Rubes Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Apologies if this was posted before. There's a new book available on "The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback", and ESPN.com has an excerpt from Chapter 5 online which talks about the start of James Harris's career after he was drafted by the Bills in '68. Interesting stuff about the Bills teams back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In space no one can hear Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Apologies if this was posted before. There's a new book available on "The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback", and ESPN.com has an excerpt from Chapter 5 online which talks about the start of James Harris's career after he was drafted by the Bills in '68. Interesting stuff about the Bills teams back then. Thanks for posting! I've always felt his story is overlooked. I'll check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Great stuff. Thanks. Says a lot about race in America in the last 30-40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Has Buffalo changed all that much since then? PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 good story. thanks for posting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Apologies if this was posted before. There's a new book available on "The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback", and ESPN.com has an excerpt from Chapter 5 online which talks about the start of James Harris's career after he was drafted by the Bills in '68. Interesting stuff about the Bills teams back then. Thanks for the post. It is a fascinating story, and James Harris did get a raw deal, but I think William Rhoden is playing a bit fast and loose by not mentioning that Dennis Shaw became Rookie of the Year in 1970, which did after all give him a leg up in the QB competition in 1971.... Whether the Bills should have drafted Shaw at all after drafting Harris is of course another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 and James Harris did get a raw deal, do you think Harris got a raw deal because he was black or because he was in an unfortunate situation on the Bills roster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Bill Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Strongest arm that I have ever seen... bar none! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 do you think Harris got a raw deal because he was black or because he was in an unfortunate situation on the Bills roster? A bit of both, but I think that being black made it that much easier for the team to give up on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWVaBeach Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 A bit of both, but I think that being black made it that much easier for the team to give up on him. I definitely agree with your statement. I read the exerpt yesterday and found it to very interesting. But isn't Rhoden a professional writer? If the whole book is written like this it would be almost unreadable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I definitely agree with your statement. I read the exerpt yesterday and found it to very interesting. But isn't Rhoden a professional writer? If the whole book is written like this it would be almost unreadable. Yes, Rhoden works for the NYTimes, and is generally a good writer. Frankly, I think this "oral history" is a putrescent concession to the TV culture, trying to make a book look and sound like a TV interview. I hate it, and think it breaks up what could have been a much better narrative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 A bit of both, but I think that being black made it that much easier for the team to give up on him. i will agree that blacks in that era got the short end of the stick, but i can't believe there weren't a lot of white players that went into a room with white shirts and ties.....without an agent.....and got taken to the cleaners. In addition, for every James Harris (who happened to be black) there were unproven young white players that were sent packing because of an unfortunate injury or just not enough room on the roster. so i look at this story and wonder how much of it is someone just trying to exploit his skin color. one thing i will agree with is, that there were likley (and maybe even still the case) "white management" types that took the Al Campanis type position that a black player didn't have the intelligence or capacity to play the QB position. which truly is/was unfortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I remember one play in particular with Harris. Third and one and he did a qb sneak, broke through and ran about 65 yards for a touchdown. Now...with scrambling qb's like Vick and Young that isn't such an astounding thing, but at the time we all thought qb's were constitutionally incapable of actually running the ball. I believe Briscoe played qb in college and at denver in addition to WR. He was not bad at all either. Remember this wasn't more than a few years from the New Orleans Pro Bowl where the Black players simply could not room with white players resulting in a strike . Jack Kemp played a role in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In space no one can hear Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Apologies if this was posted before. There's a new book available on "The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback", and ESPN.com has an excerpt from Chapter 5 online which talks about the start of James Harris's career after he was drafted by the Bills in '68. Interesting stuff about the Bills teams back then. Thanks again. I finally read it. I never he him mentioned re: black QB history or Bills history for that matter. It's surprising because he is in a high profile position as vice president for player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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