Darryl Hill (American football) facts for kids

Darryl Andre Hill was born on October 21, 1943, in Washington, D.C. He is known as an athlete and a successful businessman. In 1963, he made history by joining the University of Maryland football team. He was the first African-American football player in any of the major athletic conferences in the Southern United States. At that time, these conferences were made up of colleges that had previously been segregated. Darryl was the only black player on the team until his senior year. He set two impressive records that still stand today: total yards receiving and the most passes caught in a single game.

After finishing college and graduate school, Hill became a strong supporter of minority-owned businesses. He became a pioneering businessman, starting various companies from fine restaurants to green energy businesses. In the 1990s, he also created business connections in countries like Russia and China.

Darryl Hill's Early Life

Darryl Hill was the older of two children born to Kermit and Palestine Hill in Washington, D.C.. His mother raised him as a Catholic.

His family had a history of being entrepreneurs, which means they started and ran their own businesses. His father, Kermit, owned and operated Hill’s Transfer Company. In the 1950s and 1960s, this was one of the largest commercial trucking companies owned by a black person in the United States. Both of Darryl's grandfathers were also African American business owners. His great-grandfather, who was a Native American, was also an entrepreneur. He was the first person of color to be hired by the Washington, D.C. Fire Department.

Darryl attended public and parochial (Catholic) grade schools in D.C. He then went to Jesuit Gonzaga College High School on an academic scholarship, which he earned by passing a tough entrance exam. While at Gonzaga, he became the first African American to play football for the school. In 1959, he helped lead his team to win the City Championship. In his final year, Hill was named first team All DC Metropolitan in football. In track and field, he was the Catholic League champion and record holder in the 400 yard dash and the long jump.

College Football Career

In 1960, at just 16 years old, Hill received a football scholarship to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, he was the top scorer and gained the most yards for the freshman football team.

In 1961, he was given a special appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He was the first black man to play football at Navy and one of the first to play at any military academy. He was a star on Navy’s freshman team, where he was a favorite target for future Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Roger Staubach. Hill led his team in all-purpose yardage, helping them achieve an impressive 8-1 record.

In 1962, Hill decided to leave the Naval Academy. He was then recruited by future ESPN sports analyst Lee Corso, who was an assistant coach at the University of Maryland. Corso had been encouraged by Maryland's head coach, Tom Nugent, to find a black athlete for the team. At first, Hill was unsure about transferring. He said, "I'm no Jackie Robinson. I just want to play football." But when he was told it might be years before another black player would be recruited, Hill agreed. When he enrolled at Maryland in September 1962, Darryl Hill became the first African American to receive an athletic scholarship to play sports for a major university in the South. Maryland was part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). At that time, neither the ACC nor the other two major athletic conferences in the South (the Southeastern Conference and the Southwest Conference) had any African Americans playing football for their teams.

After sitting out one year, Hill played his first historic game on September 21, 1963, at home against North Carolina State. Hill quickly became a top wide receiver for the team. He didn't face much racism from other players, but some coaches and fans were very offensive. When the Maryland team played at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, they were protected by the National Guard. Coach Nugent even received a death threat by phone. After that game, Hill's teammates helped him get through a crowd of angry fans. With the strong support of his teammates, Hill played through the entire season. When the team traveled in the South, they stuck together, only staying at hotels and restaurants that would serve Hill. He finished the season with 43 catches, just five short of the ACC record.

At the end of that season, the Terps played an away game against the Clemson University Tigers. Clemson's coach, Frank Howard, had vowed that his team would not allow any black player in their stadium, which was known as "Death Valley." Clemson threatened to pull out of the game if Maryland brought Hill. Darryl's mother, Palestine, was not allowed to enter the "whites only" stadium through the general entrance. However, Clemson President Robert Edwards personally took Mrs. Hill to his private box. The game went on, and Darryl Hill set an ACC record in that game for pass receptions in a single game, a record that stood for many years.

Business Ventures

After a short time with the practice squad of the New York Jets, Hill went to graduate school and started his business career. He worked to help minorities enter the business world. In 1969, he became the first Executive Director of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation in Washington, D.C. He then worked as Executive Director of the Washington, DC Business Development Center and the Greater Washington Business Center. Over ten years, his organizations helped 2,500 minority-owned businesses by providing technical assistance, marketing help, and financing. He also started the first publicly owned MESBIC (Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Company). President Richard Nixon appointed Hill as co-chairman of the National Minority Purchasing Council.

In 1977, Hill opened W.H. Bone & Company, which was one of the first black-owned mainstream, fine dining restaurants in the country.

In 1982, Hill moved to Alameda, California. He founded Pacific Energy Corporation and Polaris Energy, which were early companies focused on green energy. Polaris Energy operated on both the East and West coasts and became one of the nation’s largest energy companies owned by a minority.

In 1991, Hill turned his business focus to Russia after the break-up of the Soviet Union. He started several business projects, including buying a major optical company in the city of Novosibirsk. He took his company, Northstar International, to Central Siberia. There, he formed a joint venture (a business partnership) with the government of the Republic of Buryatia for forestry. Hill and Northstar also organized a project in Belem, Brazil to recover sunken timber from the Amazon River.

Hill also formed a joint venture with Ideal Packaging Company, which is one of the largest paperboard packaging companies in China. He gained the exclusive marketing rights for North America for their products.

During the 1990s, Hill opened more restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

In 2003, Hill became the Director of Major Gifts for the University of Maryland Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. During his time at Maryland, he completed one of the largest naming rights deals in college sports history. He arranged an agreement to name the football field Capital One Field.

Today, Hill is the Chairman of Kids Play USA Foundation. This organization works to remove financial barriers so that more young people can participate in sports.