HUDSON DAY

Marion Hudson made his decision to go to college at a time when gaining a college education wasn’t a common thing among young black men. He had a lot of questions: Could he afford it? Would he be ready for the rigors of a four-year college education? What would he study and where would a degree lead him?

One question Hudson didn’t have to ask himself back in the summer of 1952 was whether the all-white student body at Dana College would accept him.

The students at Dana had felt so strongly that their campus needed racial diversity, they independently raised money for a scholarship to bring African-American students to Dana. A full decade before Alabama Governor George Wallace promised “segregation forever,” and then grudgingly allowed the University of Alabama to admit African-American students, Hudson was the first black student at Dana, the recipient of the students’ $355 scholarship.

Hudson would become that first black student, but it wasn’t what has given him legendary status today. From the moment he attended his first football practice, Hudson would become Dana’s finest all-around athlete, smashing records on the gridiron, the basketball court and the track.

Fifty years after he first came on the students’ scholarship, Dana alumni and friends came together once more to honor Hudson and his achievements. At the Nov. 8, 2003, football game against Northwestern College, Dana College President Myrvin Christopherson declared Marion Hudson Day and a new scholarship in honor of Hudson was created, funded by money donated by Hudson’s former classmates, teammates and a lifelong admirer.

Alex Meyer of Snyder, Neb., said he followed Hudson’s athletic career through the sports pages of the Omaha World-Herald. His interest was rekindled in the past few years, as he has gotten to know Hudson personally. Because of Hudson’s quiet humility, Meyer has learned more about the star athlete through contacts with Hudson’s former teammates. He continues to research Hudson’s athletic achievements to amass a permanent record for Hudson and his family.

Hudson first made his mark at Dana as a running back, rushing for 2,383 yards in his career. His own best marks also rank among Dana’s all-time bests: 67 points scored in a season and 157 points overall. His four rushing touchdowns against Parson College of Iowa in 1953 still ranks high in the Dana record books.

His football prowess earned him first-team all-conference running back honors in the Central Church College Conference three times. He was good for a first down on many occasions, ending his four-year career with an average of 7.78 yards per carry and 103.6 yards per game. In his best season, his average was 8.67 yards per carry, and in one single game, he had an average of 12.3 yards.

Hudson was hardly a one-dimensional athlete, though. He received 12 varsity sports letters while at Dana. Teammates still remember that while he barely stood 6 foot tall, he could jump high enough to have his elbows touch the basketball rim. On the court, he could be relied on for both his scoring and defense.

As dominant as Hudson had been in football and basketball, it was in the spring of his freshman year that he showed his potential to be a legend. In 1953, Hudson long-jumped 24 feet 43/8 inches, just 6 inches less than the gold medalist at the 1952 Olympic Games. By the time Hudson left Dana in 1956, he had bettered his long jump mark to 24 feet 6 inches, still Dana’s all-time best.

During that freshman year of track he scored more points by himself in the 1953 Drake Relays than all of the Big Seven Conference schools combined. His former coach, Kieth Skogman, remembered Marion’s best single day occurred at one of the Doane Relays during his college career. Facing some of the nation’s best college athletes, he came away winning the 100 and 220 yard dashes, the high jump and the long jump.

Hudson became fascinated watching his teammate, Lynn Farrens ’56, working out with the javelin one day at practice. He asked for a turn and threw the stick about 175 yards, twice as far as Farrens was throwing. Once he learned how to throw it correctly, his marks just continued to increase. His best was 208 feet 81/2 inches, yet another Dana record.

Hudson’s strength and speed came somewhat naturally, but not without hard work. Dana lacked any kind of weight room at the time, so Hudson and his roommate, John Lodl ’56, turned their dorm room into the campus weight lifting center. Hudson would do situps while holding 88 pounds of weight behind his head.

Hudson carried his own dream, and the dream of the Dana students who helped to bring him to the campus, to a successful end when he received his bachelor of science degree in 1956. His majors were history and education, which became a background for a career that took him to several places around the Midwest.

A member of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1994 along with his football coach, Paul Peterson), Hudson was also among the first three inductees into the Dana Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976 and was the Lincoln Star’s State Athlete of the Year in 1956.

He is the father of seven children, five of them adopted. He and his wife, Ella, are residents of Omaha. As the years went by, his wife said, family commitments, church and singing forced him to give up his sports activities. Now retired and facing some health problems, Hudson continues to remember his Dana years as some of the most memorable of his life, but not just for the places on the record boards. His family heard many stories of his time at Dana through the years, particularly about the support of his teammates as Hudson faced the challenges of being a black athlete in the 1950s, traveling to many places where segregation was common. Many of his teammates have continued to stay in contact with him through the years.

“It’s the friendships that you remember most,” he said.