Charles F. West, M.D.
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
First African American quarterback in the Rose Bowl, 1922. At Washington & Jefferson College, he challenged racial discrimination in foot-ball by refusing an opposing team’s demand to bench him. West was a pentathlete on the 1924 Olympic team. He was a physician for 50 years.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Charles F. West made history in 1922 as the first African American quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl, leading Washington & Jefferson College onto the national stage. When an opposing team demanded he be benched because of his race, West refused to yield, confronting the discrimination of the era head-on. A gifted all-around athlete, he competed in the pentathlon on the 1924 U.S. Olympic team before devoting five decades to medicine as a physician.
Why it matters
West's stand on the football field prefigured the long struggle to integrate American sports, and his life bridged athletic achievement and quiet service to his community.
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