Johnny Bright Johnny D . Bright ( June 11 , 1930 – December 14 , 1983 ) was a professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League . He played college football at Drake University . He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame , the National Football Foundation ' s College Football Hall of Fame , the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame , the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour , the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame , and the " Des Moines Register ' s " Iowa Sports Hall of Fame . In 1951 , Bright was named a First Team College Football All - American , and was awarded the Nils V . " Swede " Nelson Sportsmanship Award . In 1969 , Bright was named Drake University ' s greatest football player of all time . Bright is the only Drake football player to have his jersey number ( No . 43 ) retired by the school , and in June 2006 , received honorable mention from " ESPN . com " senior writer Ivan Maisel as one of the best college football players to ever wear No . 43 . In February 2006 , the football field at Drake Stadium , in Des Moines , Iowa , was named in his honor . In November 2006 , Bright was voted one of the CFL ' s Top 50 players ( No . 19 ) of the league ' s modern era by Canadian sports network TSN . In addition to his outstanding professional and college football careers , Bright is perhaps best known for his role as the victim of an intentional , most likely racially motivated , on - field assault by an opposing college football player from Oklahoma A & M ( now Oklahoma State University ) on October 20 , 1951 , that was captured in a widely disseminated and Pulitzer Prize winning photo sequence , and eventually came to be known as the " Johnny Bright Incident . " Early life . Born in Fort Wayne , Indiana on June 11 , 1930 , Bright was the second oldest of four brothers and a sister . Bright lived with his single mother , brothers , and sister , in a working class , predominantly African - American neighborhood in Fort Wayne . Bright was a three - sport ( football , basketball , track and field ) star at Fort Wayne ' s Central High School . Bright , who also was an accomplished softball pitcher and boxer , led Central High ' s football team to a City title in 1945 , and helped the basketball team to two state tournament Final Four appearances . Beginning of college football career . Following his graduation from Central High in 1947 , Bright initially accepted a football scholarship at Michigan State University , but , apparently unhappy with the direction of the Spartans football program , transferred to Drake University in Des Moines , Iowa , where he accepted a track and field scholarship that allowed him to try out for the football and basketball squads . Bright eventually lettered in football , track , and basketball , during his collegiate career at Drake . Following a mandatory freshman redshirt year , Bright began his collegiate football career in 1949 , rushing for 975 yards and throwing for another 975 to lead the nation in total offense during his sophomore year , as the Drake Bulldogs finished their season at 6 – 2 – 1 . In Bright ' s junior year , the halfback / quarterback rushed for 1 , 232 yards and passed for 1 , 168 yards , setting an NCAA record for total offense ( 2 , 400 yards ) in 1950 , and again lead the Bulldogs to a 6 – 2 – 1 record . Bright ' s senior year began with great promise . Bright was considered a pre - season Heisman Trophy candidate , and was leading the nation in both rushing and total offense with 821 and 1 , 349 yards respectively , when the Drake Bulldogs , winners of their previous five games , faced Missouri Valley Conference foe Oklahoma A & M at Lewis Field ( now Boone Pickens Stadium ) in Stillwater , Oklahoma , on October 20 , 1951 . " Johnny Bright Incident " . Bright ' s participation as a halfback / quarterback in the Drake University vs . Oklahoma A & M football game on October 20 , 1951 , was controversial , as it marked the first time that such a prominent African - American athlete , with national notoriety ( Bright was a pre - season Heisman Trophy candidate and led the nation in total offense going into the game ) and of critical importance to the success of his team ( Drake was undefeated and carried a five game winning streak into the contest , due in large part to his rushing and passing ) , had played against Oklahoma A & M in a home game at Lewis Field , in Stillwater . During the first seven minutes of the game , Bright had been knocked unconscious three times by blows from Oklahoma A & M defensive tackle , Wilbanks Smith . While the final , elbow blow from Smith broke Bright ' s jaw , Bright was able to complete a 61 - yard touchdown pass to halfback Jim Pilkington a few plays later before the injury finally forced Bright to leave the game . Bright finished the game with 75 yards ( 14 yards rushing and 61 yards passing ) , the first time he had finished a game with less than 100 yards in his three year collegiate career at Drake . Oklahoma A & M eventually won the game 27 - 14 . A photographic sequence by " Des Moines Register " cameramen Don Ultang and John Robinson clearly showed that Smith ' s jaw breaking blow to Bright had occurred well after Bright had handed off the ball to fullback Gene Macomber , and that the blow was delivered well behind the play . Recalling the incident without apparent bitterness in a 1980 " Des Moines Register " interview three years before his death , Bright commented : The " Johnny Bright Incident " , as it became widely known , eventually provoked changes in NCAA football rules regarding illegal blocking , and mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards . Post - injury & end of college football career . Bright ' s jaw injury limited his effectiveness for the remainder of his senior season at Drake , but he finished his college career with 5 , 983 yards in total offense , averaging better than 236 yards per game in total offense , and scored 384 points in 25 games . As a senior , Bright earned 70 percent of the yards Drake gained and scored 70 percent of the Bulldogs ' points , despite missing the better part of the final three games of the season . Following his final football season at Drake ( 1951 ) , Bright was named a First Team College Football All - American and finished fifth in the balloting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy . Bright was also awarded the Nils V . " Swede " Nelson Sportsmanship Award , and played in both the post - season East - West Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl . In 1969 , Bright was named Drake University ' s greatest football player of all time . He is also the only Drake football player to have his jersey number ( No . 43 ) retired by the school . In June 2006 , Bright received honorable mention from " ESPN . com " senior writer Ivan Maisel as one of the best college football players to ever wear No . 43 . Professional football career . Bright was the first pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 1952 National Football League draft . Bright spurned the NFL , electing to play for the Calgary Stampeders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union , the precursor to the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Bright later commented : Bright joined the Calgary Stampeders as a fullback / linebacker in 1952 , leading the Stampeders and the WIFU in rushing with 815 yards his rookie season . Bright played fullback / linebacker with the Stampeders for the 1952 , 1953 , and part of the 1954 seasons . In 1954 , the Calgary Stampeders traded him to the Edmonton Eskimos in mid - season . He would enjoy the most success of his professional football career as a member of the Eskimos . Though Bright played strictly defense as a linebacker in his first year with the Eskimos , he played both offense ( as a fullback ) and defense for two seasons ( 1955 – 1956 ) , and played offense permanently after that ( 1957 – 1964 ) . He , along with teammates Rollie Miles , Normie Kwong , and Jackie Parker , helped lead the Eskimos to successive Grey Cup titles in 1954 , 1955 , and 1956 ( where Bright rushed for a Grey Cup record 171 yards in a 50 – 27 win over the Montreal Alouettes ) . In 1957 , He rushed for eight consecutive 100 - yard games , finishing the season with 1 , 679 yards . In 1958 , he rushed for 1 , 722 yards . In 1959 , following his third straight season as the Canadian pro rushing leader with 1 , 340 yards , Bright won the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Player Award , the first African - American or African - Canadian athlete to be so honored . Bright was approached several times during his Canadian career by NFL teams about playing in the United States , but in the days before the blockbuster salaries of today ' s NFL players , it was common for CFL players such as him to hold regular jobs in addition to football , and he had already started a teaching career in 1957 , the year he moved his family to Edmonton . Bright retired in 1964 as the CFL ' s all - time leading rusher ( Mike Pringle and George Reed have since surpassed him ) . Bright rushed for 10 , 909 yards in 13 seasons , had five consecutive 1 , 000 yard seasons , and led the CFL in rushing four times . While Bright is currently 15th on the All - Pro Rushing list , his career average of 5 . 5 yards per carry is the highest among 10 , 000 + yard rushers ( Pro Football Hall of Fame r Jim Brown is second at 5 . 2 yards per carry ) . At the time of his retirement , Bright had a then - CFL record thirty - six 100 - plus - yard games , carrying the ball 200 or more times for five straight seasons . Bright led the CFL Western Conference in rushing four times , winning the Eddie James Memorial Trophy in the process , and was a CFL Western Conference All - Star five straight seasons from 1957 to 1961 . Bright played in 197 consecutive CFL games as a fullback / linebacker . Bright ' s No . 24 jersey was added to the Edmonton Eskimos ' Wall of Honour at the Eskimos ' Commonwealth Stadium in 1983 . Bright was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on November 26 , 1970 . In November 2006 , Bright was voted one of the CFL ' s Top 50 players ( No . 19 ) of the league ' s modern era by Canadian sports network TSN . Post - football career and death . Bright earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at Drake University in 1952 , becoming a teacher , coach , and school administrator , both during and after his professional football career , eventually rising to the seat of principal of D . S . Mackenzie Junior High School and Hillcrest Junior High School in Edmonton , Alberta . He became a Canadian citizen in 1962 . Bright died of a massive heart attack on December 14 , 1983 , at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton , while undergoing elective surgery to correct a knee injury suffered during his football career . He was survived by his wife and four children . Bright is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery , in Edmonton . Legacy . On September 28 , 2005 , Oklahoma State University formally apologized to Bright and Drake University for the incident in 1951 in a letter from Oklahoma State University President David J . Schmidly to Drake President David Maxwell . The apology came twenty - two years after Bright ' s death . In February 2006 , the football field at Drake Stadium , in Des Moines , Iowa , was named in Bright ' s honor . In September 2010 , Johnny Bright School , a kindergarten through grade 9 school , was named in Bright ' s honour , and opened in the Rutherford neighbourhood of Edmonton . The school was officially opened on September 15 by representatives of the school district and Alberta Education Minister Dave Hancock , and included tributes from Bright ' s family , several dignitaries , and former colleagues of Bright from his both his athletic and educational careers .