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Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Where are they now?
Central Kansas, KS
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It’s hard to believe 81-year-old Linwood Sexton last set foot on the track at Wichita University in 1948. He doesn't look his age – not with that shy smile, that barrel chest and not a wrinkle in sight. Shoot, Linwood doesn't even think he’s 81.
“I still go to work everyday and play golf three times a week,” said Sexton, who has worked in sales for Hiland Dairy since June of 1953.
Sexton first appeared on the Wichita sports scene at Wichita East High School in the fall of 1941. By the time he graduated in 1948 from what was then Wichita University, he was one of the most widely known and respected sports heroes in Kansas history. Sixty years later, his reputation is intact.
Yes, he starred in football and track at East High. Yes, he held the Shockers’ career rushing mark for over 30 years. But Sexton’s legacy goes beyond his superb on-field performance.
One of the first black athletes to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, Sexton experienced the indignity of not being allowed to eat in the same restaurants or stay in the same hotels as his white teammates. He was called every name in the book while on the field – by both fans and players.
“Even when I was in high school, we had to stay with black families when we went to the KU Relays or the state track meet,” Sexton recalled. “But, it never really affected me because of my parents,” he added. “My dad was a tailor, had his own business which included white customers, and he always taught me to just treat everyone the same. And my mother never knew a stranger. She was the best cook in the U.S.”
That upbringing served Sexton throughout his playing days. “And besides, back in those days, we played both ways (offense and defense), so I got to return a few licks of my own on defense,” he said.
Sexton recalled that he wasn’t able to make the trips with his Shocker teammates when they traveled to Tulsa or West Texas State. Blacks weren’t allowed in their games. But still, sixty years later, he harbors no bitterness. He has persevered with a life of leadership and service to the Wichita community.
At some point over his lifetime, he has served in these capacities: WSU National Advisory Board; Wesley Hospital board; Sedgwick County mental retardation board; President of United Way, Kansas Board of Regents, President of the Downtown Kiwanis. During the Nixon Administration, he served on the President’s National Advisory Board for Civil Rights. He has been honored by just about every organization he has been associated with and is an inductee in numerous halls of fame.
Sexton has no plans to slow down. “I don't want to stay home and watch “One Life to Live” or “General Hospital,” he explained with a chuckle. “I golf and go to every game, every sport at Wichita State. Tuesday and Friday nights, I go watch the high school kids play. I vacation at the national junior college (basketball) tournament in Hutchinson every year.
“I still feel good. Many of my friends are retired school teachers and they wait ‘til I get off work to play golf, and I still get together with Eric (his son) and family members living in Hutchinson. It's a good life,” he said. “I read three newspapers everyday and do a lot of reading of Scriptures. I have been blessed, and everything I have, I owe to God," he said.
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