GEORGE FLIPPIN

	George Flippin, the son of freed slaves, distinguished himself as one of the first black athletes to play at a predominately white university. During the team's early years, Flippin was arguably Nebraska's greatest football asset. He was an all around athlete who played baseball, wrestled and threw shot-put on the track team, but his finest talents were as a football player. A large man at the turn of the century, standing 6'2 and weighing 200 pounds, he was a feared tackle but best known for his plunging runs. Flippin's running skills and tough character got Nebraska through a rough game against Iowa his freshman year. The Iowans, increasingly frustrated by Nebraska's strength, turned violent. Flippin suffered cuts on his hands and face, but led his team to a 20-18 revenge victory for the 22-0 trouncing the year before. The next year Nebraska met Missouri who demanded that Flippin be dropped from the roster. Nebraska refused. Missouri was forced to forfeit the game. Flippin endured incredible prejudice from opponents like Missouri and Iowa as well as at home from his own coach. He was elected to be captain by his teammates, but the vote was overruled by Coach Frank Crawford. He explained his veto, claiming that, "It takes a man with brains to be captain: all there is to Flippin is brute force… I don't take exception to him because he is colored, but it takes a head to be a football captain." Flippin was indeed a forceful football player but he was also an accomplished orator and the president of a campus literary society. Flippin graduated with a medical degree and established a practice in Stromsburg, Nebraska where he later helped found a hospital. A life-long learner, Flippin traveled the world visiting medical institutions learning new methods. When he died in 1929, his funeral was the largest in Stromsburg to date.
no number available Height: 6'2 Weight: 200 lbs. Position(s): Halfback Years Played: 1891-94 Awards Earned:

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