Wilbur Hackett

From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans database (main entry)

Wilbur Hackett, Jr.

(born 1949- died: ) Wilbur Hackett, Jr. is a 1999 Hall of Fame inductee at Manual High School in Louisville, KY, where he was a linebacker and running back on defense. He was considered the best all around football player in the city; in 1966 Hackett was All-State, All-Southern, and Parade Magazine All-American. The 5’9”, 185 pound Hackett went on to become a three year starting linebacker at the University of Kentucky (UK). He was the first African American to start any sport at UK and in 1969 was the first to be named as a team captain. Hackett was also one of the first African American football players in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He received death threats, and in a game at Ole Miss, armed guards were on hand to protect him and teammate and roomat, Houston Hogg, who was from Owensboro, KY. Hackett was influenced to attend UK by Nat Northington and Greg Page who would die from a neck injury he received during practice. Cecil New, a white football at UK, also had a neck injury the same year as Page. Hackett left UK in 1970. Wilbur Hackett, Jr. was born in Winchester, KY.

For more see Wilbur Hackett, Jr. inducted 1999 at the Manal High School website: “Negro to captain Kentucky football,” “Washington Post 08/30/1969, p. D5; “recalling the death of racial segregation in Southern college football,” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, issue 21, (Autumn 1988), pp. 64-65; M. Story, “They were our Jackie Robinsons - Hackett recalls days as trailblazer at UK of 1960s, a story for every county,” Lexington Herald-Leader, 01/28/2007, Sports section, p. C2; and L. Austin, “Courage to play,” Kentucky Kernel, 10/04/2010.

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