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Brian’s Song

Brian’s Song. A teleplay by William Blinn. About the author. William Blinn was born in Toledo, Ohio. He worked as a screen writer. Some of his famous works include Starsky and Hutch Roots. About the story…. The main characters are Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo.

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Brian’s Song

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  1. Brian’s Song A teleplay by William Blinn

  2. About the author • William Blinn was born in Toledo, Ohio. • He worked as a screen writer. • Some of his famous works include • Starsky and Hutch • Roots

  3. About the story… • The main characters are Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo. • They play for the Chicago Bears. • They are competing for the position of running back for the Bears during the 1960s amidst desegregation across the country. • They were the NFL’s first interracial pair of roommates.

  4. Who was Brian Piccolo? • Brian Piccolo was an outgoing, very ambitious Italian American. • He played college football at Wake Forest. There, he led the nation in rushing and scoring in 1964, but went unselected in the NFL draft. • Therefore, he tried out for the Bears as a free-agent. • He played four years of pro-football for the Chicago Bears as a running back before he was diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma – a giant tumor in his chest.

  5. Who was Gale Sayers? • Known as the “Kansas Comet,” he was a two-time All-American at the University of Kansas. • He was an African-American. • He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and the Bears, but signed with the Bears. In his rookie year, he set an NFL record of 22 touchdowns. • Sayers spent his entire NFL career with the Chicago Bears, starting as a running back. • He won the NFL’s first three Pro Bowl MVP awards. • He tore his knee in 1968 and again in 1970, ending his career.

  6. Segregation… Then and Now

  7. Segregation in the 1960s • Although Jackie Robinson integrated baseball as the first African American in 1947, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, fans of all sports had still not become accustomed to seeing African Americans on the courts and fields. • Many teams refused to play the Bears because they had a white player rooming with a black player.

  8. Segregation Today • Across the country, there is evidence that shows all universities (aside from denominational) have integrated since 1960. • There is further evidence to show that black athletes have excelled just as their white counterparts. • There are more black quarterbacks in college football than ever before. • In 1990, the twelve highest paid players in the National Basketball Association were all black. • However, there is no doubt that some discrimination still exists in the world today.

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