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What: “Black Star Risen: The Alan Page Story”
Where: ESPN, tonight, 7
Even if you’re familiar with Alan Page, the Hall of Fame football player who is now in his 10th year as a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, you’ll still be amazed by all that Page has accomplished.
NFL Films, in this one-hour special that is part of ESPN’s celebration of Black History Month, aptly tells the story.
Page grew up in post-war Canton, Ohio. His father owned a tavern that was a front for a gambling establishment. His mother died during the spring of 1959, before Page’s freshman year of high school.
Afterward, Page immersed himself in studies and extracurricular activities. He was a member of the school band before trying football. When he did go out for football at Central Catholic High, he was the only black player on the team.
He went on to Notre Dame, earning All-American honors and playing on a national championship team as a senior in 1966. He was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, and in 12 seasons in Minnesota he made the Pro Bowl nine years in a row. In 1971, he was the NFL’s most valuable player, a rare honor for a defensive lineman.
But Page’s prowess on the football field is overshadowed by his dedication to excelling off the field.
He began attending law school while playing for the Vikings: “For the first time I was using my head for something other than somewhere to store my helmet or as a battering ram.”
In 1988, Page was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his hometown of Canton. Coincidentally, during his college years Page had worked for the construction company that built the Hall of Fame.
He selected a Canton high school principal to introduce him at his induction and he spent almost all of his induction speech talking about the importance of education.
He created the Page Education Foundation, which has provided scholarships for some 3,400 young people. The foundation is just another part of Page’s amazing story.
Larry Stewart