Norris R. Stevenson (October 27, 1939 – March 3, 2012) was an American fullback in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

. He played college football at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He was selected in eleventh round of the

1961 NFL draft The 1961 NFL draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dall ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Early life

Stevenson attended

Vashon High School Vashon High School is a high school of the St. Louis Public Schools in St. Louis, Missouri. When it opened in 1927, it was the second high school for black students in St. Louis. History Designed by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on Se ...

. He was the first African-American to receive a football scholarship from the

. As a sophomore, he registered 77 carries for 307 yards (third on the team) and 4

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. As a junior, he had 60 carries for 267 yards (third on the team) and one receiving

. He became a starter as a senior, as part of a backfield known as the "Fearless Foursome" that also included

Mel West Melvin Gerald West (January 14, 1939 — November 20, 2003) was an American football running back who played in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Missouri. College career Along with Norris Stevenson who was the ...

, Donnie Smith and Norm Beal. He posted 85 carries for 610 yards (second on the team), a 7.2-yard average and 6

s, contributing to an undefeated team (11-0 after a later forfeit by the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

) that won the Big Eight Conference title and the

1961 Orange Bowl The 1961 Orange Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1960–61 bowl game season, the No. 5 Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight Conference defea ...

, 21–14 over the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. He also helped defeat the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

41–19, rushing for 169 yards with

s of 77 and 60 yards, which moved the Tigers to the top of the national polls for the first time in school history. He finished his college career with 222 carries for 1,184 yards, 5 rushing

s, 11 receptions for 168 yards and 2

s. During his time the team had a 22-9-1 record, including two trips to the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

. In 2001, he was inducted into the

Athletics Hall of Fame and the university dedicated in his honor the "Norris Stevenson Plaza of Champions", on the west side of Memorial Stadium. In 2011, he was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4,0 ...

Professional career

Norris was selected by the

in the 11th round (142nd overall) of the

and by the New York Titans in the 12th round (93rd overall) of the

1961 AFL Draft The 1961 American Football League draft, was held in 1960 because another league was in competition for the class of 1961 college stars, the American Football League draft for 1961 graduates. A six-round telephone draft was held on November 21 an ...

. He was waived on September 5. On February 6, 1962, he was signed by the

. During the season he played in 3 games, registering only 9 rushing yards.

Personal life

After his football career, he became a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach at Forest Park Community College and

Florissant Valley Community College Florissant may refer to: * Florissant, Colorado, a census-designated place * Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, a United States National Monument, Colorado * Florissant, Missouri, a city * Florissant Township, St. Louis County, Missouri Se ...

for almost 30 years. In 1999, he was inducted into the Missouri Track and Field Association Hall of Fame. He was also an ordained CME Minister. He died of colon cancer on March 3, 2012.

References

External links

Significant African Americans in Mizzou History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Norris 1939 births 2012 deaths Players of American football from St. Louis Players of Canadian football from St. Louis American football running backs Canadian football running backs Missouri Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players BC Lions players American track and field coaches Vashon High School alumni