Stuhldreher, Harry, 78
Sukeforth, Clyde, 149, 191, 192, 194
Sundown, 113
Talbert, Bill, 222
Taylor, Bryce, 43
Ten Commandments, 176
Texas A&M, 40
Texas Christian University, xiii, xiv, 40
Thomas, Burton, 8, 35
Thomas, Maria, 133
Thornhill, Tiny, 90
Thorpe, Jim, 18, 124
Trafton, George, 146
Trevino, Lee, 224
Tunnell, Emlen, 142
Tunney, Jim, 27, 238
Tunney, John, 215
Turner, Lana, 146
Udall, Stewart L., 142
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 37
University of California, Berkeley, 30, 76
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), tolerance toward African Americans, xiii; early football history, 31–35; early history, 30–31
University of Florida, 85
University of Missouri, xiii, 40, 134
University of Montana, 34
University of Oregon, 3, 55, 56
University of Southern California (USC), xii; discrimination against black players, xiii, 43; first game vs. UCLA, 34
University of Tennessee, 96
Ustinov, Peter, 178
Vaughn, Ralph, 102
Veeck, Bill, 208
Villaraigosa, Antonio, 236
Wai, Conkling, 79
Wai, Francis, 79
Walker, Dixie, 152, 189, 196, 200
Walsh, David J., 105
Washington, Edgar “Blue” (father), 16–17, 52
Washington, Hazel (aunt), 18
Washington, Julius (uncle), 16
Washington, Kenny, 15, 37–38, 44, 66, 76, 84, 99, 100, 104, 111, 122, 171, 176, 204, 236; 1937 season, 47–53; 1938 season, 76–80; 1939 season, 84–98; All-American controversy, 107–8; assistant coach, 113; boxing, 112; breaking football color barrier, xii, 140–47; College All-Stars, 109–10; death of, 172; discrimination by opponents, 48–49; discrimination by teammates, 45; early years, 16, 18; East-West game, 108–9; legacy, 231–32, 238–40; movie actor, 171; police officer, 114; pro baseball tryout, 169–70; recruited by UCLA and others, 27; relationship with Bradley, 67; sports at Lincoln High School, 26–27; UCLA baseball, 53
Washington, Kenny, Jr. (son), 147
Washington, Kirk (grandson), 146, 239
Washington, Kysa (granddaughter), 238
Washington, Lawrence (uncle), 47
Washington, Marion (mother), 16
Washington, Roscoe “Rocky” (uncle), 16, 18, 112, 132, 143
Washington, Susie (grandmother), 18
Waterfield, Bob, 172
Waters, Ethel, 171
Watts riots, 165, 213
Wayne, John, 178, 179
Weiner, Maury, 164, 166
Welch, Ralph, 87
Welch, Robert, 167
Werner, Ludwig, 154
While Thousands Cheered, 112
White, Bill, 209
White, Whizzer, 16
Whittier College, xii, 31, 33
Who Shot Liberty Valance, 179
Widmark, Richard, 179
Wiley, Ralph, 230
Wilkins, Roy, 40, 108, 223
Williams, Paul R., 99
Willis, Bill, 141, 238
Wilson, Woodrow, 14
Wolf, Al, 120–21, 124
Woods, Tiger, 224
Woolwine, Tom, 14
Works Progress Administration (WPA), 3, 33
Wright, Jim, 57
Wyman, Jane, 66
Wynne, Johnny, xii, 85
Wyrick, Celestine Moses “Slats,” 45
Yorty, Sam, 165–66, 167–68, 213
Young, A. S. “Doc,” 140, 172
Young, Dick, 160, 193
Young, Fay, 110
Younger, Tank, 147, 171
Zamperini, Louis, 69
Zimmerman, Paul, 88
About James W. Johnson
James W. Johnson is professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is the author of several books, including The Dandy Dons: Bill Russell, K. C. Jones, Phil Woolpert, and One of College Basketball’s Greatest and Most Innovative Teams (Bison Books, 2009) and The Wow Boys: A Coach, a Team, and a Turning Point in College Football (Bison Books, 2006).
1. Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson, and Kenny Washington were starting players for UCLA during the 1939 season at a time when few college teams had African Americans who suited up. Photo courtesy UCLA Library Archives.
2. Although an all-city football player in high school, Tom Bradley chose to focus his attention on track. He competed in the 440-yard run, the 880, and the 1,600 relay. Photo courtesy University Archives Record Series 100, UCLA Library Archives Special Collections.
3. Jackie Robinson was a cunning runner whose quickness and speed helped the Bruins get within one game of the Rose Bowl in 1939. Photo courtesy ASUCLA Photography.
4. Jackie Robinson was a threat on the football field whether he was running, passing, or kicking. He was the lone bright spot in 1940 for the Bruins, who finished with a record of one win and nine losses. Photo courtesy ASUCLA Photography.
5. As they were at Pasadena Junior College, Jackie Robinson and Ray Bartlett were teammates at UCLA, this time under basketball coach Wilbur Johns. Bartlett was a rarely used substitute. Photo courtesy Pasadena Museum of History Archive.
6. Jackie Robinson’s best sport may have been basketball. He led the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in his junior and senior years. Photo courtesy University Archives Record Series 100, UCLA Library Archives.
7. Ray Bartlett was a valuable backup runner in his junior year and a part-time starter in his senior season at UCLA. Photo courtesy Pasadena Museum of History Archive.
8. Woody Strode, a football as well as a track and field star, worked as an attendant at a Signal gas station while at UCLA. Photo courtesy Walter L. Gordon Jr., William C. Beverly Jr. Collection, UCLA Library Archives.
9. Ray Bartlett, the second African American on the Pasadena police force, served for twenty years before retiring at the age of forty-seven. Photo courtesy Pasadena Museum of History Archive.
10. Kenny Washington (13) and Woody Strode (34) were among five UCLA players invited to the first Los Angeles Rams training camp in 1946. The others were Bob Waterfield (7), Jack Finlay (17), and Nate DeFrancisco (10). Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA Library Archives Special Collections.
11. Kenny Washington, who was active in Republican politics, meets with California governor Earl Warren. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA Library Archives Special Collections.
12. Los Angeles mayor-elect Tom Bradley reaches into the crowd in 1973, offering well wishes after becoming the first African American to hold the job. He remained in office until 1993. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA Library Archives Special Collections.
13. Woody Strode might best be remembered for his role as a powerful gladiator battling Kirk Douglas in the 1960 movie Spartacus. Film still from Spartacus (1960).
14. After leaving the Pasadena Police Department, Ray Bartlett devoted his time to civic and religious endeavors in Los Angeles County. Photo courtesy Pasadena Museum of History Archive.
15. Jackie Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He played ten years for the Brooklyn Dodgers after breaking the baseball color barrier in 1947. With him are Branch Rickey and Robinson’s wife, Rachel. Photo courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York.
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The Black Bruins: The Remarkable Lives of UCLA's Jackie Robinson, Woody Strode, Tom Bradley, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett Page 35