Jim Brown and The 56 Uganda Lacrosse Challenge
Syracuse Lacrosse All American and Hall of Famer Jim Brown
Most folks know about Jim Brown and Kyle Harrison. But there are a lot of African Americans who played the game and who served as my role models in my youth. There are those from my generation who have been forgotten that I played with and against back when there were so few of us playing the great game of lacrosse, the fastest game on two feet. I am sure I will leave some folks out of the discussion but that’s because of accidental omission and not a comment on their contribution to the game or ability. “Lacrosse has long had a reputation as a ‘white sport,’ writes Dartmouth Professor of History Bruce Nelson. “At the D1 level, lacrosse has been, overwhelmingly, a ‘white sport.’ In the forty years from 1957 to 1996, only five African-American players were named first team All-American in D1 lacrosse. The first was the legendary Jim Brown, at Syracuse, in 1957. Brown played on the undefeated team in 1957 that included all Americans and Hall of Famer's Oren Lyons and Roy Simmons Jr. Hall of Famer Roy Simmons senior coached the team. After Brown, there were no black All-Americans for the next twenty-three years. In honor of big Jim's lacrosse legacy, we have organized the Jim Brown 56 Uganda Lacrosse foundation challenge. Were asking you to make a donation to the Uganda Lacrosse foundation and the amount of $56 of more symbolic of big Jim's jersey number at Syracuse. The money will go to spread the game of lacrosse on the continent of Africa starting in Uganda. Your tax-free donations will also go to supporting the male and female Uganda national teams efforts to participate in international competitions.
Learn More About the Uganda Lacrosse Challenge
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