Judge Willie Blackmon discusses his role in the integration of A&M Athletics

Key notes from Judge Willie Blackmon interview

• These days I’m retired form my position as a municipal judge and I am now the lawyer for a military support group in Houston, couldn’t get away from my military duty. Still dabbling in law, can’t get away from it, but I officially retired as a judge and lawyer and currently do historical things for Texas A&M.
  
  
• When writing this book, I looked back on my time in high school. In high school, I never thought about coming to Texas A&M. But I saw guys who were athletes at Texas A&M taking on the integration process on the track team. I was a state champion track athlete and president Earl Rudder himself asked me to come to A&M. He talked me in to coming to A&M as a kid out of high school.
  
  
• I knew Curtis and Marvin Mills from my time running track. Curtis played an integral part in me coming to A&M. In the book I will look at guys like Curtis at and other black coaches who came to A&M as athletes. My high school friend, Sam Williams, one year tried to walk onto the football team and was told no because he was black. The next year he tried again and Gene Stallings gave him a shot to join the team.
  
  
• Hugh McElroy was huge for guys like me at Texas A&M, he actually started as a track athlete and walked on to the football team. I remember listening to the LSU game when Hugh scored the winning touchdown and everyone going crazy. That and Curtis Mills’ national championship were some of my favorite memories. Hugh McElroy opened the door and convinced coach Stallings to playing and recruiting African-American athletes.
  
  
• Coach Emory Bellard actually came and talked to me and some of the guys on the track team to help him recruit African Americans to the football team, guys like Pat Thomas, Carl Roaches and Bubba Bean. I then went on to help him recruit Lester Hayes, who went to the same high school as me.
  
  
• When Bubba Bean made the cover of Sports Illustrated in a Texas A&M uniform, it was a moment that I felt like we, as black athletes, had arrived at Texas A&M. We now had athletes of all colors and Earl Rudder’s dream of diversity was being discovered. Anyone could come to Texas A&M, you would be judged on the content of your character not the color of your skin.
  
  
• Coach Pat Henry is legendary and what he’s doing has never been done before. He is the reason we have the indoor track facility and now we’re winning indoor national championships. Now we’re building a brand new outdoor stadium as well. If not for Pat Henry, those things would not be happening at Texas A&M.
  
  
• My highest honor throughout my life was receiving the honor of distinguished alumni of Texas A&M. The way it happened, Dr. Gates and Porter Garner arranged a meeting for us in College Station on April Fools' Day. I thought it was a joke originally, and I showed up three minutes late to the meeting. I asked Dr. Gates if this was a joke and he said, "Blackmon, we don’t give the distinguished alumnus as an April Fools' joke."