Bobby Grier (American football player)

Robert Grier Sr. (born 1933) is a former college football player for Pitt. In 1956, he was the first African American football player to break the color barrier of the United States collegiate Sugar Bowl game, which was held in New Orleans. Particularly in the deep South, the mid-1950s was a period of strident racial segregation for sports, as well as other areas of life. At the time, Grier's participation in a fullback and linebacker against a segregated all-white team on such a prestigious "stage" was a tremendously significant event.