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Wayne Edmonds

As a sophomore in 1953, Edmonds became the first black player to win a monogram at Notre Dame (other black players had made the team but Edmonds and Dick Washington were the first to appear in a game). Edmonds helped the Irish to an unbeaten mark in 1953 and won three monograms.

The idea of a black player suiting up for Notre Dame seemed far-fetched when McBride and Leahy made their first recruiting overtures. Edmonds' parents were discouraged from sending their son to the school, which brought not only racial obstacles but religious ones (the Edmonds were devout Baptists). His mother, a part-time housekeeper, once was told by a client, "They're going to change him into being something that he doesn't want."

Edmonds had nearly committed to Pitt, which introduced its first black player in 1945, but warmed to Notre Dame after visiting campus with a high school teammate.

Growing up in rural Canonsburg, Pa., he was used to hostile treatment during games: slurs said across the line of scrimmage while referees pretended they didn't hear them. He wouldn't have been surprised if more of the same awaited him at Notre Dame. But it didn't.
"I can't even imagine that going on," said former Irish fullback Don Schaefer, who had played against Edmonds in high school before joining him in South Bend. "I'm not aware of any problems at all. Wayne was a good teammate. Everybody accepted him."

Edmonds blended in with his new teammates, even after upstaging several of them at his first practice in 1952. A day before freshman registration took place, Edmonds, playing defensive end, repeatedly dropped Guglielmi and Lattner behind the line of scrimmage.
"The thing with football at Notre Dame, everybody was so worried about their own back," said Edmonds, now 74 and living in Harrisburg, Pa. "You had to stand by yourself. You couldn't gang up on anybody. You were always out to prove that you were going to make it, that you were the best."


Link: https://www.espn.com/espn/blackhistory2008/news/story?id=3246049