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BOSTON -- From his den in Huntsville, Alabama, Onree Jackson will quietly root to see Jacoby Brissett under center when he watches New England host Houston on Thursday night.Almost 50 years have passed, but Jackson still remembers his excitement when he was drafted out of Alabama A&M in 1969 by the Boston Patriots -- the franchises first black quarterback.Back then, the team hailed his potential to be the Willie Mays of pro football. But he never played in a regular-season NFL game.Now, Brissett could establish a footnote for a franchise born in a city with a complicated racial past, its first African-American player to start at quarterback. While the Patriots have been racially progressive in other ways, the New York Giants are the only other NFL team to have never started an African-American quarterback.Brissetts opportunity comes because of two unusual factors. Tom Brady, the teams cornerstone, is suspended four games for his role in using underinflated footballs in the playoffs in 2015. And Bradys backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, has a shoulder injury and is listed as doubtful for Thursday.While none have started a regular-season game, the Patriots have drafted eight African-American quarterbacks. Michael Bishop played the most, appearing in eight games in 2000.The potential distinction shows how much things have changed in 50 years.When I got there, there was a baseball player with the Red Sox and he said in the paper, `You know theyre not going to have an N-word quarterback here in Boston, Jackson, 69, recalled in an interview with The Associated Press.It was funny to him, I think, because they had a picture of him laughing in the papers, Jackson said. I had a shot, and I didnt make it under their rules.Bostons professional teams -- like the citys neighborhoods -- had different reactions to the civil rights movement and the integration of professional sports.While the Celtics and Bruins broke barriers in pro basketball and hockey, the Red Sox were the last Major League Baseball team to field a black player. Pumpsie Green took the field at Fenway Park in 1959 -- more than a decade after Jackie Robinson played for the Dodgers and even after Willie ORee took the ice for Boston in the all-white NHL. The Red Sox gave both Robinson and Mays tryouts in the 1940s before opting not to sign them.Meanwhile, the Patriots neither led nor trailed the pack on such issues.Jackson was drafted by Rommie Loudd, the AFLs first black assistant coach before he joined the Patriots in 1966. He moved to the teams front office and became its personnel director in 1969, one of the first black personnel directors in the NFL.Jackson said he thought everything was fine until he drew consistent ire from then-coach Clive Rush, who told Jackson: Joe wouldnt do that.He was talking about Namath, Jackson said. Me being who I am, and where I was from and all, I just accepted that and went on.Jackson was waived after a few months. Rush told the Frederick Daily Leader at the time that Jackson was behind three other quarterbacks.As Ive grown older, I can see little signs that said, `You arent going to make it because youre a black quarterback. Thats the way I interpreted it, anyway, Jackson said.Rush was fired after a losing season in 1969 and 1-6 start in 1970.New England has never had a black head coach. Romeo Crennel, now defensive coordinator in Houston, held that job in New England before he was head coach in Cleveland and Kansas City. Bobby Grier, who is black, was an assistant coach with the Patriots who rose to be vice president of player personnel from 1997-2000.Richard Johnson, curator of the Boston Sports Museum, said while the quarterback milestone would be unintentional, there has never been talk of race influencing the Pats personnel decisions.Under Bill Belichick, the best player has always played, Johnson said.Richard Lapchick, who has pushed for diversity across college and professional sports from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, said the Patriots under owner Robert Kraft have consistently pushed for inclusion in several ways.They were working in the community on gender violence prevention in the early 1990s, 20 years before Ray Rice or even before O.J., Lapchick said.The Patriots were also one of the first teams to help NFL players finish their degrees.Josh Johnson, who is black and one of three Giants quarterbacks, was surprised when told his team could be the last to cross this particular racial benchmark.It shows progress, he said. Thats all you want to see, progress. Good luck to (Brissett), I hope he goes out and takes advantage of it. Opportunities come far and few.Though it didnt work out for Jackson, he said hes proud to have played a part toward seeing a day when no one notices who is or isnt under center.Its a pride thing now, he said. Im proud of what happened. Though I didnt make it, it was kind of a foot in the door type-thing.---This story has been corrected to show that Michael Bishop, not Rohan Davey, has played the most games for the Patriots as an African-American quarterback.---AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston and Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed to this report.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Discount Air Jordan 1 . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. 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Bryan Clauson, an accomplished sprint car driver who had competed in three Indianapolis 500s, died Sunday night from injuries suffered in a midget car crash on Saturday at the Belleville (Kansas) High Banks. He was 27.Clausons family confirmed his death in a statement released Monday morning by USAC officials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Last night, the 7th of August, we said goodbye to our son, my fiancé, our friend, Bryan Clauson, Clausons family said in a statement released by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was surrounded by family and friends and we were grateful that we could experience his final moments with him.Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane. However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fans day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans.Clauson was leading the Belleville Midget Nationals when his car climbed the guard rail between Turns 3 and 4, flipped and stopped on the dirt track, where he was then hit by Ryan Greth. Clauson was transported to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln, Nebraska.?Its surreal to think Bryan Clauson is gone, tweeted Danica Patrick, whose boyfriend,?Ricky Stenhouse Jr., was especially close with Clauson and drove for the Clauson family team as recently as the 2016 Chili Bowl in January. He was one of the good ones. He was kind, funny, and a damn good driver. Heavy heart today.USAC president Kevin Miller said Clausons death was devastating and left a tremendous hole in the racing community.This is truly one of the darkest days of the 60-year history of the United States Auto Club, Miller said. Not only have we lost one of our greatest USAC champions, we lost a true ambassador for all of motorsports. Bryan was an accomplished driver on both dirt and pavement. ... Bryans passion for our sport was unparalleled.He was a leader not only on the track, but in the pits with his fellow competitors.Its a tragedy, Tony Stewart, who owned cars driven by Clauson over the years, told reporters Sunday after the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen. That kid drove for us for a long time and did a great job. ... I dont care what happened, no mattter how bad his day was, he always found a way to smile with it.ddddddddddddA three-time USAC national champion in midgets and the winner of two USAC National Sprint Car titles with more than 170 career USAC victories, Clauson drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 2012, 2015 and 2016. He led three laps in the 2016 race, where he finished a career-best 23rd driving for Dale Coyne Racing.The Noblesville, Indiana, resident competed in 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races from 2007 to 2008 for team owner Chip Ganassi, with a career-best fifth-place finish in June 2008 at Kentucky.?Clauson was engaged to be married in February to Lauren Stewart.NASCAR extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Bryan Clauson, a passionate competitor whose love for racing fueled his unmatched positive spirit, NASCAR executive vice president Steve OConnell said via statement. He was a dear friend to many in the racing community, and he was loved and respected by all who knew him. He touched the lives of so many in our motorsports family, and his warm presence and relentless enthusiasm will be missed.Clauson was pursuing a goal of competing in 200 events during the 2016 season, ranging from midget races all the way up to the Indianapolis 500. The August portion of his Chasing 200 tour was scheduled to take him to six states to compete in 22 races.The Belleville Nationals race Saturday was his 117th event of the season. He was the defending champion and a three-time winner of the event, staged on a high-banked half-mile dirt track. Chad Boat won the 40-lap race, which was run to its completion following the Clauson crash on Lap 14.It was his second wreck of the weekend.He started seventh on Friday night in Belleville before he was in another vicious wreck. After that crash, he posted on Twitter his appreciation for his safety equipment, his chassis manufacturer and his team for getting his car ready for him to race Saturday night.It sucks when its anybody in racing, Tony Stewart said. Its hard when you lose them, but its even worse when theyre somebody as close to you as Bryan was.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '