'Who wore it best' at Michigan State: No. 84

Cody Tucker
Lansing State Journal
All-American lineup: George Webster (90) was one of five Spartan All-Americans on the 1965 national championship team. The others were Bob Apisa (45), Clinton Jones (26), Bubba Smith (95) and Gene Washington (84).

Ever see a number on a Michigan State football jersey and think of all the great players to wear it? Me, too. In this 99-part daily series, I’ll give you my take on which Spartan football player was the best ever to wear each number. The criteria are simple: How did he perform at MSU? And what kind of impact did he have on the program?

No. 84 – Gene Washington

Split end, 1964-1966, La Porte, Texas

 

Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty, left, shakes Gene Washington's hand.

Résumé

1964: 19 receptions, 302 yards, 15.9 yards per catch, 4 touchdowns

1965: 22 receptions, 348 yards, 15.8 yards per catch, 2 touchdowns

1966: 24 receptions, 301 yards, 12.5 yards per catch, 3 touchdowns        

Total: 65 receptions, 951 yards, 14.6 yards per catch, 9 touchdowns

 

Why Washington?

There aren’t many no-brainers when it comes to this list.

No. 84 is one of the few.

Gene Washington wasn’t only one of the best college football players in the history of the game, he was a trailblazer of sorts. Washington came to East Lansing in the '60s, as did several other notable southern black players, who weren’t permitted to play with the likes of Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and other prominent schools below the Mason-Dixon line.

Filmmaker Maya Washington, daughter of MSU standout Gene Washington, is working on the documentary, "Through the Banks of the Red Cedar" about her dad and MSU football in the 1960s. She said the film is a thank-you to Bubba Smith.

Segregation was the only thing that stopped Washington. It was Michigan State’s gain, opening a cultural pipeline to the school, which led to big things on the gridiron.

Washington’s résumé is an impressive one. He is one of only seven former Spartans to be elected into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten player in 1965 and ’66. All he did in those years was help lead the Spartans to a 19-1-1 record with a pair of conference and national championships.

His name will forever hang on the ring of fame inside Spartan Stadium.

Standing 6-foot-2, and weighing 182 pounds, Washington was lightning quick and had the size to go up and get it. His game, coupled with length and speed would still translate on the field today. He broke every meaningful receiving record during his three seasons under coach Duffy Daugherty, hauling in 65 receptions for 951 yards and nine touchdowns. He still holds the school record for yards per catch in a single season with 25.1 in 1966.

A LOOK BACK AT NUMBERS 1-83

Washington had one of his best performances in a game that ended in a tie. In what was dubbed “The Game of the Century,” Washington, playing in his final game at Spartan Stadium, hauled in five passes for 123 yards against top-ranked Notre Dame. MSU, who was ranked No. 2 coming into the finale, tied the Irish, 10-10. Both shared a piece of the national championship.

A year earlier, Washington also had a breakout game against the rivals in South Bend, Ind., catching nine passes for 150 yards. At the time, that was a single-game record for receptions.

The Minnesota Vikings made Washington the No. 8 pick in the 1967 NFL Draft. The speedster from La Porte, Texas, was the fourth Spartan taken that day, joining Charles “Bubba” Smith (No. 1), Clinton Jones (No. 2) and George Webster (No. 5).

Washington caught 182 passes for 3,237 yards and 26 touchdowns during his seven professional seasons. He was named an All-Pro in 1969, the same season the Vikings won the NFL Championship, and was selected to two Pro Bowls.

Learning about Gene Washington's MSU days brought daughter Maya closer, she says.

In 2018, Maya Washington, released a 70-minute documentary about her father’s journey from segregation to MSU, entitled “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar.”

“I just believe it’s a nice story to tell and to share,” Washington, now 74, told the Detroit Free Press in April. “And I hope it inspires an athlete to say, ‘OK, we got this opportunity. I’m going to do the best I can and be the best person I can.’”

 

MSU quaterback Brian Hoyer (center) and wide receiver Deon Curry celebrate after their win over Wisconsin Saturday November 1, 2008 in East Lansing.  KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

Photo Gallery

Who else wore No. 84 best?

Frederick Arbanas (E, 1958-60), Douglas Bobo (E, 1951-52), Eugene Byrd (WR, 1975-79), Deon Curry (WR, 2005-08), Glenn Deibert (E/T, 1941-42), Franklin Foreman (SE, 1967-69), Andrew Gleichert (TE, 2012-14), Lawrence Harding (E, 1956-57), Derek Hoebing (TE, 2010-12), Warren Huey (E, 1945-48), Michael Jones (SE, 1973-74), Gary Kuhn (LB/TE, 1993-94), Robert Love (LB, 1986), John MacNeill (DE,  1990-91), Brad Rainko (TE, 1997-99), Bernard Roskopp (E, 1942-47), Matthew Snorton (E, 1961-63)

Contact Cody Tucker at (517) 377-1070 or cjtucker@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @CodyTucker_LSJ.

MORE ON GENE WASHINGTON:
MSU's top 50 football players: No. 14 Gene Washington
Michigan State's Gene Washington blazed integration trail in East Lansing
Spartans' Texas ties undergoing recruiting revival