Penn State has long taken pride in its understated football helmets, which are all-white with just a solid blue stripe. The school announced Friday that those helmets will carry a special decal honoring Wally Triplett when it faces Memphis in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
Triplett and Nittany Lions teammate Dennie Hoggard were the first African-Americans to play in the Cotton Bowl when Penn State squared off against SMU on Jan. 1, 1948. Despite segregation policies in Dallas at the time, SMU’s administrators allowed the Nittany Lions to bring Triplett and Hoggard and arranged for the team to stay at a local Naval Air Station since Tirplett and Hoggard were barred from hotels in Dallas.
The oval decal on the back of the helmet next to the Cotton Bowl logo reads “We Are” at the top and “1948” at the bottom with Triplett’s initials “WT” in the center. Triplett scored a touchdown in the game, which ended in a 13-13 tie.
#PennState players will be donning a special decal on their helmets this Saturday to honor the legacy of Wally Triplett & his impact on the history rich Cotton Bowl.#WeAre pic.twitter.com/9OIlYgDD6s
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 27, 2019
Speaking with reporters prior to the school’s announcement, coach James Franklin spoke of the importance of that game.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to obviously make sure our focus is on the Cotton Bowl and the great opponent that we have in Memphis, but also to be able to take some time and talk about history – history of our game of football, history of our specific universities, history of the Cotton Bowl, and more importantly history of our country and how far we’ve come in a short period of time,” Franklin said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But there is also probably still some work that needs to be done that everybody recognizes.”
Triplett was the first African-American starter for Penn State and one of the first African-Americans to be drafted in the NFL when he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 19th round of the 1949 draft. He spent two years with the Lions and two years with the Chicago Cardinals, appearing in 24 games with 70 rushes for 321 yards and one touchdown along with 17 receptions for 175 yards. He started nine games in his career, all for the Lions.
Triplett was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018, prior to his death on Nov. 8, 2018 at the age of 92.