Street Named After UofM Football Trailblazer Glenn Rogers, Sr.
Fifty-six years later, he broke another barrier, becoming the first living person in the City of Memphis to have a street named after him.
“From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything everyone has done, and I want everyone to know I appreciate you,” Glenn Rogers Sr., said.
Glenn Rogers Jr. echoed his father’s sentiment, “This is a blessing. For you all to witness this, this is history. When we saw the sign, I just got chills. When you see your dad’s name on a street sign, it’s amazing.”
Like his father, Rogers Jr., played for the Tigers football team from 1987 to 1990. He said a conversation in 2018 with former Tigers coach Mike Norvell began events that would lead to honoring his father’s legacy at the University.
This included inviting Rogers Sr. to speak to the football team during one of their practices in 2018, being honored with the M Club Hall of Fame Billy J. Murphy Award in 2000 and coach Ryan Silverfield and Tiger Athletics honoring Rogers Sr.’s legacy at a football game in 2022 against Tulsa.
“A testament of a great life is when your sheer presence on this Earth has made someone else’s life better,” City of Memphis Mayor Paul Young said. “I didn’t have the same history as some of you in the room, but I can feel his impact as someone that has grown up in Memphis, and I just think about all the players that have come through this University since you were the first African American to play football right here at the Liberty Bowl. We’re on hallowed ground.”
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