Donald Edward Hudson (November 20, 1929 – September 30, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Macalester College from 1972 to 1975 and at Lincoln University in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

from 1976 to 1979, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 9–72–2. When he was hired at Macalester, Hudson became first African-American head football coach at a predominantly white college in the modern era. Hudson became the head coach in December 1971 when his predecessor,

Dick Borstad Richard F. Borstad (born c. 1935) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota–Morris from 1962 to 1966 and at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1970 to 1971 ...

, resigned. Macalester College barely publicized the milestone. As a result, other predominantly white schools were subsequently reported to have hired the first African-American head football coach in the modern era: Portland State University with the hiring of Ron Stratten in 1972 and

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

with the hiring of

Cass Jackson Cass Jackson is a former American football coach and player. Hired in 1973 to become the head football coach at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, he became one of the first African-American head football coaches at a predominantly white college. ...

in 1973. Hudson was recognized for his breakthrough at half time of a Macalester game in October 2007. Hudson played

as a quarterback for Lincoln University and was an assistant coach there through the 1950s and 1960s. He was offered a head coaching job at Minneapolis Central High School, where he was the first African-American coach in that school's league. He then took a coaching and teaching job at predominantly white Macalester College in 1971. He went 3–36 in his first four seasons as head coach at Macalester.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Don 1929 births 2018 deaths American football quarterbacks Lincoln Blue Tigers athletic directors Lincoln Blue Tigers football coaches Lincoln Blue Tigers football players Macalester Scots football coaches High school football coaches in Minnesota Players of American football from Pittsburgh African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people

Head coaching record

College

Further reading

References