Sometimes, even when you don't know it, you're just the right person for the situation.
Being one of the first Black student-athletes to play football in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the mid-1960s wasn't an initial goal for Bob Grant. But after being convinced by his high school coach to become a pioneer, Grant embraced his role of helping to desegregate the campus at Wake Forest and the athletic fields of the ACC.
His participation and ability to overcome racial obstacles helped pave the way for change in society, and it is why he will be presented with an Inspiration Award at the 2022 NCAA Convention later this month.
"They always name one person on the plaque," Grant said. "But no one person gets there without the support and assistance of a lot of other people. I can probably name a few hundred people who have played a role to help me. It's a little embarrassing. If I inspired anyone in my lifetime it's because there were so many people who inspired me."
Grant was a recruited standout defensive player from Jacksonville, North Carolina, when he was evaluating his offers from schools around the country. In those days, Black high school athletes had limited options: attending an HBCU or going to a predominantly white campus in the northern or western parts of the U.S.
Grant liked Tennessee State and was planning on enrolling at the HBCU until Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty's recruiting pitch of what his vision of the Spartans football program would be. Grant bought into the idea that Daugherty would build a national championship program and was committed to heading north for college.
That was until Grant's high school coach Gideon T. Johnson called him into his office and told him about Wake Forest's plans to begin integrating its athletic teams. Grant's high school was adjacent to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, and Johnson was one of the early Black men to serve after the military branch integrated.Â
"He (Johnson) told me this is where we're going to go," Grant recalled more than five decades later. "In those days, you didn't question authority figures. I didn't want to go to Wake Forest, but I didn't tell him that. He told me that I could do this, and I was the man for the job."
Grant went home to tell his grandparents, who raised him, about the change of plans of where he would be going to college. They were very concerned that he might not survive the ordeal. This was 1964, and the times were turbulent. In the previous year, civil rights activist Medgar Evers and President John Kennedy had been assassinated and the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama, had occurred.
His route from his home to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, included passing through a town with billboards claiming the area was Ku Klux Klan country.Â
Grant, a 6-2, 225-pound linebacker, set out for Wake Forest to enroll in school and start football practice. He was joined by two other Black players, Butch Henry and William Smith.
While Wake Forest President Harold Tribble, coach Bill Tate and director of athletics Gene Hooks spearheaded the integration of the campus, racial barriers remained.
Very few people would socialize with Grant, Henry and Smith. So they hung out with each other, which increased their bond as friends and teammates. Grant said he encountered resistance to the integration efforts from members of the school administration and faculty.
Once, a professor questioned him about a term paper he had written.
"He told me that it was work that deserved an A, and he asked me who wrote it," Grant said. "I told him that I did it, and that I worked hard on it all semester. He told me a colored person wasn't capable of doing a term paper like that and gave me a C."
What the professor didn't know was that Grant's grandparents influenced him to become a tireless reader and that he was well prepared for the college workload. He was also a black belt in karate, which meant no one wanted to challenge him physically on or off the field. Â
Henry and Smith decided to leave Wake Forest after a year. Grant, who had thoughts of transferring to Michigan State, decided to stay in Winston-Salem. Each year, the coaching staff would bring in two or three Black players to join the team.
"During my time at Wake Forest, I was a really a star on campus because of the way I played on the football field," said Grant, who graduated with a degree in speech. "There still were only about 20 people on campus who were comfortable speaking with us. It was probably peer pressure, but by my senior year things started opening up and you could go to some social events."
Grant's play on the field caught the eye of professional scouts, and the Baltimore Colts selected him in the second round of the 1968 NFL draft. Grant played four years in the NFL with Baltimore and Washington. He was a member of two Super Bowl teams, including winning the NFL championship with the 1970 Colts.
After losing passion for the game, Grant retired and moved forward with his life. Later stops include owning his own security company in the Los Angeles area and being president of an investment company that specializes in real estate.
Grant, 75, also is the chairman of the board for the Retired NFL Players Congress, an independent organization with the mission of supporting former players who suffer medical and financial hardships.   Â
"Throughout my life, I've always tried to follow the advice my grandfather gave me, which is to be better than my best," Grant said. "The playing field isn't level, and all I wanted was an opportunity to prove myself. I believe people are created with talent in something where they could be a champion if they apply themselves."
