More to the Picture, Part 1: “Down in Front”

All pictures tell a story, but sometimes their stories are incomplete. Take this picture, for example, which shows UCLA coach Babe Horrell flanked by Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett.

As most accounts of the team would have it, we are looking at the four Black players that made the 1939 Bruins by far the most integrated team of the era.

Readers of “The Black Bruins” (highly recommended) or this site know that the players shown not only delivered excellence on the field but also lived extraordinary lives long after their days in Westwood. After all, we are looking at the “Jackie Robinson of cinema” (Strode), Jackie Robinson himself, and the two Jackie Robinson’s of the NFL (Strode, Washington). And Ray Bartlett was no slouch either!

Still, the picture itself, hence the story, is far from complete. Now I’ll include the bottom half of the photo as well.

“Down in Front” is Johnny Wynne, the fifth but almost entirely forgotten Black Bruin. Though he has been completely erased by history (and when I say completely erased I’m including the NCAA, the College Football Hall of Fame, and even the UCLA athletics department), he was active for eight of the team’s ten games, played in four, and made game-saving defensive plays in two. (You can read his full 1939Bruins.com profile here.)

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Still, I haven’t explained where these players are, what brought them together, or why this particular photo is so unique. Lucky for you, that’s all in Part 2!