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Arthur Allen |
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Arthur Allen |
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Enrolled
at Jesuit during that period when segregation was a way of life Dallas and
throughout much of the South, Arthur Allen, being the first
African-American to attend Jesuit, not only integrated Jesuit but the
Dallas schools system as well, thus making him a trailblazer in Jesuit and
Dallas History.
Some schools refused to play Jesuit if Arthur played or even suited up; therefore, he had to sit out many games because of this bigotry, which prevented him from playing a full season or eating with his teammates during away/out-of-state games. Fan abuse, racial slurs, and thrown objects were common occurrences, yet he practiced every day and played his heart out for Jesuit without complaint. Voted Most Valuable Player as well as Jesuit's Best Athlete in 1959, Arthur’s football accomplishments include the Ranger victory over Casica Hall, Oklahoma, in 1958, where he gained 225 yards in six carries, returned two punts for 85 yards, and scored three touchdowns; the St. Louis of Castroville game, in which he ran 154 yards on 11 carries, scored two touchdowns, and kicked three extra points; and, most memorably, the 1958 TCIL Championship against Galveston Kirwin that included Arthur’s touchdown runs of eight and 62 yards, a 55-yard reception, a recovered fumble that turned into a 40-yard race to pay dirt, and a kicked extra point, Arthur scoring 25 points in Jesuit’s 31-20 triumph over Kirwin. That same year, the Dallas Morning News selected Arthur as its Back of the Week, the Dallas Time Herald twice placed him on its weekly high school honor roll, and he was named to the All-Area GRID Team. A member and captain of the Ranger track team, Arthur broke Fred Schaefer's school record for the broad jump with a 20'2" leap during Ft. Worth’s Cowtown Relays. At the TCIL meet, he placed first in the broad jump, second in the 180 low hurdles and the 440 relay team, and third in the 100-yard dash. Arthur, who was on the Jesuit elocution team, winning a first place trophy in 1959, received numerous scholarship offers, eventually accepting a four-year scholarship to Marquette University. Upholding the Jesuit motto Men for Others in his daily activities while working to increase the Jesuit minority student population, Arthur has served on the Jesuit College Prep Board of Trustees and the St. Anthony School Board. In 1994 the Jesuit Alumni Board honored him with the Jesuit Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award. Currently president of Allen & Associates Inc., Arthur and his wife Dee have two Daughters, Pam and Mikel. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002
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