SE: Switzer Opening Door Paves Way for Many to Walk Through
Oct 15, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The gesture couldn't be more symbolic. Shortly before Kansas State plays Iowa State in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Veryl Switzer will open the locker room door for the Wildcats nearly 70 years after the trailblazer became the first African American scholarship player to graduate from K-State, thus inspiring others to follow in his mighty footsteps in Manhattan.
The 89-year-old Switzer, a charter member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame and member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, left an indelible mark upon the football program. A three-time All-American halfback, Switzer remains the highest-drafted player in school history, as he was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the fourth overall pick in the 1954 NFL Draft.
On Saturday, those hands, the ones that helped guide African American K-State student-athletes to their own college degrees while serving in a variety of administrative and athletic department positions until his retirement in 2005 — assistant dean of student affairs, assistant vice president of special programs, co-director of the affirmative action program and assistant director of athletics — will peel back the locker room door for this latest generation of Wildcats.
Marvin Switzer, a former K-State linebacker who played for the Buffalo Bills in 1978, has no doubt that his uncle Veryl, who still resides in Manhattan and attends several home football games each season, will cast that all-too familiar smile that once filled the K-State campus — first as a student-athlete and then as an athletic department administrator.
"It will mean everything to him," Marvin said. "He worked so hard to be great. It's hard to explain that drive that he had as a young man to be great and work with integrity and honor. There were some struggles in the early 1950s but that's a trailblazer; you're setting a trail and it's difficult because you don't know the track, the obstacles, and must learn along the way as you make this trail for others to follow.
"Kansas State gave him that chance. He's indebted to Kansas State, and he bleeds purple."
Switzer is one of eight breakthrough athletes that K-State will recognize at Saturday's contest, which will serve as the athletic department's Diversity and Inclusion game for the 2021 football season. Three permanent "Trailblazers" displays will honor those athletes in four sports.
On the west concourse at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Switzer will be honored alongside Harold Robinson, the first African American scholarship player in Big 7 Conference history; Hoyt Givens, the first African American non-scholarship player in Big 6 Conference history; and Ray Romero, one of the first Hispanics to play in the NFL.
Switzer's family will travel to Manhattan to be a part of the celebration. Calvin Switzer, Veryl's son, played at K-State as an offensive guard from 1981-84. However, it becomes important to recognize that Veryl's impact went beyond his lengthy All-American football honors and 1952 Big 7 Indoor Long Jump Champion honors.
Marvin discovered as much soon after he reported to the Buffalo Bills in 1978. On the staff of new Bills head coach Chuck Knox was running backs coach Elijah Pitts, who was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1961 NFL Draft (and later inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1979).
"Elijah Pitts came up to me shortly after I went to Buffalo and said, 'Switzer?'" Marvin recalled. "I said, 'Yes, sir.' Elijah said, 'Is Veryl Switzer your dad?' I said, "Why?' Elijah said, 'Because he set the table for us to come to Green Bay as an African-American running back.'
"I will never forget those words," Marvin said. "That was amazing."
Even more impressive has been Switzer's lifelong passion and loyalty to his hometown of Nicodemus, Kansas — a small town three hours west of Manhattan. Founded in 1877 as a refuge for former slaves from the south, Nicodemus was the first black community west of the Mississippi River and is the only predominately black community west of the Mississippi that remains a living community today. Once, Nicodemus had a population of approximately 700 people. By 2006, that number stood at 27, including Switzer's 106-year-old mother, Ora. Today, there are 30 people living in the community.
The all-black Graham County community was designated as a National Historic Site in 1996. Switzer attended class in a one-room schoolhouse before attending Bogue High School. After his retirement from K-State, Switzer spent much of his time tending crops there on his 840-acre farm.
Nicodemus was hometown to six NFL players — Veryl and Marvin Switzer, Kevin and Gerald Wilhite, and Ron and Gale Sayers.
Each July, Switzer returns to Nicodemus to participate in its emancipation celebration, which will observe its 144th year in 2022.
"He tells all of us, 'I want to go. You guys are going to take me,'" Marvin said. "In July, he went there and celebrated with everyone and enjoyed himself just like he'll enjoy himself at the Kansas State game on Saturday. When you take a step back, there are a lot of great memories at places where he was very successful — Nicodemus, K-State, and Green Bay."
Switzer's humility, too, remains ever impressive.
"He isn't one to beat his chest or let people know who he is," Marvin said. "I didn't realize how great he was until Porky Morgan, our head trainer at K-State (also a 1995 inductee of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame), taped my ankles one day, and began telling me the stories. Veryl was just the opposite of Muhammad Ali, but he was equally as great."
Dick Towers attests to as much. Towers was Robinson's roommate for two years in the athletic dormitory at East Stadium. The 90-year-old Towers, who later served as K-State athletic director, still resides in Manhattan. He explains that Switzer played at right halfback while he played at left halfback. Both also played at defensive back. Towers touted Switzer as "the hardest-hitting defensive back in the country."
"Veryl was a quiet person, but always someone you could depend on," Towers said. "Veryl was such a tough player. He had speed, but he was strong, and he was a big guy. I first noticed him at the state of Kansas Class B outdoor track meet when he won the pole vault and long jump championships. At K-State, Veryl was a leader for us, and he's just a really good person and friend."
As Switzer prepares to open the locker room door, Towers offers a directive to K-Staters.
"Anything we K-Staters can do to honor Veryl, we need to do it," he said. "I hope everyone understands all of the things that he accomplished. There simply aren't enough good things to say about him. He was as good of a football player in the United States as there was at that time. I'm so proud of Veryl."
And Saturday will mean everything to him.
The gesture couldn't be more symbolic. Shortly before Kansas State plays Iowa State in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Veryl Switzer will open the locker room door for the Wildcats nearly 70 years after the trailblazer became the first African American scholarship player to graduate from K-State, thus inspiring others to follow in his mighty footsteps in Manhattan.
The 89-year-old Switzer, a charter member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame and member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, left an indelible mark upon the football program. A three-time All-American halfback, Switzer remains the highest-drafted player in school history, as he was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the fourth overall pick in the 1954 NFL Draft.
On Saturday, those hands, the ones that helped guide African American K-State student-athletes to their own college degrees while serving in a variety of administrative and athletic department positions until his retirement in 2005 — assistant dean of student affairs, assistant vice president of special programs, co-director of the affirmative action program and assistant director of athletics — will peel back the locker room door for this latest generation of Wildcats.
Marvin Switzer, a former K-State linebacker who played for the Buffalo Bills in 1978, has no doubt that his uncle Veryl, who still resides in Manhattan and attends several home football games each season, will cast that all-too familiar smile that once filled the K-State campus — first as a student-athlete and then as an athletic department administrator.
"It will mean everything to him," Marvin said. "He worked so hard to be great. It's hard to explain that drive that he had as a young man to be great and work with integrity and honor. There were some struggles in the early 1950s but that's a trailblazer; you're setting a trail and it's difficult because you don't know the track, the obstacles, and must learn along the way as you make this trail for others to follow.
"Kansas State gave him that chance. He's indebted to Kansas State, and he bleeds purple."
Switzer is one of eight breakthrough athletes that K-State will recognize at Saturday's contest, which will serve as the athletic department's Diversity and Inclusion game for the 2021 football season. Three permanent "Trailblazers" displays will honor those athletes in four sports.
On the west concourse at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Switzer will be honored alongside Harold Robinson, the first African American scholarship player in Big 7 Conference history; Hoyt Givens, the first African American non-scholarship player in Big 6 Conference history; and Ray Romero, one of the first Hispanics to play in the NFL.
Switzer's family will travel to Manhattan to be a part of the celebration. Calvin Switzer, Veryl's son, played at K-State as an offensive guard from 1981-84. However, it becomes important to recognize that Veryl's impact went beyond his lengthy All-American football honors and 1952 Big 7 Indoor Long Jump Champion honors.
Marvin discovered as much soon after he reported to the Buffalo Bills in 1978. On the staff of new Bills head coach Chuck Knox was running backs coach Elijah Pitts, who was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1961 NFL Draft (and later inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1979).
"Elijah Pitts came up to me shortly after I went to Buffalo and said, 'Switzer?'" Marvin recalled. "I said, 'Yes, sir.' Elijah said, 'Is Veryl Switzer your dad?' I said, "Why?' Elijah said, 'Because he set the table for us to come to Green Bay as an African-American running back.'
"I will never forget those words," Marvin said. "That was amazing."
Even more impressive has been Switzer's lifelong passion and loyalty to his hometown of Nicodemus, Kansas — a small town three hours west of Manhattan. Founded in 1877 as a refuge for former slaves from the south, Nicodemus was the first black community west of the Mississippi River and is the only predominately black community west of the Mississippi that remains a living community today. Once, Nicodemus had a population of approximately 700 people. By 2006, that number stood at 27, including Switzer's 106-year-old mother, Ora. Today, there are 30 people living in the community.
The all-black Graham County community was designated as a National Historic Site in 1996. Switzer attended class in a one-room schoolhouse before attending Bogue High School. After his retirement from K-State, Switzer spent much of his time tending crops there on his 840-acre farm.
Nicodemus was hometown to six NFL players — Veryl and Marvin Switzer, Kevin and Gerald Wilhite, and Ron and Gale Sayers.
Each July, Switzer returns to Nicodemus to participate in its emancipation celebration, which will observe its 144th year in 2022.
"He tells all of us, 'I want to go. You guys are going to take me,'" Marvin said. "In July, he went there and celebrated with everyone and enjoyed himself just like he'll enjoy himself at the Kansas State game on Saturday. When you take a step back, there are a lot of great memories at places where he was very successful — Nicodemus, K-State, and Green Bay."
Switzer's humility, too, remains ever impressive.
"He isn't one to beat his chest or let people know who he is," Marvin said. "I didn't realize how great he was until Porky Morgan, our head trainer at K-State (also a 1995 inductee of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame), taped my ankles one day, and began telling me the stories. Veryl was just the opposite of Muhammad Ali, but he was equally as great."
Dick Towers attests to as much. Towers was Robinson's roommate for two years in the athletic dormitory at East Stadium. The 90-year-old Towers, who later served as K-State athletic director, still resides in Manhattan. He explains that Switzer played at right halfback while he played at left halfback. Both also played at defensive back. Towers touted Switzer as "the hardest-hitting defensive back in the country."
"Veryl was a quiet person, but always someone you could depend on," Towers said. "Veryl was such a tough player. He had speed, but he was strong, and he was a big guy. I first noticed him at the state of Kansas Class B outdoor track meet when he won the pole vault and long jump championships. At K-State, Veryl was a leader for us, and he's just a really good person and friend."
As Switzer prepares to open the locker room door, Towers offers a directive to K-Staters.
"Anything we K-Staters can do to honor Veryl, we need to do it," he said. "I hope everyone understands all of the things that he accomplished. There simply aren't enough good things to say about him. He was as good of a football player in the United States as there was at that time. I'm so proud of Veryl."
And Saturday will mean everything to him.
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