74 years after on-field assault, Johnny Bright’s legacy remains, in both Canada and U.S.

February 26, 2025 Canuck

It was an unprecedented sight for a country that, at the time, was societally divided.

Johnny Bright, a man whose legacy shifted the trajectory of football, was the first Black player to suit up and play at the home stadium of what was then Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, Okla.

It was Oct. 20, 1951, and Black players weren’t as well-regarded as white players. They didn’t always play on the same field. And, even if they were better athletes — which was often the case — their accolades and achievements were still overlooked.

But Bright was too good to be ignored — and had it not been for a violent, racially motivated on-field assault — he could have made an even greater mark on the game than he did during his historic career.

“Going into that season, the 1951 season, he was the highest-ranked contender for the Heisman Trophy,” said Calgary Stampeders and CFL historian Daryl Slade.

The Drake University legend was the front-runner to win the trophy that year and would have become the first Black college football player to achieve the award. He broke several records en route to becoming his school’s best-ever player.

That stature and greatness, however, had its drawbacks.

“He seemed to be targeted because he was so good,” said Slade.

The incident

During the game when he broke the racial barrier, Bright was the victim of a series of assaults that would go on to change the gridiron game both in the United States and in Canada.

It was widely reported that Bright was a marked man before he took the field on that October day.

The Daily O’Collegian — Oklahoma A&M’s student newspaper — as well as local newspaper, The News Press, quoted students who reportedly said Bright wouldn’t be around at the end of the game.

During the opening minutes of the game, with or without the ball, Bright was knocked unconscious three times by Wilbanks Smith.

One of the blows broke Bright’s jaw.

A black and white image of a man playing football. — Johnny Bright started his CFL career in Calgary with the Stampeders in 1952. (Submitted by Daryl Slade)

The assault, now known infamously as the Johnny Bright Incident, was well documented through a photographic sequence that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1952.

“Photographers from the newspapers were at the game all set up ahead of time,” said Slade. “They were waiting for it and it did happen.”

Going north

Bright initially signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 1952 before being traded to the Edmonton franchise, now known as the Elks, where he would cement his name in the history books as one of the best to ever suit up for the green and gold.

He’s the team’s single-season record holder for rushing yards with 1,722 in 1958. The native of Fort Wayne, Ind., was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the U.S. College Football Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Bright wasn’t the first to make the move north to play football — a handful of others travelled to Canada and the CFL to play the game the way they wanted to, without concessions and, to a great extent, free of the blatant racism they’d experienced in their home country.

Some were quarterbacks who couldn’t play the position because the NFL didn’t want Black quarterbacks at the helm of their franchises.

Others went undrafted or weren’t given attention because of the racial divide.

Canada, while not immune to racism, offered a somewhat more open playing field compared to the rigid segregation in the United States.

Alouettes player Joey Pal is pictured tickling Johnny Bright in this newspaper black and white photograph. — Alouettes player Joey Pal is pictured tickling Johnny Bright in this newspaper photograph. (Submitted by Daryl Slade)

“A lot of players made just as much money coming up here. In fact, some even made more money because a lot of the Americans that came up to Canada, they ended up playing both ways … they never got off the field,” Slade said.

“But he was the first — one of the first — real superstars.”

Bright likely wouldn’t have had to make the same on-field sacrifices that others did, had he stayed in the U.S.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him with the fifth pick in the first round of the 1952 NFL draft — a move that would have made him the Eagles’ first Black player.

But due to the likelihood of racist reprisals, Bright chose to take his talents to the Canadian Football League, where he became one of the most accomplished players of all time and paved the way for future generations.

Leaving a legacy

Bright never finished that game in Stillwater, and his historic bid for a Heisman Trophy ended because of the games he missed due to injuries from the assault.

But what came after was arguably more impactful. The NCAA changed its rules about illegal blocking and made it mandatory for players to wear helmets with face guards.

Still, while the landscape significantly improved over the decades that followed, some attitudes lingered from Bright’s era — both on and off the field.

Calgary Stampeders and CFL Hall of Famer Jon Cornish played football in the United States at the high school and college levels, suiting up for the University of Kansas nearly 50 years after social reforms largely broke the racial barricades that Bright suffered through.

A man wearing a football jersey is pictured. — Calgary Stampeders star Jon Cornish is pictured in this photo from 2014. The Hall of Fame running back spent five years playing football in the NCAA. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

“Two experiences I had told me that I could not live in the States. One, any time I left the parking lot at college, I got pulled over,” Cornish said.

The other was when his aunt, who lived in Missouri, asked him not to go for a walk in the neighbourhood, he said.

“That walk only lasted about 10 minutes. Three different people came out onto their porches with rifles and shotguns,” Cornish said.

“That same idea that led Johnny Bright to come to Canada is also the reason why I didn’t pursue any NFL opportunities. It just didn’t feel safe for me.”

Bright won three Grey Cups with Edmonton, holds the franchise record for the most rushing yards in a career with 9,966 and was the first Black player to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

He retired in 1964, but his contributions to Canada and the city of Edmonton went well past his playing days. He became a teacher, coach and eventually a principal at D.S. Mackenzie Junior High School and Hillcrest Junior High School.

Bright continued to be a role model and an inspiration for athletes, coaching the Edmonton Wildcats in the Canadian Junior Football League from 1978 to 1981.

In 1983, the legendary football player died due to a heart attack he suffered while undergoing knee surgery. He was 53.

“From what I understand, as long as there hadn’t been any kind of incidents like [the one in Oklahoma] he may have gone to the NFL, and I think he would have been a star,” said Slade.

“He probably would have not come to Canada.”

A text-based banner image with the words 'Being Black in Canada'.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

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