Football great kicks off breakfast series

By Connie White

The latest Shocker inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame will kick off the WSU Alumni Association’s 2001-02 Distinguished Alumni Speaker Breakfast Series.

Nicknamed "Mr. All American" while playing football at the University of Wichita in the 1940s, Linwood Sexton will reflect on his days at WU —and on some of his many, and varied, life experiences.

The breakfast series starts at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at The Olive Tree Banquet Hall, 2949 N. Rock Road. Tickets are $15 per person.

In 1944, a time when few African Americans were permitted to attend college, let alone play collegiate sports, Sexton enrolled at WU under a full football scholarship offered him by maverick football coach Mel Binford.

It was a great opportunity, and Sexton made the most of it. He was named to the All-Missouri Valley team for three consecutive seasons (1945-47), but was barred from playing several away games by the hosting schools.

He nevertheless piled up impressive yardage as a Shocker running back, and in his senior year finished sixth in the nation for total yards with 1,014. His number, 66, was retired at the end of the season.

After graduating, Sexton began his career as a teacher and later joined the Steffens Dairy Foods Co., Wichita, where he works as public relations director and area sales manager.

An untiring advocate for equal opportunity and social justice, he has been honored with many awards for his efforts in promoting understanding and respect among people of different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Upcoming breakfast speakers are Wichita Eagle fashion columnist Bonnie Bing Honeyman, Oct. 30; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Darren Dreifort, Dec. 4; Deputy Police Chief Terri Moses, Jan. 9; theater production company founder Deametrice Eyster, March 13; and former U.S. diplomat Dan Phillips, April 18.

For more information about the series or for reservations, please contact the WSU Alumni Association, 978-3834.