Razorback football integration, Arkansas sports broadcasting to be discussed in Fayetteville

Massive props to the NWA folks for organizing this upcoming panel discussion on the desegregation of Arkansas football and the history of Arkansas sports broadcasting:

After members of the Washington County Historical Society stumbled upon historic photographs
of Razorback stadium hidden away at Headquarters House, one of Fayetteville’s oldest
buildings, the Society determined to share these pictures with the public by donating them to
Special Collections at the University of Arkansas Library. To celebrate the donation, the Society
will host an evening of Razorback sports history at the UA Library on July 23.

Nate Allen, the distinguished chronicler of all things Razorback, will lead a panel discussion of
the desegregation of Arkansas football, focusing on the African Americans recruited in 1973 and
1974 to a then barely integrated team. Allen has invited three of these pioneers—Brison Manor,
Johnnie Meadors, and Dennis “Dirt” Winston, as well as longtime UA trainer Dean Weber—
to join him in reflecting on their lives and times as Razorbacks, the enduring impact of black
players on race relations in Arkansas, and Arkansas’s impact on them.

Brison Manor is a 2012 Razorbacks Sports Hall of Honor inductee and 1973-74 Razorbacks
defensive tackle. Subsequently an NFL star, he played in the Super Bowl with the Denver
Broncos. Johnnie Meadors was a Razorback defensive end between 1973 and 1976 and All-
Southwest Conference for the 1975 SWC/Cotton Bowl championship team. Dennis Winston, a
1973-76 Razorback linebacker, played for two Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl teams. He is one
of ten Razorback greats being inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame this August. Nate Allen
has covered Razorback sports since 1973, including a 14-year stint at the Arkansas Gazette. His
column appears in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and other Arkansas newspapers.

Hoyt Purvis, professor of journalism at UA and president of the Washington County Historical
Society, will host the event. He will lead off the evening with a history of Razorback sports
broadcasting—the origins and development of the Razorback Network, early broadcasts of
Razorback games, and some of the key individuals and developments in what has become an
important part of Arkansas culture.

The program will begin at 6:30 pm on Monday, July 23, in the Walton Reading Room at David
W. Mullins Library. Parking will be available at the Stadium Avenue Parking Garage adjacent to
the Arkansas Union and across the plaza from Mullins Library.

Admission is free. Everyone who loves history and/or the Razorbacks is encouraged to attend.
Refreshments will be provided.

The Washington County Historical Society, which is the oldest local history organization in the
state, sponsors programs that draw attention to the rich heritage of Northwest Arkansas.
For more information, contact the Washington County Historical Society at 118 East Dickson
Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701-4207, 479-521-2970, www.washcohistoricalsociety.org,
info@washcohistoricalsociety.org.

Contact: Patrick Williams, pgwillia@uark.edu

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