George Jewett
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete who became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
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...
player at both the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and in the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. He played for the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
as a fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
, halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
, and field goal kicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
in 1890 and 1892 and was considered one of Michigan's greatest players in the pre-Fielding H. Yost era.
Early years
Jewett grew up in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, the son of a successful blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
. At the time of the 1870 United States Census, he was listed as being one month old. His father was George Jewett, a blacksmith born in Kentucky in approximately 1845, and is mother was Letty Jewett, born in Michigan in approximately 1848. He had an older sister, Mary, born in approximately 1868. The family was residing in Ann Arbor at the time of both the 1870 and 1880 Censuses.
Jewett attended Ann Arbor High School where he was the class 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...
in 1889. In high school, he was the captain of the debate, football and baseball teams. He was also the fastest sprinter in the Midwest, having won the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
100-yard dash
100-yard dash
The 100 yard dash is a track and field event of 100 yards or 91.44 metres. It was part of the Commonwealth Games until 1966, and was included in the decathlon of the Olympics, at least in 1904. It is not generally used in international events...
competition, and was fluent in German, Italian and French.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1890 to 1893, where he became the first African-American in the school's history to letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in football. In 1890, Jewett was the starting fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
for the Michigan team that went 4-1 and outscored opponents 129-36. In 1892, Jewett was the starting halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
on a Michigan team that beat Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
team, went 7-5 and scored 298 points. At Michigan, he was the leading rusher, scorer and kicker. Jewett was regarded as "one of the greatest stars" in Michigan football in the pre-Fielding H. Yost era. In addition to playing as fullback and halfback, Jewett was also the team's field goal kicker and has been called "the Afro-American phenomenon of the University of Michigan." Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
coach John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
described Jewett as a "superior athlete," and University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
referred to him as "a very tough opponent."
Oberlin College game against John Heisman
In 1892, Jewett played a central role in a memorable game against an Oberlin College team coached by John HeismanJohn Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
. Michigan met Oberlin at Ann Arbor in November 1892. Jewett scored four touchdowns in the game, including an unopposed 45-yard touchdown run after Oberlin thought time had been called. After Oberlin went ahead, 12-6, Jewett scored his second touchdown on a run from 25 yards out, but his kick failed, so the Wolverines trailed 12-10. Oberlin scored again to make it 18-10. A few minutes later, Jewett ran to "within a foot of the goal line," and the umpire (a former Michigan player) ruled that Jewett had scored a touchdown. Jewett completed the kick after touchdown and the score was 18-16. Jewett also made a touchdown-saving tackle in the Oberlin game, catching up with Charles Savage from behind at the five yard line after a 90 yard run. After Oberlin scored to go ahead 24-22, the referee (an Oberlin player acting as referee in the second half) announced that time had run out and called the game. The umpire (a Michigan man) ruled that four minutes remained on the game clock owing to timeouts that Oberlin's timekeeper had not recorded. As the Oberlin team left the field claiming victory, Michigan lined up, snapped the ball, and Jewett walked the ball across the goal line for Michigan's fifth touchdown. The next day, the Michigan Daily
Michigan Daily
The Michigan Daily is the daily student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other student groups, but shares a university building with other...
reported: "Oberlin compromised herself by leaving the field before time was up. . . . Referee Ensworth, an Oberlin substitute, lost all tab of time, and called the game at 14 minutes to 5, while the captain of each team had agreed to play until 10 minutes of that hour." Both schools still record the game as a victory.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1893 where he received his medical degree and also became the first African-American to play for the Northwestern Wildcats football
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
team.
Jewett was not only the first African-American football player at both Michigan and Northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
, he was also the first African-American athlete to letter in football for any of the schools that formed the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. After breaking the barrier at Michigan in 1890, Jewett was followed in the Big Ten programs by Fred Patterson at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, Preston Eagleson at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, and then Jewett again at Northwestern. Jewett missed being the first African-American in college football by one year. In 1889, William Henry Lewis and William Tecumseh Sherman Jackson played for Amherst.
Eight years before Jewett's debut for the Michigan football team, Moses Fleetwood Walker
Moses Fleetwood Walker
Moses Fleetwood Walker [″Fleet″] was an American Major League Baseball player and author who is credited with being the first African American to play professional baseball.-Baseball career:...
became the first African-American to letter for Michigan, doing so on the baseball team
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
.
Later years and family
Jewett went on to practice medicine in the Chicago area. Jewett returned to Ann Arbor in 1899. At the time of the 1900 Census, he was living in Ann Arbor with his parent. He listed his occupation at that time as janitor, while his sister Mary was a music teacher, and his father continued to be employed as a blacksmith.Jewett later opened a business in Ann Arbor called The Valet, referred to in some sources as a dry cleaning shop and in others as a cleaning and pressing shop. Jewett's shop was located on State Street, between the Congregational Church and Newberry Hall; Jewett delivered finished work by horse and carriage.
Jewett was married on November 4, 1901 to Lillian Zebbs. They had two children, George H. Jewett (1902-1977) and Richard Jewett (born 1908).
Jewett died suddenly in 1908 at the age of 38, leaving his wife, Lillian, and two sons; his son Richard was eight days old when his father died. Richard was the father of Coleman Jewett, well known Ann Arbor athlete, educator and craftsman, and grandfather of Michael Jewett, the host of 89.1 Jazz heard on weekday afternoons on WEMU
WEMU
WEMU is the public broadcasting service of Eastern Michigan University.A National Public Radio affiliate whose primary market is Washtenaw County and the surrounding area, WEMU carries the standard NPR news magazines All Things Considered and Morning Edition...
radio.
Jewett is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery
Forest Hill Cemetery (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan is a cemetery founded in 1857. A civil engineer named James L. Glenn designed the cemetery in the rural or garden style popular in the second half of the 19th century. The cemetery's main gate was designed by James Morwick in the Gothic Revival style....
in Ann Arbor. He was inducted into the Pioneer High School Hall of Fame in March 2004.
Further reading
- Arthur Ashe, Jr., A Hard Road to Glory—Football: The African American Athlete in Football (New York: Amistad Press, 1993)), ISBN 978-1-56743-038-7, 71–72.
- Charles H. Martin, "The Color Line in Midwestern College Sports, 1890–1960," Indiana Magazine of History 48 (June 2002), pp. 88–92.
- John Behee, "Hail to the Victors! Black Athletes at the University of Michigan," The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 552–556
- John R. Behee, Hail to the Victors, (J & J Books, Incorporated: March 1974), ISBN 978-0-914464-01-3, 140pp.