[97fan]

Has anyone seen the new Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson? I've only seen a 40-minute excerpt of the 4-hour film, but it asserts that when Robinson was deciding on where to enroll in college, a Stanford alum offered to pay his full tuition if he would attend a school that didn't play against Stanford. This story sounded a bit far-fetched to me - the film offers no detail or elaboration - but who knows? Maybe Stanford boosters in the late '30s were pioneers of SEC-style recruiting sketchiness. I do think that Ken Burns strives for accuracy, which makes me more inclined to believe the story than I would be otherwise.

In the same scene of the film, Stanford is described by the narrator as "all white." Is that accurate? Was Stanford all white in 1939?

[97fan]

Has anyone seen the new Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson? I've only seen a 40-minute excerpt of the 4-hour film, but it asserts that when Robinson was deciding on where to enroll in college, a Stanford alum offered to pay his full tuition if he would attend a school that didn't play against Stanford. This story sounded a bit far-fetched to me - the film offers no detail or elaboration - but who knows? Maybe Stanford boosters in the late '30s were pioneers of SEC-style recruiting sketchiness. I do think that Ken Burns strives for accuracy, which makes me more inclined to believe the story than I would be otherwise.

In the same scene of the film, Stanford is described by the narrator as "all white." Is that accurate? Was Stanford all white in 1939?

[BostonCard]

Stanford's first African American student graduated in the pioneer class of 1898.

https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/mag...e_id=35525

Johnson was popular with his Stanford classmates. He played on the football team and supported himself working as a printer’s apprentice. He graduated with the pioneer class of 1895, with a bachelor’s in economics, and attended Stanford Law School but never received a degree.

When Johnson contracted tuberculosis a few years later, doctors prescribed “sunshine and fresh air,” and suggested he bicycle his way back to health. It didn’t work.

Johnson died on February 17, 1898. He was buried with his Stanford diploma.

BC

[BostonCard]

Stanford's first African American student graduated in the pioneer class of 1898.

https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/mag...e_id=35525

Johnson was popular with his Stanford classmates. He played on the football team and supported himself working as a printer’s apprentice. He graduated with the pioneer class of 1895, with a bachelor’s in economics, and attended Stanford Law School but never received a degree.

When Johnson contracted tuberculosis a few years later, doctors prescribed “sunshine and fresh air,” and suggested he bicycle his way back to health. It didn’t work.

Johnson died on February 17, 1898. He was buried with his Stanford diploma.

BC

[97fan]

The Ernest Johnson story is interesting, but it doesn't settle the question of whether Stanford was all white in 1939.

[97fan]

The Ernest Johnson story is interesting, but it doesn't settle the question of whether Stanford was all white in 1939.