Prentice Gautt
Prentice Gautt’s status as the first black football player on scholarship at OU is often what he’s remembered for. But his humility and respect for others is what makes his legacy great. This story is part of a series The Daily will publish throughout February in honor of Black History Month.
George Stoia III • @GeorgeStoia
P
rentice Gautt walked alone to the Oklahoma freshman football team bus. He had hit rock bottom.
It was 1956 and he and the Sooners were on their way back from playing in Tulsa and had stopped for dinner. When Gautt entered the restaurant, the owner approached him and said he had to eat in the basement by himself due to the color of his skin. Not wanting to make a scene, Gautt politely went back to the bus where he would wait for his white teammates.
But Gautt was only at rock bottom for a few moments. As he walked back to the bus, he turned around to see every single one of his teammates behind him. If they couldn’t eat together, no one would eat.
“I think that story says a lot about Prentice and even more about his teammates,” said Gautt’s wife, Sandra. “I’m sure that businessman had a lot of fried chicken that went to waste that evening.”
Gautt, who died March 17, 2005, is often remembered for stories similar to the one above. He was the first black football player on scholarship at the University of Oklahoma in 1956, paving the way for many African-American athletes.
But those closest to him say he never wanted to be in the spotlight or remembered for the color of his skin and athletic status. Because of his fortitude, thousands of black athletes have followed in his footsteps. Gautt’s presence is still felt today, not only in the Prentice Gautt Academic Center located inside the north end zone of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, but in the minds of OU students and athletes as issues of racism still exist on Oklahoma’s campus.
Gautt was a man who wanted to be recognized not as a trailblazer in the game of football or as an activist, but as a man of great humility and respect. And the strength of Gautt’s legacy is that he was all of it.
“If you think of Prentice as the first black scholarship football player at OU, also think of him as one of the first to leave football, become very successful in his occupation, continuing his education by getting the highest degree and being humble through it all,” said Professor Emeritus George Henderson, a close friend of Gautt’s.
“Prentice Gautt was my Jackie Robinson of college football. He was the ideal scholar athlete.”
‘I can’t take anymore of this.’
O
ne day during Gautt’s senior season, then-head coach Bud Wilkinson unexpectedly canceled practice, instead calling everyone into the locker room. Bud Wilkinson wasn’t happy with the way some players were treating Gautt — using racial slurs behind his back — and wanted to address the team about the matter. He called for change, pointing directly at Gautt and urging his players, if they were men, to speak to Gautt face-to-face. Bud often defended Gautt after becoming one of the first coaches in college football history to give a scholarship to a black player, something he knew wouldn’t be respected until years later.
After calling out his players, Bud then left the room, leaving the players to discuss the issue among themselves. The locker room fell quiet and Gautt, embarrassed, lowered his head. Then, one by one, players began to stand up and apologize to Gautt.
After the sixth player stood up, Gautt had heard enough.
“I can’t take any more of this,” Gautt said. “This is too much for me.”
Gautt left the locker room in tears, but nearly all the other players remained. They continued to discuss Gautt’s situation, realizing that what he was doing as an individual was bigger than football.
Days later, Oklahoma beat Army, 28-20. That team meeting was a momentous day for Oklahoma football.
“We were all concentrated on being a good football team, and Prentice was right there with us,” said Leon Cross, who played at OU from 1957-62. “We knew the importance of standing with him … It’s hard to say someone is perfect, but Prentice Gautt was the perfect guy for that situation.”
Listen to Gautt tell this story during a lecture he gave at the University of Kansas in the spring of 2003.
O
ne day during Gautt’s senior season, then-head coach Bud Wilkinson unexpectedly canceled practice, instead calling everyone into the locker room. Bud Wilkinson wasn’t happy with the way some players were treating Gautt — using racial slurs behind his back — and wanted to address the team about the matter. He called for change, pointing directly at Gautt and urging his players, if they were men, to speak to Gautt face-to-face. Bud often defended Gautt after becoming one of the first coaches in college football history to give a scholarship to a black player, something he knew wouldn’t be respected until years later.
After calling out his players, Bud then left the room, leaving the players to discuss the issue among themselves. The locker room fell quiet and Gautt, embarrassed, lowered his head. Then, one by one, players began to stand up and apologize to Gautt.
After the sixth player stood up, Gautt had heard enough.
“I can’t take any more of this,” Gautt said. “This is too much for me.”
Gautt left the locker room in tears, but nearly all the other players remained. They continued to discuss Gautt’s situation, realizing that what he was doing as an individual was bigger than football.
Listen to Gautt tell this story during a lecture he gave at the University of Kansas in the spring of 2003.
Days later, Oklahoma beat Army, 28-20. That team meeting was a momentous day for Oklahoma football.
“We were all concentrated on being a good football team, and Prentice was right there with us,” said Leon Cross, who played at OU from 1957-62. “We knew the importance of standing with him … It’s hard to say someone is perfect, but Prentice Gautt was the perfect guy for that situation.”
Jay Wilkinson, Bud’s son, remembers the first time he met Gautt. It was on the ride back from Dallas after a 19-12 loss to Texas in the 1959 Cotton Bowl. The conversation was short and of little substance, but meaningful.
Jay, a senior in high school at the time, looked up to Gautt. He knew of the difficulties Gautt faced while playing football at Oklahoma and viewed Gautt as a man of high character and class because of them. Jay recalls his family receiving racist and profanity-laced telegrams after each game from fans wanting Gautt off the team. His dad was unfazed by the letters, knowing Gautt was facing much more adversity.
Bud’s respect and admiration of Gautt grew into a lasting friendship. The two often talked in his office about the struggles each were facing and knew the impact their on- and off-the-field relationship would have for years to come.
“(Bud) took tremendous pride in the fact that the University of Oklahoma was the first school in the South to break the segregation code,” Jay said. “Dad knew that would have never happened without a person with Prentice’s character … They were a great team together.”
Listen to Gautt talk about Bud Wilkinson during a interview he gave in support of Wilkinson running for U.S Senate in 1964.
Jay Wilkinson, Bud’s son, remembers the first time he met Gautt. It was on the ride back from Dallas after a 19-12 loss to Texas in the 1959 Cotton Bowl. The conversation was short and of little substance, but meaningful.
Jay, a senior in high school at the time, looked up to Gautt. He knew of the difficulties Gautt faced while playing football at Oklahoma and viewed Gautt as a man of high character and class because of them. Jay recalls his family receiving racist and profanity-laced telegrams after each game from fans wanting Gautt off the team. His dad was unfazed by the letters, knowing Gautt was facing much more adversity.
Bud’s respect and admiration of Gautt grew into a lasting friendship. The two often talked in his office about the struggles each were facing and knew the impact their on- and off-the-field relationship would have for years to come.
“(Bud) took tremendous pride in the fact that the University of Oklahoma was the first school in the South to break the segregation code,” Jay said. “Dad knew that would have never happened without a person with Prentice’s character … They were a great team together.”
Listen to Gautt talk about Bud Wilkinson during a interview he gave in support of Wilkinson running for U.S Senate in 1964.
Gautt’s football career was exceptional. Before playing at Oklahoma, he was a standout football player at Douglas High School in Oklahoma City, becoming the first black player in Oklahoma to be an All-State selection. He became one of Bud’s all-time great fullbacks, donning the No. 38. He was a two-time All-Big 8 selection (1958, 1959) and was the 1959 Orange Bowl MVP, helping the Sooners to a 21-6 win over Syracuse. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 1960 NFL Draft and played eight years of professional football (one season in Cleveland, seven in St. Louis).
Gautt’s legacy at Oklahoma will always first be that of a football player. But it was his morals and character that led to his relationship with Bud — a relationship that has lasted a lifetime. It was the pillar for many interracial player-coach relationships at OU that followed. And some of those came at times during egregious acts of racism on Oklahoma’s campus — the Sigma Alpha Epsilon racist chant in March 2015 and a student wearing blackface while saying a racial slur in January 2019, for example.
“It had to take a special coach and player to do that, and Prentice and Bud were the perfect pairing to break that color barrier in college football,” former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer said. “No player today experiences what Prentice Gautt experienced. It took a special person. There’s not many athletes that I recruited that could have done what Prentice did. Prentice did it with grace.”
Bud Wilkinson and Prentice Gautt. Barry Switzer and Joe Washington. Bob Stoops and Eric Striker. Lincoln Riley and Nick Basquine. These, and many others, are the relationships that have helped shape OU football on and off the field.
“Him being the first black player — It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for pioneers like him,” said former OU running back Joe Washington. “Without the Prentices and the Buds of the world, this would have never happened. It always amazes me that at the heart and soul of human nature is that willingness to take those extra steps to do extraordinary things. Prentice and Bud took those steps.”
Listen to Gautt talk about racism during a lecture he gave at the University of Kansas in the spring of 2003
FIRST BLACK FOOTBALL PLAYERS AT SOUTHERN SCHOOLS
Oklahoma: Prentice Gautt, 1956
Oklahoma State: Chester Pittman, 1957
Texas: Julius Whittier, 1970
Arkansas: Darrell Brown, 1965
Baylor: John Hill Westbrook, 1965
Texas A&M: Hugh McElroy, 1970
Texas Tech: Danny Hardaway, 1969
Alabama: Wilbur Jackson and John Mitchell, 1971
Gautt’s football career was exceptional. Before playing at Oklahoma, he was a standout football player at Douglas High School in Oklahoma City, becoming the first black player in Oklahoma to be an All-State selection. He became one of Bud’s all-time great fullbacks, donning the No. 38. He was a two-time All-Big 8 selection (1958, 1959) and was the 1959 Orange Bowl MVP, helping the Sooners to a 21-6 win over Syracuse. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 1960 NFL Draft and played eight years of professional football (one season in Cleveland, seven in St. Louis).
FIRST BLACK FOOTBALL PLAYERS AT SOUTHERN SCHOOLS
Oklahoma: Prentice Gautt, 1956
Oklahoma State: Chester Pittman, 1957
Texas: Julius Whittier, 1970
Arkansas: Darrell Brown, 1965
Baylor: John Hill Westbrook, 1965
Texas A&M: Hugh McElroy, 1970
Texas Tech: Danny Hardaway, 1969
Alabama: Wilbur Jackson and John Mitchell, 1971
Gautt’s legacy at Oklahoma will always first be that of a football player. But it was his morals and character that led to his relationship with Bud — a relationship that has lasted a lifetime. It was the pillar for many interracial player-coach relationships at OU that followed. And some of those came at times during egregious acts of racism on Oklahoma’s campus — the Sigma Alpha Epsilon racist chant in March 2015 and a student wearing blackface while saying a racial slur in January 2019, for example.
“It had to take a special coach and player to do that, and Prentice and Bud were the perfect pairing to break that color barrier in college football,” former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer said. “No player today experiences what Prentice Gautt experienced. It took a special person. There’s not many athletes that I recruited that could have done what Prentice did. Prentice did it with grace.”
Bud Wilkinson and Prentice Gautt. Barry Switzer and Joe Washington. Bob Stoops and Eric Striker. Lincoln Riley and Nick Basquine. These, and many others, are the relationships that have helped shape OU football on and off the field.
“Him being the first black player — It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for pioneers like him,” said former OU running back Joe Washington. “Without the Prentices and the Buds of the world, this would have never happened. It always amazes me that at the heart and soul of human nature is that willingness to take those extra steps to do extraordinary things. Prentice and Bud took those steps.”
Listen to Gautt talk about racism during a lecture he gave at the University of Kansas in the spring of 2003
‘I’m Prentice Gautt, haven’t we met somewhere before?’
G
autt met his wife, Sandra, in 1969 at Missouri.
Sandra, who was studying special education at the time, recalls it being big news that Gautt was coming to Missouri to coach football. She saw him on TV and around campus. But Gautt was a former professional football player and not someone she, personally, would be interested in. Until she ran into him on the elevator.
“I’m Prentice Gautt, haven’t we met somewhere before?” Sandra recalls Gautt saying smoothly.
“He knew he had me hooked because the elevator went up and down twice and I still hadn’t gotten off,” Sandra said. “I acted like I was too busy for him, but I wasn’t.”
This is Sandra’s favorite story of Gautt, along with the story of their first date, which came just days later and took place at a restaurant called Campfire Inn in Rocheport, Missouri. Sandra was blown away by Gautt’s politeness and strong faith, so she went on a second date to see if Gautt was as good as advertised. The second date was an ice cream social at his local church. And the rest is history.
Sandra remembers Gautt for that charismatic and outgoing personality he displayed on the elevator. He was never afraid to meet someone new or engage in tough discussions. He attended Missouri after he finished coaching, earning his doctorate in psychology, an achievement he had always wanted to pursue.
Sandra was drawn to his humbleness — he was never one to boast about his athletic career. In fact, he rarely talked about it.
“It wasn’t that he just blocked out that part of his life. He understood the significance of what he did,” Sandra said. “But he wanted be viewed as a student, teacher and mentor. He was always just being his humble self. Nothing more.”
When Barry Switzer became head coach at Oklahoma in 1973, he offered Gautt the offensive coordinator position on his staff. He had met Gautt several times on the recruiting trail and knew of his legacy at Oklahoma. Gautt respectfully turned down the offer, saying he and Sandra were happy with their positions at Missouri. Switzer knew Gautt’s heart wasn’t only in football.
“He was a good football coach, but he knew he would make a great a professor or teacher,” Switzer said. “And he did.”
G
autt met his wife, Sandra, in 1969 at Missouri.
Sandra, who was studying special education at the time, recalls it being big news that Gautt was coming to Missouri to coach football. She saw him on TV and around campus. But Gautt was a former professional football player and not someone she, personally, would be interested in. Until she ran into him on the elevator.
“I’m Prentice Gautt, haven’t we met somewhere before?” Sandra recalls Gautt saying smoothly.
“He knew he had me hooked because the elevator went up and down twice and I still hadn’t gotten off,” Sandra said. “I acted like I was too busy for him, but I wasn’t.”
This is Sandra’s favorite story of Gautt, along with the story of their first date, which came just days later and took place at a restaurant called Campfire Inn in Rocheport, Missouri. Sandra was blown away by Gautt’s politeness and strong faith, so she went on a second date to see if Gautt was as good as advertised. The second date was an ice cream social at his local church. And the rest is history.
Sandra remembers Gautt for that charismatic and outgoing personality he displayed on the elevator. He was never afraid to meet someone new or engage in tough discussions. He attended Missouri after he finished coaching, earning his doctorate in psychology, an achievement he had always wanted to pursue.
Sandra was drawn to his humbleness — he was never one to boast about his athletic career. In fact, he rarely talked about it.
“It wasn’t that he just blocked out that part of his life. He understood the significance of what he did,” Sandra said. “But he wanted be viewed as a student, teacher and mentor. He was always just being his humble self. Nothing more.”
When Barry Switzer became head coach at Oklahoma in 1973, he offered Gautt the offensive coordinator position on his staff. He had met Gautt several times on the recruiting trail and knew of his legacy at Oklahoma. Gautt respectfully turned down the offer, saying he and Sandra were happy with their positions at Missouri. Switzer knew Gautt’s heart wasn’t only in football.
“He was a good football coach, but he knew he would make a great a professor or teacher,” Switzer said. “And he did.”
After earning his Ph.D. in psychology and serving as an academic counselor in the Missouri athletic department, Gautt began his career in athletics administration in the Big Eight. He started as an assistant commissioner for the Big Eight in 1979, before becoming a special assistant to the commissioner of the Big 12. Today, the conference honors Gautt with the Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship, which is given to student athletes who exemplify excellence both in athletics and in the classroom.
He had a passion for teaching, often speaking to student athletes about the importance of using athletics as a vehicle for education. This is what George Henderson remembers most of Gautt.
He remembers listening to OU football games on the radio while still in high school, hearing Gautt’s name as he excelled as a football player. He also remembers the first time he met Gautt, after Bud insisted the two meet shortly after Henderson arrived at OU.
Gautt greeted Henderson as he did everyone: clear eye contact, a handshake with both hands and a “my brother.” Their relationship quickly grew over the years, so much so that they talked at least two to three times a week.
“He would call me and say, ‘George, I wish I was you and in the classroom,’” Henderson said, who came to Norman as OU’s third black professor in 1967. “I was amazed at his laser focus on serving youth. He, as I did, saw the possibility of sports getting us out of our communities. Not out of them in terms of commitment to them, but in terms of having other possibilities outside of sports.”
Henderson and Gautt are two of the most prominent African-American figures to grace Oklahoma’s campus. They shared the same values and personality, constantly seeking new ways to diversify OU by using their statuses to project the voices of those who couldn’t.
“It was never about Prentice Gautt. It was never about George Henderson,” Henderson said. “It was about being given a gift, whatever that gift is, and using it to help others … It wasn’t us. It was the next generation passing it to the next generation. We were passing the gauntlet.”
‘I’ve come full circle.’
W
hen Joe Castiglione arrived at OU in April 1998 as the school’s new athletics director, he was given the special task of renaming the athletic academic center. One name immediately came to mind.
Prentice Gautt.
Castiglione met Gautt in the early 80s. Working in Missouri’s athletic department at the time, Castiglione worked closely with Gautt while he was the assistant commissioner of the Big Eight. Like Henderson, Castiglione was mesmerized by Gautt’s passion for teaching young people. He, along with then-OU President David Boren, thought there was no better person to name the academic center after.
“We felt it was important to not only honor his legacy, but to also help people understand, for years to come, who he is, know what he did and how much he contributed to the quality experience that many were enjoying,” Castiglione said. “He paved the way for a lot of that.”
Castiglione recalls his first month on OU’s campus, walking into buildings and seeing Gautt’s picture hanging on the walls. He couldn’t help but smile when seeing those pictures, knowing the impact his friend had, and always will have, at Oklahoma.
W
hen Joe Castiglione arrived at OU in April 1998 as the school’s new athletics director, he was given the special task of renaming the athletic academic center. One name immediately came to mind.
Prentice Gautt.
Castiglione met Gautt in the early 80s. Working in Missouri’s athletic department at the time, Castiglione worked closely with Gautt while he was the assistant commissioner of the Big Eight. Like Henderson, Castiglione was mesmerized by Gautt’s passion for teaching young people. He, along with then-OU President David Boren, thought there was no better person to name the academic center after.
“We felt it was important to not only honor his legacy, but to also help people understand, for years to come, who he is, know what he did and how much he contributed to the quality experience that many were enjoying,” Castiglione said. “He paved the way for a lot of that.”
Castiglione recalls his first month on OU’s campus, walking into buildings and seeing Gautt’s picture hanging on the walls. He couldn’t help but smile when seeing those pictures, knowing the impact his friend had, and always will have, at Oklahoma.
“Some of the greatest examples of people who have endured some of the most incredulous experiences, but by example showed how life should be lived — we have, or had, them here at the University of Oklahoma,” Castiglione said. “I think about Prentice Gautt. I think about Dr. George Henderson. You become a better person just by being in their presence. I always felt like I grew when talking to Prentice Gautt. And I certainly feel that way today, too, with Dr. Henderson.”
Six years after the dedication of the academic center to Gautt, he passed away unexpectedly due to flu-like symptoms. He was 67.
More than 400 people attended his funeral. Teammates, coaches, former co-workers, community members and friends piled into First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, Kansas, on March 22, 2005. Sandra says a good majority of the people in attendance had no idea Gautt was a football player; they just knew him as a man who genuinely cared for others and worked to inspire passion and confidence. And that’s just how he would have wanted it.
“He never defined himself by that one part of his life,” Sandra said, who is now retired in Lawrence after 42 combined years in education at Missouri and KU. “He was just a wonderful, wonderful human being and that reflected in everything he did during his life.”
When Gautt was honored during halftime of one of Oklahoma’s games in 1999, he thought back to when he played in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. He thought of the racial slurs that were yelled at him and his own fans telling him he wasn’t welcome there. He thought of the time his team followed to the bus and his coach sticking up for him in the locker room.
Then he thought of the present. He looked around him, 43 years after his first step on Owen Field. He was receiving a boisterous standing ovation — an ovation that, Castiglione says, has yet to be matched at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Then, with tears in his eyes as he walked off the field, Gautt turned to Sandra with a smile.
“I’ve come full circle.”
Correction: a previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Prentice Gautt as the first black football player at OU. Gautt was the first black football player who was given a scholarship and played in games, but not the first person of color on the team. The Daily regrets the error and has corrected the story.