EXPERT ON:
◉ Sloppy Sports Journalism Creating Accepted Folklore
EXPERIENCE:
◉ College Football Integration and the Civil Rights Movement
◉ Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty's singular leadership
◉ Unwritten Quota Limiting Black players to a Half-Dozen or so
◉ Sloppy Sports Journalism Regurgitating Unvetted Myths
◉ Accepted Folklore at Expense of True 1960s Trailblazers
Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter and author of two books that tell untold stories of college football integration in the 1960s, “RAYE OF LIGHT” and “THE RIGHT THING TO DO. His background as a Michigan State University graduate gave hm insight into Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty’s influential role running parallel tracks to the Civil Rights movement.
He was awarded first place in 2022 from the Football Writers Association for his story that revealed untold backstories of UCLA’s Black players threatening to boycott the 1962 Rose Bowl if segregated Alabama received a backdoor invitation. The Rose Bowl backed down. He also was awarded the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation’s San Diego Chapter from his career writing for San Diego newspapers.