Saturday, Sept. 28, 1957, was not a normal day for Sidney Williams.
Williams, Wisconsin's starting quarterback-as well as the Big Ten's first starting black quarterback-should have been preparing for the Badgers' Oct. 1 match-up with Marquette. Instead, his thoughts were partly focused 766 miles away on his hometown of Little Rock, Ark.
That day, President Eisenhower sent 1,000 troops to Little Rock to enforce the desegregation of Central High School, where nine black students from the primarily black Dunbar High School, Williams' alma mater, integrated into Central. The integration was an act known as the \Little Rock Nine,"" which is etched in history as a pivotal and revolutionary event for civil rights.
Williams wrote a letter to the nine students encouraging them and thanking them for their courageous spirits.
""I don't really remember what I wrote,"" Williams said last week. ""But I knew many of them as well as their older brothers and sisters since I was a few years ahead of them.""
Williams can be considered a courageous spirit, changing the history books at UW-Madison, not only as an athlete, but also as a student. He won the UW Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994. After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering from UW-Madison in 1961 and a law degree from Georgetown in 1967, he went on to a distinguished career as a property law attorney, even patenting the Little Rock Nine's name.
May 17, 1954
The 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision-which deemed segregation in schools illegal-was made only two weeks before Williams graduated from Dunbar as the Student Council president. He was also one of four black athletes from the 1954 and 1955 Dunbar classes to receive a scholarship to the Big Ten conference.
""He was a well-respected and well-thought-of student. He carried himself as a person who other people could, and did, look up to,"" said Carlotta Walls LaNier, who grew up with Williams in Little Rock and also was one of the nine black students to integrate into Central High School.
Receiving an athletic scholarship was a great achievement for Williams, who said it was impressive to even leave the southern states after growing up in a raciallycharged and segregated city.
Though he said Little Rock was ""terrible,"" other states such as Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Georgia were much worse.
""Compared to other places around Arkansas, we were OK,"" Williams said. ""It was dangerous to cross Jim Crow laws. And we were well-schooled by our parents to stay out of situations. I worked as a shoeshine at a white barbershop and one day I went to go to the restroom at a white beauty parlor across the street. The woman working there reeled me out and threatened me if I ever came back. It was pretty traumatizing for a nine- or 10-year old.
""There were also a few spirited run-ins with white brothers,"" he added.
Williams, along with his white counterparts, received scholarship offers, but most of his ""17 or 18"" were from well-known, historically black universities, including Grambling University and Arkansas State.
Williams chose Wisconsin because he had high chool teachers who attended Madison, in addition to UW's top engineering program and the size of his scholarship. He said many people were proud and excited for him to experience other surroundings where segregation was not as much of an issue.
""During high school football at Dunbar, a white coach from a local, white junior college came to help us out, and people from our neighborhood thought he would overshadow our coaches,"" said Bill Mitchell, Williams' friend since age 11. Mitchell said he holds Williams in a high regard because he is one of the most disciplined people in terms of knowing what he wants, going after it and getting it.
Williams' play, including his efforts as an all-state basketball player, were not overshadowed, but he said had he not received a scholarship, he would not have left Arkansas because black athletes were often not given such opportunities.
""It just didn't happen,"" Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez said. ""It was not until the late 1960s when more African Americans played football.""
July 1956
During the summer of 1956, Williams had already been a Badger for two years, but received minimal playing time.
He even wrote his coaches after his freshman year requesting a chance to play, and the following season he spent time as a safety. It was a struggle to find his place on the team as well as adjusting to a new midwestern lifestyle.
""The biggest challenge was that most things were integrated-basically everything except for a couple of housing sections,"" Williams said. ""It took some getting used to-not being concerned with accidentally going into white restrooms or restaurants ... I could eat at places I wasn't allowed to in Little Rock-well, there were a few in Little Rock where you could get a burger, but I got exposed to sit-down restaurants in Madison.""
Williams' hardships and new experiences paralleled those of the Badger football team, for the team stumbled to a 1-5-1 record in 1956, and it even ran across racial issues. In July 1956, Wisconsin agreed to play a home-and-home series with Louisiana State University in 1957 and 1958. However, one week after the agreement, the Louisiana State
Assembly passed a social segregation law that banned all integrated sporting events in the state and UW-Madison Athletic Director Ivan Williamson cancelled the games. Williams would have been the first black man to play against LSU.
""Blacks couldn't play. That was that. I always wondered what would have happened. It would have been a great game as LSU was one of the top teams in the country at the time,"" Williams said. ""We were disappointed that we didn't get to play, but it was the right thing to do.""
Oct. 1, 1957
Williams earned the starting quarterback job for Wisconsin and led the team to a 13-4-1 record for the 1957 and 1958 seasons.
This included a 60-6 victory over Marquette on Oct. 1, 1957, just three days after President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock and when Williams decided to write his letter to the nine students.
""I hope he [Williams] still has a copy of it,"" Ernest Green said. Green, who grew up six blocks from Williams, is a member of the Little Rock Nine. The two have stayed in contact for more than 40 years. ""We were aware of it and were very proud of what he wanted to do.""
Ebony Magazine also noticed Williams' achievements and profiled his pioneering efforts and athletic accomplishments following his junior year. Williams said the Ebony article was one of the biggest moments of his life because it made headlines in many places and his family even came up from Little Rock.
Williams kept his position on the team in perspective, despite the attention that came with being the first starting black quarterback in the Big Ten.
""I knew that it was a rather large deal. It hadn't been done before and that was great,"" Williams said. ""But I thought it was just a big deal for me to be starting.""
Another big deal for Williams was earning his degree, satisfying his own need to receive an engineering degree as well as continuing a family tradition-his parents did not attend a university but his grandfather was a lawyer and Williams wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Williams left UW-Madison in 1958 to pursue a professional football career, but returned to Madison in 1960 and graduated in 1961.
1994
""Sid has to be the greatest alumni that Wisconsin's ever had,"" Green said.
""We watched him from afar in Little Rock and I followed him when I went to Michigan State. What he did coming out of Little Rock and making such a difference at Wisconsin is truly outstanding.""
Post-graduation, Williams excelled and UW presented Williams in 1994 with the UW Distinguished Alumni Award. It is the highest honor bestowed by the Wisconsin Alumni Association and is given to the most prestigious graduates for professional achievements, contributions to society as well as support of the university.
""We were excited for him and clearly proud for him,"" Marty Williams, Sidney's oldest son, said. ""He set the standard for my brother and I to go to college. The respect he still garners at football games is amazing. He's also just a great dad. He always had time for my brother and I, as well as our mom.""
One of his greatest achievements post-UW-Madison was using his skills as a lawyer and executive director of trademarks and domestic patents for the UpJohn Company by patenting the name the ""Little Rock Nine"" on Aug. 28, 2001.
Green said members of the Little Rock Nine got in touch with Williams because they knew he was one of the top patent attorneys in the country as well as ""understanding the situation better than most people.""
""The situation"" included the efforts of the Little Rock Nine to raise funds for black students and needy people to be able to go to universities. Williams said the group wanted to utilize, emphasize and trademark the name ""Little Rock Nine.""
""He is responsible for it all, for helping us to establish and help civil rights,"" Walls LaNier said. ""We are indebted to him.""
Williams considers himself indebted to UW-Madison and said his greatest contribution has been loyalty. However, he was also president of the Industrial Liaison Council for the school of engineering, focusing on diversification of the entire campus. He said he did this because the greatest thing he learned as a student was to get along with a diverse group of people. Along with his wife, Carolyn, Williams has a yearly scholarship set up in his name for student athletes studying engineering.
""I'm sure many people are not aware of Mr. Williams. Many people-sports fans-are not aware of how long it took African Americans to start playing football,"" Alvarez said. ""It is taken for granted today. Mr. Williams was a rarity.""
