Described by the late Colorado sports information director Fred Cassotti as a “quick, agile tackle that provided bone-crushing lead blocks,” John Wooten spent many years paving the way for backs before he paved the way as a civil rights leader. Born on Dec. 5, 1936, in the Houston suburb of Riverview, Wooten and his single-mother Henrietta moved to Carlsbad, N.M., where he attended segregated schools through the ninth grade. The segregated school in his district did not have enough students for a football team, so his only chance to play would come at the then-newly integrated Carlsbad High School.
Wooten joined the school’s varsity football team as a sophomore, and he earned All-State honors in both football and basketball as a senior in 1954. He received offers to play football at Colorado, Dartmouth, Florida A&M, UCLA, New Mexico and New Mexico State. Only Hugh Davidson, the Colorado freshman team coach, was able to sway Wooten’s mother to let her son go off to college.
“Colorado was the right place for me,” Wooten said.
Wooten joined the Buffs’ football team in 1955, becoming just the second African-American varsity football player in school history and coupling with Franklin Clarke who had earned a spot on the roster the previous season. Wooten and Clarke faced some adversity as some of the first African-American players at a major university. On a road trip to Kansas State in Wooten’s first year, the two were not served at soda fountains and had to walk back to the hotel from their team outing to the movies, according to Wooten. However, they found support in their teammates.
“We had great friendships that still continue to this day,” Wooten said.
In Wooten’s sophomore season, he helped Colorado to an 8-2-1 record and a 27-21 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Although Oklahoma won the Big Seven title that season, they had played in the bowl the previous season, and there was a rule that prohibited teams from going to the same bowl game in consecutive seasons, giving the Buffs the coveted post-season opportunity. Before the game, Clemson’s athletic department informed then-Colorado athletics director Harry Carlson that according to the State Constitution of South Carolina, the Tigers would not play a team with African-American players. The Orange Bowl Committee refused to change the matchup, keeping Colorado in the game.
“The great thing about all of this was our people never wavered on where they stood,” Wooten said. “We knew the times, but our people stood by what was right.”
The following season, Wooten earned First Team All-Big Seven honors blocking for quarterback Bob Stransky, who led the conference in rushing yards (1,097), rushing touchdowns (11) and total touchdowns (14). As a senior, Wooten continued to provide spurn defenders for quarterback Howard Cook, who led the conference in rushing touchdowns (8) and total touchdowns (11). A First Team All-American, Wooten became one of the first African-Americans to earn All-America honors as an interior lineman. After appearing in the Chicago College All-Star Game, Wooten graduated from Colorado with a bachelor’s in education.
Drafted in the fifth round (53rd overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Wooten would play left guard for the next nine seasons. In that span, he blocked for College Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown (Syracuse), who led the NFL in rushing yards for six of the seven seasons they played together. In 1965, Brown ran for 1,544 yards and a league-record 21 touchdowns, earning NFL MVP honors. Brown and Wooten led the Browns to consecutive NFL Championship appearances in 1964 and 1965, claiming the 1964 title with a 27-0 shutout of the Baltimore Colts. A First Team All-Pro selection in 1966, Wooten played one final season with the Washington Redskins in 1968 before hanging up his cleats.
After retiring from professional football, Wooten had a short stint as a sports agent before entering the NFL front office realm. He served as the director of Pro Scouting for the Dallas Cowboys for 17 years, and he then joined the Philadelphia Eagles as vice president for Player Personnel. In 1998, Wooten was named the assistant director of Pro and College Scouting for the Baltimore Ravens until his retirement in 2003. Since his retirement, he has worked tirelessly to defend current and former NFL players.
In 2003, he took over as chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance. Named after the former Brown running back and 1954 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, the Fritz Pollard Alliance is an affinity group that works in conjunction with the NFL on minority hiring in coaching, scouting and front office positions. The organization played a crucial role in the implementation of the “Rooney Rule,” which requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs.
Wooten was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and was named to Colorado's All-Century Team in 1989. He is also a member of the Browns All-Time All-Star Team, the Browns Ring of Honor and the Browns Legends Program. In 2013, Wooten received the National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas’ Distinguished Texan Award. Wooten, 79, resides in Arlington, Texas, with his wife Juanita.
