Walter Arthur Gordon (October 10, 1894 – April 2, 1976) was the first African American to receive a JD from

University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...

. He had an extremely long and varied career where he served as a police officer, lawyer, assistant

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach, member of the California Adult Authority, Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, and a Federal

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

Early life and education

Gordon was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, though his family moved to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

in 1904. He graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School before enrolling in the University of California, Berkeley, where he lettered in

(as a lineman for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. Gordon was the star of Cal's boxing team, winning the California State Championship. He was the star of Cal's wrestling team, winning the California State Championship in that sport as well. He was also a star on college football Hall of Fame coach Andy Smith's early Cal football teams, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines. In fact, during his Cal football career, at one time or another he played every position on both lines except center. At 6'0" and 200 pounds, he was one of the biggest men on the team, but with tremendous quickness, and an instinct for knowing where to be on the field. He was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity. He was also a founding member of the Alpha Epsilon chapter at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1918 he became one of the first two African-American

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

(the first was

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

). He was later named to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. He graduated in 1918 and enrolled in

Boalt Hall The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...

to study law. He married Mary Elizabeth Fisher on July 22, 1920 and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1922.

Careers in California

In 1919, Gordon began two of his careers: he was hired as a scout and part-time assistant coach of the Golden Bears and joined the police force in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. In 1922, he began his third career and opened a law office in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. He continued all three jobs until 1930, when he retired from the police force. He was branch president of the Berkeley

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

in the 1930s. During the

Zoot Suit Riots The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots that took place June 3–8, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, United States, involving United States Armed Forces, American servicemen stationed in Southern California and young Latino and Mexican ...

of Los Angeles in 1943 there were clashes between Mexican American youths and servicemen. Governor

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

sent a team, headed by Walter Gordon, to Los Angeles to evaluate the conflict. Later in 1943, he retired as the assistant coach to join the California Adult Authority, that state's parole board, and eventually became chairman, serving for nine years. In 1944, he retired from law.

Careers in the United States Virgin Islands

In 1955, while still working for the Adult Authority, he was appointed Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. That same year, he was named as UC Berkeley

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

of the year and received the Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal.''Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal''
Retrieved 2018-07-31 In 1958, he resigned as Governor to take an appointment as a Federal Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, where he served for 10 years.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Walter A. 1894 births 1976 deaths 20th-century California politicians 20th-century American judges African-American judges African-American people in California politics African-American police officers American football guards 20th-century American lawyers American municipal police officers California Golden Bears football coaches California Golden Bears football players California lawyers Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Governors of the United States Virgin Islands Judges of the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands Law enforcement officials from California Lawyers from Berkeley, California Lawyers from Riverside, California Players of American football from Atlanta Politicians from Atlanta Politicians from Berkeley, California UC Berkeley School of Law alumni 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Alpha Phi Alpha members