Pro football was the first sport to reopen their doors to blacks in 1946. Less than two decades later they were the first to venture into the South. The National Football League had the Dallas Cowboys. The American Football League matched that with the Dallas Texans and the Houston Oilers. It's always tough to break through idiot prejudices. It's never easy but sports are often a few steps ahead of society. It's far easier to accept a black running back than a black neighbor. So many people risked a bunch to move ahead in sports and in society. So many events changed opinions. One such event was the AFL All-Star game following the 1964 season. Few remember the game and less knew that it even happened at all.
New Orleans wanted a professional football team at that time. For a fleeting moment they thought that the Oakland Raiders were on their way. That fell through. The city hoped that hosting the All-Star game could lead to getting an AFL franchise. That desire forced them to make some changes. They guaranteed that the black players could stay in downtown New Orleans, the French Quarter, Bourbon Street. Eat. Do whatever. It was all cleared. It was a nice gesture in theory but it didn't work out that way in reality. From their first step at the airport in New Orleans the black players weren't welcome. They couldn't even get a taxi from the airport. They were there for hours. Finally, they were told that they had to call colored cabs. The only places cleared were the hotels for the respective All-Star teams, the Roosevelt and Fontainebleau Hotels. From there they were repeatedly turned away from establishments in the French Quarter, anywhere they wanted to go. One player had a gun pulled on him by a businessman not wanting him in his establishment. All the blacks ran into discrimination and decided that they'd had enough. They met in Room 990 of the Roosevelt Hotel and decided to boycott the AFL All-Star game. Some white players, led by Jack Kemp and Ron Mix, joined the black ranks. They all refused to play the game in New Orleans and left the city. To save face and the game the AFL turned to Houston. The crowd at Jeppensen Stadium numbered all of 15,446 for the hastily arranged game. Five West players scored in the 38-14 victory over the East.
This game showed that blacks could force some changes. It also showed that changes needed to be made. New Orleans had a bunch to make. The city would get the Saints a couple years later. This game might have started the wave of professional sports teams that spread across the South. What took place in Room 990 of the Roosevelt Hotel should be better known and recognized as the step forward that it was.
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