Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley Postgame Press Conference | South Alabama
Sunday, December 07
Florida Women's Basketball | Players Postgame Press Conference | South Alabama
Sunday, December 07
Florida Baseball | The Righties | Meet the Gators
Sunday, December 07
