Calvin Huey was the first African-American to play football at the United States Naval Academy , a doctor, coach, teacher, and businessman.

History [ edit ]

Huey was born October 27, 1942, in Sartinville , Mississippi , to Harold Magee and Eartha Lee Huey. Huey was a 1961 graduate of Carver High School in Pascagoula , Mississippi . ^[1] At Carver, he was team captain, MVP, and all-city, receiving all-city honors as a basketball player as well. ^[2] Upon graduating, he briefly attended the Tuskegee Institute , then went to Oakland City College , where he was selected as an honorable mention All-American Junior College quarterback. Huey applied to his congressman in Mississippi for an appointment to the Naval Academy, but was refused on the grounds that he would be a "stain on Mississippi". A California representative was willing to nominate him, and he was accepted by the academy as a student, with no mention of his football prowess. ^[3] When he reached Navy he tried out for the football team. Because there were so many quarterbacks trying out, he decided to try out as a wide receiver instead. He sufficiently impressed coaches Carl Schuette , Lee Corso and Steve Belichick to make the team; he also tried out for and made the basketball team. ^[4] When Navy played Georgia Tech in 1964, he became the first black player to play at Bobby Dodd Stadium . He also became the first black person to play in an Army?Navy Game . In 1963, as a plebe, wearing number 49, he began the season as an end, before moving to flanker behind Navy's top receiver, Ed Orr. When Orr was injured during the third-from last game of the season, Huey earned the starting position and caught four touchdown passes from quarterback Roger Staubach . ^[2] In 1967, Huey was one of two African-Americans to graduate from the academy. He was assigned to the USS  Perry and served two tours of duty in Vietnam . He earned a PhD in chemistry from the University of Maryland (degree awarded in 1976), and returned to Navy as a professor and assistant football coach in 1973. He then left Navy to work for IBM for fourteen years, before retiring due to kidney failure. ^[4]

In 2012, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill titled "Calvin Huey; commend accomplishments and legacy of as Naval Academy academic and football phenomenon", recognizing Doctor Huey for his outstanding achievements in academics and athletics, overcoming the substantial barriers in his path. ^{[5] [6]}

In 2017, the city of Pascagoula placed an 18-foot-tall image of Huey, along with Jimmy Buffett, Trent Lott, and Sara Bailey Thomas on Main Street. ^[7] Huey died from kidney failure on September 1, 2018. ^[8]

References [ edit ]