BUFFALO, N.Y. — During the month of February, 2 On Your Side will be highlighting facts about the African American community in Western New York for Black History Month.
Sports dominates a lot of the culture of Western New York, so it should come as no surprise that Buffalo is part of significant African American sports history. The first Black players for both the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills were not just historic firsts for those teams, but also in the professional sports industry in the U.S.
Back before Josh Allen was making headlines with the Bills, there was another quarterback who made his mark on history.
James "Shack" Harris was drafted to the Bills in 1969. He was the first Black player to start the season as a quarterback, not only for the Bills, but in the history of professional football.
He is also the second Black player to start a game as quarterback in pro football history. Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos was called to fill in as quarterback in 1968 when the starting quarterback, Steve Tensi, was injured.
Harris later went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers.
Twelve years later, Valmore James for the Sabres became the first Black American to play in the NHL on Nov. 1, 1981.
While James was the first African American to play in the NHL, he wasn't the first Black man to play. Canadian Willie O'Ree was the first Black person to play in 1958 for the Boston Bruins.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of James playing in the NHL, the Sabres hosted a Val James night this past November. The night was celebrated with a commemorative jersey and a video appearance from James himself.
Follow the Channel 2 TikTok page for more videos throughout the month.
