While Walter A. Gordon was a trailblazer during his days as a Cal football player, it’s the ground he broke after he left Berkeley that really made history.
Gordon was a star player along the Bears’ offensive and defensive lines from 1916-18, and after his senior season he became the first All-American football player in Cal history. His selection also made him the second African-American ever to be named All-American.
Gordon went on to become a pioneer in many ways after graduating from Cal. He was the first African-American on the Berkeley police force and the first African-American student at the Boalt Law School, from which he received his JD in 1922. Later in his life, Gordon was appointed to the position of Governor of the Virgin Islands by President Dwight Eisenhower.
Gordon was born in Atlanta, Ga., in 1894 as a second generation free African-American. His father was a Pullman porter, who moved his family to Riverside, Calif., in 1904. Gordon’s father enrolled his children in Riverside Polytechnic High School, a predominantly white high school, in an attempt to give his son a better education. Walter was deeply affected by this and was known to quote his father in later years, asserting that color should not be an influence in access to education.
Walter entered UC Berkeley in 1914 and quickly became involved in a variety of activities. Although now known primarily for football, Gordon was a talented athlete who also excelled in wrestling and boxing, winning the state championship in both of these sports during his time at Cal. He also founded the Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first African-American Greek-letter fraternity.
In football, Gordon was a star player. He was also the first African-American player on first string. Extremely versatile, he played every position on both the offensive and defensive lines except center throughout his three years on the varsity. He shone as both a blocker and a tackler, a large man who was remembered by all who knew him for both his brute force and a surprising amount of litheness. In 1918, his senior season, Gordon was selected as a member of the third All-American team by the “Father of American Football” himself, Walter Camp. Gordon was the second African-American player to receive the honor of All-American, and the first player from Cal. That same year, Gordon was honored with an outstanding player award, presented in front of a large audience at the Greek Theatre.
Walter Gordon
Gordon experienced a great amount of success during his tenure as an athlete; however, he was also faced with challenges on account of his skin color. During his participation on the Cal heavyweight boxing team, prejudices against African-Americans sometimes kept Gordon out of the ring. In one such incident, the Stanford boxing team refused to compete against Berkeley due to Gordon’s presence. Gordon was forced to sit on the sidelines as another boxer was substituted in his place.
Racism followed Gordon into football as well. Andy Smith (coach of the “Wonder Years” teams) became head coach in 1916 and was unsure of how to navigate the sensitive subject of an African-American player on the team. When Cal was booked to play in Seattle, Smith was uncertain if Gordon should be allowed to come along. When put to a vote, the team decided that if Gordon made first string, he should be able to come with them and play the game. Nevertheless, as soon as the train arrived in Seattle, Gordon left his teammates to find lodging in an African-American part of town, reappearing the next morning to take his place in the game. He was unable at that time to stay in the same hotels as his teammates. Those who knew him say Gordon consciously handled situations regarding race this way, pushing boundaries, while leaving other battles for a later day.After Gordon’s graduation, Smith hired Gordon as a part-time coach for the football team. He became the head coach for the Goofs, later known as the Ramblers. This team was the equivalent of the junior varsity. Gordon also became the head scout for Smith during the team’s Wonder Years and continued on through the tenure of famed head coach Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf.
Gordon’s responsibilities included both scouting new players and attending the games of Cal’s opponents to study their plays. Those who worked with Gordon claimed he was so perceptive he could predict the other team’s next play based solely off of their movements. Gordon’s skill was also apparent when he assisted in planning plays for Cal. He was thought to have a keen sense of what would happen; one player claimed he felt that when he stepped on the field, he was acting out a scenario that had been written by Gordon. Additionally, he worked closely with quarterbacks. In this era, no plays could be called from the sideline during a game, so the quarterback was essentially an offensive coach on the field. This meant quarterbacks worked a lot with the scouts to determine plays.
Gordon was considered a valuable member of the coaching staff, yet he was an understandably frustrated coach. During the 1920s and 30s, no African-American was allowed to hold any place of significant importance on the staff. Gordon was only allowed to be a coach for the Goofs, though he sometimes ran plays with the varsity linemen. Smith also kept Gordon out of all coaching staff pictures because he felt that seeing an African-American coach would discourage recruits from coming to Cal.
At the beginning of his term, Gordon had to change in a separate room from the rest of the coaches. When he went on scouting trips, he was subject to law allowed by the infamous Plessey v. Ferguson Supreme Court case, which legalized separate transportation and lodging for African-Americans. Gordon was forced to ride on the day coach in trains, regardless of the duration of a trip, and continued to stay in separate accommodations from his white counterparts.
Eventually, Gordon made some headway against the challenges of segregation. He got an “individual privilege” to stay in white hotels while on scouting and coaching jobs in major cities, although he still had to sneak in the side door. The trains also granted concessions, awarding Gordon with his own Pullman section compartment – a much more comfortable way to travel.
Gordon stayed very involved with football at Cal while continuing to expand his horizons. From 1919 to 1929, he served as a member of the Berkeley Police force, where he was once again the first black member. In the ’20s and ’30s, Gordon was active in the NAACP, eventually becoming president of the Alameda County branch. He married May Elisabeth Fisher in 1920, and together they had three children. He attended Boalt Law School and was the first African-American student and JD recipient when he graduated in 1922. Afterwards, he held a joint practice for many years, serving a mostly white client base, while gaining enormous respect in his field. Gordon also served as the vice president of the Lawyer’s Guild of San Francisco and was invited to speak at the L.A. Bar association.
In 1943, Chief Justice Earl Warren, himself a 1914 Boalt graduate, appointed Gordon to the California Adult Authority Board, which dealt with matters of state parole. Gordon ended his private practice a year later and for the next nine years served as chairman of the Board. Throughout his tenure, Gordon was credited for helping to change attitudes towards crime, focusing on humane policies and rehabilitation.
In 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Gordon to the position of Governor for the Virgin Islands. Gordon served as Governor for three years, during which time he aimed to better the struggling society. After his term, he became a Federal Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, and for the next 10 years used his law degree to try and better people’s lives.
Those who knew him remember Gordon as a charismatic and determined individual. He aimed to be an “inspiration to members of his race” and frequently insisted that the world should not think less of him based on the color of his skin. He took pride in all that he did and what he had accomplished, as well as his history and family. He made no apologies for his heritage and achieved a great amount in his 82 years before passing away in 1976. He was chosen the California Alumnus of the Year in 1955, received the Citation Award from the Law School in 1964, and was named to the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame in 1975. Today, he is remembered through the Walter Gordon Memorial Fund, established in 1991 to provide money for summer internships at the Law School.
Allison Spivack (UC Berkeley, Class of 2017) did the research and writing of this story as part of her Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship with Professor Margaret Conkey (Anthropology), which has brought together four undergraduates at Berkeley who are researching various aspects of Cal's student-athletes and the athletic program.
Source: Calbears
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