Dave Webster
Encyclopedia
David A. Webster, Jr. in Atlanta, Texas
, is a former professional
American football
cornerback
who played two seasons for that American Football League
's Dallas Texans
, 1960
-1961
. He was an All-AFL
selection in 1961.
, until he was 13 years old, when he moved to Houston, Texas
with his mother. He was educated in the Atlanta Public Schools
, Holy Cross Lutheran schools and Jack Yates High School.
He started making his mark at Yates High School in Houston. Most people knew Webster for his athleticism, but he was also a great scholar. He earned a 4.0 GPA and was the Valedictorian
of his high school class. He also led his Yates team to a City Championship and a State Championship in football
as the starting
quarterback
. While at Yates, he was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” and he was a member of the swim
, golf
and tennis
teams.
on an academic scholarship
where he played tennis and football
for College Football Hall of Fame
coach Billy Nicks.
During his tenure at Prairie View A&M University
David:
under Pro Football Hall of Fame
owner Lamar Hunt
and coach Hank Stram
. The Dallas Texans later became the Kansas City Chiefs
in 1962 when the franchise moved from Texas
to Missouri
. Even though David was an All-American quarterback in college, he played defensive back
because blacks were not allowed to play the quarterback position in the professional football ranks at that time. He paved the way by overcoming racial injustice and adversity as one of the first blacks to play professional football for the American Football League and he was one of two black players on the Texans/Chiefs (in those days, there was a “two blacks per team” quota in effect). Despite the circumstances, he led the team in interceptions and became an AFL All-Pro defensive back in 1962; same year that the Texans won the AFL National Championship. His career came to an abrupt end when his leg was broken in a pre-season game in 1962-1963.
’s School of Engineering with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1962 (he continued to finish his education during the off season) he was hired by the Bendix Corporation
in Kansas City, Missouri
as a Process Engineer working on Top Secret
government projects. While living in Missouri, he met a myriad of lifetime friends, he coached high school football after work, and raised chickens and hogs as a farmer.
In 1971, David moved to Michigan to work for Ford Motor Company
, where he worked in various roles for almost 30 years. While at Ford, he earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Central Michigan University
in 1975. In 2001, David retired from Ford Motor Company
and in 2004 he moved back home to Texas from Michigan to become a farmer again.
When he wasn’t working, David was usually on the golf course. He still enjoyed football, tennis, basketball, bowling, softball, fishing and dominoes, but his sport of choice was clearly golf. Whatever the contest, Scrabble or golf, David played to win. He was fiercely competitive and it showed in everything he did. His determination to win was overshadowed only by his sense of fair play, and like it or not, he submitted gracefully to his opponent when his on-field mistakes resulted in his defeat. This was particularly true during golf, when one of his long, towering, but errant drives would leave him in the trees without a shot. His determination to win was also acknowledged when he was inducted to the Prairie View A&M University
Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
With everything, he did and the recognition he received his greatest love was for God and his family. As a child, he attended Holman Street Baptist Church in Houston and as an adult, David became a Chaplin for the Lord’s House prison ministry. Everyone that knew him also knew that he would spread the gospel of Jesus to everyone around him. He even started a bible study group while at Ford that people could attend during their lunch break. “Big Dave” was a man of great faith and he made sure that he shared the love of God with his family and friends.
Atlanta, Texas
Atlanta is a city in Cass County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 5,745.-Geography:Atlanta is located at ....
, is a former professional
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
who played two seasons for that American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's Dallas Texans
History of the Kansas City Chiefs
The following is a detailed history of the Kansas City Chiefs, a professional American football franchise that began play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans...
, 1960
1960 Dallas Texans season
The 1960 Dallas Texans season was the inaugural season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise from Dallas, Texas. Head coach Hank Stram led the team to an 8–6 record and second place in the AFL’s Western Conference....
-1961
1961 Dallas Texans season
The 1961 Dallas Texans season resulted in a 6–8 record and 2nd place finish in the AFL Western Conference.The club moved its training camp to Lamar Hunt’s alma mater of Southern Methodist University and started the regular season at 3–1 before hitting a six-game losing skid, the longest such streak...
. He was an All-AFL
1961 American Football League All-League Players
-Sporting News American Football League All-League Team - 1961:The 1961 American Football League All-League Team was selected by AFL players and published by the Sporting News. The 1961 All-League players were augmented by other All-Stars to form two squads, Eastern and Western, to play in the...
selection in 1961.
Early years
David was the son of David A. Webster, Sr. and Eunice (Harper) Webster. He lived in Atlanta, TexasAtlanta, Texas
Atlanta is a city in Cass County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 5,745.-Geography:Atlanta is located at ....
, until he was 13 years old, when he moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
with his mother. He was educated in the Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Independent School District
Atlanta Independent School District is a public school district based in Atlanta, Texas .In addition to Atlanta, the district also serves the town of Douglassville....
, Holy Cross Lutheran schools and Jack Yates High School.
He started making his mark at Yates High School in Houston. Most people knew Webster for his athleticism, but he was also a great scholar. He earned a 4.0 GPA and was the Valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his high school class. He also led his Yates team to a City Championship and a State Championship in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
as the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
. While at Yates, he was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” and he was a member of the swim
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
teams.
College career
After Yates, David attended Prairie View A&M UniversityPrairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
on an academic scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
where he played tennis and football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
coach Billy Nicks.
During his tenure at Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
David:
- Led his football team to black college football national championshipBlack college football national championshipThe black college football national championship is a mythical national championship won by the best black college football team in the United States of America. There has been some criticism of this title on the grounds that the schools in the various polls compete in different levels of...
in 1958 - All-SWAC (Southwestern Athletic ConferenceSouthwestern Athletic ConferenceThe Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...
) in 1958 & 1959 - SWAC tennis Doubles Champions with Clifton Johnson in 1959
- Was an All-American Quarterback in 1958
- Was a member of Prairie View Panthers Club
AFL career
In 1960, “Can Head”, as he came to be known by close friends and teammates, was drafted to play football for the Dallas TexansHistory of the Kansas City Chiefs
The following is a detailed history of the Kansas City Chiefs, a professional American football franchise that began play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans...
under Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
owner Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
and coach Hank Stram
Hank Stram
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...
. The Dallas Texans later became the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in 1962 when the franchise moved from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Even though David was an All-American quarterback in college, he played defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
because blacks were not allowed to play the quarterback position in the professional football ranks at that time. He paved the way by overcoming racial injustice and adversity as one of the first blacks to play professional football for the American Football League and he was one of two black players on the Texans/Chiefs (in those days, there was a “two blacks per team” quota in effect). Despite the circumstances, he led the team in interceptions and became an AFL All-Pro defensive back in 1962; same year that the Texans won the AFL National Championship. His career came to an abrupt end when his leg was broken in a pre-season game in 1962-1963.
After football
After graduating from Prairie View A&M UniversityPrairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
’s School of Engineering with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1962 (he continued to finish his education during the off season) he was hired by the Bendix Corporation
Bendix Corporation
The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, aircraft and automobile fuel control systems, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
as a Process Engineer working on Top Secret
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
government projects. While living in Missouri, he met a myriad of lifetime friends, he coached high school football after work, and raised chickens and hogs as a farmer.
In 1971, David moved to Michigan to work for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, where he worked in various roles for almost 30 years. While at Ford, he earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
in 1975. In 2001, David retired from Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and in 2004 he moved back home to Texas from Michigan to become a farmer again.
When he wasn’t working, David was usually on the golf course. He still enjoyed football, tennis, basketball, bowling, softball, fishing and dominoes, but his sport of choice was clearly golf. Whatever the contest, Scrabble or golf, David played to win. He was fiercely competitive and it showed in everything he did. His determination to win was overshadowed only by his sense of fair play, and like it or not, he submitted gracefully to his opponent when his on-field mistakes resulted in his defeat. This was particularly true during golf, when one of his long, towering, but errant drives would leave him in the trees without a shot. His determination to win was also acknowledged when he was inducted to the Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
With everything, he did and the recognition he received his greatest love was for God and his family. As a child, he attended Holman Street Baptist Church in Houston and as an adult, David became a Chaplin for the Lord’s House prison ministry. Everyone that knew him also knew that he would spread the gospel of Jesus to everyone around him. He even started a bible study group while at Ford that people could attend during their lunch break. “Big Dave” was a man of great faith and he made sure that he shared the love of God with his family and friends.
External links
- Prairie View A&M University Sports Hall of Fame
- http://www.armchairgm.com/Dave_Webster
- Prairie View Interscholastic League Tennis Records
- Most Defensive Touchdowns in a Season
- Longest Interception Return (All TD's)
- AFL All-Star and Pro Bowl Selection
- NAIA Players in the Pros
- Kansas City Chiefs Encyclopedia by Mark Stallard
- Outside the Lines By Charles K. Ross