Walk-On: My Reluctant Journey to Integration at Auburn University

by Thom Gossom Jr

Overview

What are the odds of…

…a high school athlete playing his first organized football game in 11th grade and walking-on to a Southeastern conference collegiate program and earning a scholarship in his first year… becoming one of two African Americans on the team... and a three-year starter…

… that same young man enduring the trials of being a racial pioneer and the first black athlete to graduate from Auburn University in the deep south, so that he does not go back for 18 years…

…that little black boy who grew up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama becoming the Chairman of the Auburn University Foundation Board and leading the campaign to raise $1 billion for his alma mater…

Thom Gossom Jr. is that man and Walk-On is his story. A journey that began in segregated Birmingham, Alabama in 1952 and is still being written today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989086516
Publisher:	Best Gurl, Inc
Publication date:	09/01/2008
Edition description:	10-Year Anniversary ed.
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Thomas (Thom) Gossom, Jr. is a renaissance man in love with life. "I make the most of every day."

Gossom is an actor, writer, speaker, and communications consultant. He received his Bachelor of Arts in communication from Auburn University in 1975. A starting wide receiver for the Tigers, from 1972-1974, Gossom was the first black athlete to graduate from Auburn University and is featured in the HBO special, Breaking the Huddle, about the integration of Southern College Football.

Gossom received his MA in Communications from the University of Montevallo and began his career with AT&T/BellSouth where he served on the staff of the President of BellSouth Services.

He and his wife joyce are owners of Best Gurl, inc. a unique multi-platform company committed to all forms of effective communication. They are supporters of higher education, libraries and literacy.

Through 2016, Gossom served as the Chair of the Auburn University Foundation Board where he oversaw the successful Billion Dollar Campaign. He currently serves as a Director on the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation.

As an actor, Gossom has starred in films including Fight Club, and Jeepers Creepers 2 and Miss Ever's Boys. On television he has been seen in The Quad, Love Is..., CSI, Boston Legal, and In the Heat Of The Night.

Gossom's writing credits include his published memoir, Walk-On: My Reluctant Journey to Integration at Auburn University and his, Slice Of Life, short story collection.

Motivational, funny, and insightful, Gossom is a frequent speaker for businesses, universities, corporations, and civic organizations.

Table of Contents

From the Author

Foreword

The Amazins

To Play Football at Auburn University

Doc and Cat

Auburn and Integration Collide

Henry and The Big O

Freshman Year

Nigger’s Corner

Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan

Something For The Entire Family!

Photographs

Red Shirt

The Building of a Team

Fat Daddy & The Zoo

“We’re Just Not Going To Have It Any Other Way”

17-16

The Intoxications of Life

“You’ve Been Smoking Marijuana”

The Misery of 6-6

The Walkout

First and Ten

The Gossom Incident

Graduation

Amazing Again

The Billion Dollar Man

Acknowledgements

About The Author

Editorial Reviews

“The story is equally compelling for sports lovers and cultural historians—and it is a story shared by one with rare insight and understanding of himself and his times.” --William Michael Warren, CEO Childrens’ Health System

"I read a lot of books, fiction and non-fiction. If someone is local or someone I know, I usually read their books but I confess I do not usually expect to be moved or inspired. Thom’s book both moved and inspired me. Plus, I just enjoyed plain old enjoyed it. Not too fancy; not too plain – just real. I find myself reaching back to some of the stories, a bit haunted by how close in time my own adolescence and college experience was in time to his."

--Michelle Anchors, Keefe, Anchors and Gordon, P.A.

"There have been many books written about Auburn Football, but without question, the best and finest book written about Auburn Football is Thom Gossom's Walk-On. Without Question. Walk-On is one of the finest, most touching pieces of work I've ever read. I laughed, I cried, I felt warm all over and at times my heart ached, sometimes all at the same time...what a wonderful piece of work. What a story Thom has to tell and how wonderful and movingly he has told it." --David Housel, "Down Through the Years With David Housel" 2008 Auburn Football Illustrated

From the Publisher