Charles F. West: Athlete, Physician and Trailblazer
Written by Scott Doyle in the Marking Time category and the Spring 2022 issue Topics in this article: African Americans, Charles F. West, football, Howard University, John W. Heisman, Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program, Rose Bowl, Washington (Pennsylvania city), Washington and Jefferson College
On September 18, 2021, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) dedicated a Pennsylvania Historical Marker honoring Charles Fremont West (1899–1979) of the W&J Class of 1924. West was a true hometown hero, as he was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, attended Washington High School, and then graduated from W&J. The dedication was part of a larger ceremony to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the W&J Presidents 1921–22 football season, which culminated with the team playing in the 1922 Rose Bowl game, the only appearance for the Presidents in the “Granddaddy of Them All.”
West was an accomplished athlete who was the first African American quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl. He also won the National Collegiate Pentathlon Championship at the Penn Relays in 1922 and 1923 and was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic team. After forgoing a professional football career, West attended Howard University medical school and became a physician, practicing in Alexandria, Virginia, for 50 years. He was also well-regarded for his commitment to community service.
The story of Charles West and W&J football is not only an account of an accomplished athlete but also a reflection of the African American experience in college athletics in the first half of the 20th century. The success of Black athletes was often overshadowed by forms of discrimination they experienced on college campuses and on the fields of competition. As discussed by Dana Brooks and Ronald Althouse in Racism in College Athletics, the most noteworthy of these racially discriminatory acts committed against them was the refusal of Southern white schools to compete against Northern schools that had African American players on their teams. The Southern schools would threaten to cancel a game unless the Black player was forced to sit out.
Charles West, here on the football field in 1922, was the first African American quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl.
Learned T. Bulman ‘48 Historic Archives & Museum, Washington & Jefferson College
On October 6, 1923, during West’s senior year, W&J was to host the Washington & Lee University Generals football team of Lexington, Virginia. Upon their arrival, Washington & Lee requested that West be withheld from the game as “it was a ‘tradition’ of the school that their teams had never competed against a Negro athlete,” as reported by the Pittsburgh Courier. When informed of the request, West responded that he would not sit out the game, and the entire W&J team, the athletic director, coach John Heisman and college president Simon Strousse Baker stood behind the decision.
In a statement to the press, Baker said, “I am sorry the unfortunate situation arose. I respect the tradition which Washington and Lee followed in refusing to play the game, but Wash-Jeff College is a northern school with traditions, too. It has never made any distinction against color or creed in enrolling students.”
Apparently, active members of the student body stood in unison with the decision, as the football season report in the W&J 1923 yearbook stated, “October 6 – W&J vs. Washington and Lee. Not played. A day of wonderful football weather spoiled when the Presidents called the Generals’ bluff.”
Today, West’s legacy continues through W&J’s Charles West Scholars, a program that seeks to educate, engage and empower Black and African American–identifying students.
Scott Doyle is Preservation Incentives division manager for the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office.
