Mavericks, Money, and Men: The AFL, Black Players, and the Evolution of Modern Football by Charles K. Ross (review)

Charles K. Ross, in his book Mavericks, Money, and Men, explores the impact the black players from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) had on the American Football League (AFL), when it was born as a rival to the established National Football League (NFL) in 1960. Ross explains how the AFL really pushed the NFL to extend opportunities to black players from black colleges and how black players from black colleges helped make the AFL a viable product. In addition, he describes how the NFL could no longer ignore the fledging league and its use of HBCU players. Ross contends the use of black players from black colleges helped lead to the merger of the two leagues in 1966 and led to the evolution of modern pro football, where 68 percent of its present players are African American.

Ross traces the history of the AFL from its beginnings as the brainchild of Lamar Hunt and details how the new league was innovative and progressive in sharing television revenue, employing wide-open offenses, and initiating the two-point conversion. Ross also talks about how progressive the AFL was when it came to accepting black players, scouts, and other personnel in positions on the football field that in the past had been manned by white athletes because they had been thought of as "thinking men's" positions, such as middle linebacker, safety, and quarterback.

In addition, the author notes a key event was when the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 drafted future Pro Football Hall of Famer Buck Buchanan, a defensive tackle from Grambling College in Louisiana, with the first overall pick. The highest the NFL had ever drafted a player from an HBCU was the fourth round. After the selection of Buchanan, the NFL could no longer be dismissive of the HBCU players.

A year-by-year summary of the AFL is furnished in the book, including how the use of players from HBCUs helped the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs pull off two of the biggest upsets in pro football history when they won Super Bowls III and IV, respectively. The Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts of the NFL in Super Bowl III, 16–7, led by Joe Namath, but with HBCU players Winston Hill, Johnny Sample, Emerson Boozer, and Verlon Biggs playing key roles in the victory. The 1970 Super Bowl IV champion Chiefs had no less than eleven HBCU players on its roster, including middle linebacker Willie Lanier and safety Jim Kearney.

Ross uses archival primary sources and mixes them with personal stories from the players who made AFL history. Mavericks, Money, and Men serves as an excellent reference to those interested in the history of the AFL as it relates to blacks and the civil rights events of the 1960s. The book should be of interest to both sports fans and people interested in African American studies.