Princeton University Athletics
Framing a Lifetime of Courage
December 04, 2000 | General
It is 1994. As a record-setting Princeton receiver prepares to do battle in Palmer Stadium, he walks past a picture from 1964, then stops before it. He wears the anniversary patch to commemorate 125 years of the sport of football. Thirty years separate the image and the player, but the impact is immediate. As he touches the patch on his game jersey, he remembers.
"I never met Hayward Gipson, but I remember seeing his picture up on the wall, of seeing him among all the other players," says Marc Ross '95, now a scout with the Philadelphia Eagles. "He stood out to me for the obvious reason of being the only black player on that 1964 undefeated team, but also because of what he stood for. It was inspirational to me, as a black athlete, to know what he went through when he played, to think about what he faced. He set an example for those who came after him, and I think he should be respected and admired for that."
Hayward Gipson '67 doesn't think too much about the role he's played in Princeton football history. In fact, he has no idea what kind of impact he's had. Just ask Ross, an All-Ivy standout receiver for the Tigers, who set school records for most punt return yards in a game (161 vs. Cornell, 1994) and average yards per reception (20.2, 1993) and who recalls Hayward Gipson's name as easily as anyone else in Princeton circles. They remember.
At Old Nassau this gentleman of the gridiron, "The Gipper" as he came to be known, most assuredly is respected and admired. The Scotch Plains scholar-athlete who tackled Ivy football head on, both literally and figuratively, was an All-Ivy defensive back and the first African-American varsity letterwinner in Princeton football history. He also holds the distinction of making Princeton the last Ivy League school to break the color barrier in athletics.
Yet, to uncover the story of Hayward Gipson, you'll not get much help from him. Why? For as dynamic and successful as Hayward Gipson is, he is equally modest.
Unlike Ross' view of him, Gipson does not believe his own achievements at Princeton and beyond should be seen as exceptional. Gipson attributes his athletic success to the many role models that surrounded him and credits Princeton as a whole with preparing him for the corporate dominance he now enjoys as president and CEO of Playtex Apparel, Inc. in Stamford, Conn.
"My athletic involvement allowed me to be surrounded by people who really believed that you could make a difference, that you could be a winner," says Gipson. "I had these examples all around me, and that's why I really had no one role model, I had several. I learned something from everyone I came in contact with, and that prevailing message of potential was tremendously inspirational to me."
To tell Gipson that he has returned the favor draws an unsurprisingly humble reply, because he views his steady rise to his current position as the by-product of Princeton's culture.
"I was surrounded by incredibly positive examples while I was in school that I carried with me into the corporate world," he says. "These people took care of what they had to do, they were focused and committed. I believed that anything was possible if you worked hard and kept at it. Princeton was an excellent experience for me in that respect."
Gipson's commitment to Princeton football was equally inspiring. Just one look at Princeton's position atop the Ivy League during Gipson's tenure is proof enough of his defensive impact. His 5' 11'', 190-pound frame belied the smothering tackles he became notorious for as a Tiger, and from 1964 to 1966, Princeton football likewise smothered its opponents, suffering only two losses in the Ivy League. The Tigers went undefeated in Gipson's sophomore year, (his first of three as a letter-winning cornerback) winning the Ivies outright, finished second with only one loss the following year, and shared the Ivy title in Gipson's senior year. In that final season, as the Tigers trailed the Elis in the Yale Bowl, Gipson offered one of his "greatest moments in a Princeton uniform" when he and teammate Walt Kozumbo blocked a punt late in the game that Tiger Larry Stupski carried into the end zone for the game-winner. That victory assured Princeton a piece of the Ivy title heading into their last contest against Cornell, which the Tigers won 7-0.
Incredibly, football remained only one of several responsibilities Gipson embraced. His hectic schedule while at Princeton might jar the senses (he juggled marriage, two young children, a job and a two-sport career in track and football in addition to his studies in sociology and volunteer work in a poverty education program in Scotch Plains), but Gipson found it nothing exceptional and simply good preparation for his career.
"Early on, Princeton gave me the opportunity to deal with a variety of people. I had an innate interest in people to begin with, and I think my ability to be flexible and adaptable to situations really helped me in both my professional and personal lives."
Adaptability could be Gipson's greatest asset. Faced with a major hamstring injury in his first season of football, Gipson was switched from offense to defense and never looked back, earning All-Ivy defensive honors and kudos as "the surest tackler on the squad." Similarly, entering Princeton intent on architecture as a major, because he had "always been interested in design and considered myself a fairly creative person, but ultimately didn't get along with math," he switched to sociology after being inspired by a professor's remark in a freshman course.
"I took an introductory sociology course my freshman year, and I'll never forget what the lecturer, professor Melvin Tumin, offered to the class. He stood before us and said: `You should study sociology if you're the kind of person who couldn't walk past a door that was closed without having a tremendous urge to bend down and look through the keyhole.' It stayed with me, this idea of trying to understand what's beneath the surface, and so I decided on sociology as a major. Professor Tumin ended up being my faculty advisor."
And getting beneath the surface is exactly what Gipson continues to stress about his importance to Princeton.
"I would want to be remembered by Princeton as someone who gained tremendously from the Princeton experience, but who also allowed others to gain just by getting to know me." There are many who have, despite their arrival at Old Nassau well after "The Gipper's" departure.
And though the subtle Hayward Gipson is somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of his legacy as the athlete who broke racial barriers at Princeton, he is gracious enough to stress that its significance lies in its utility to others.
"You know, I think about it from time to time, but I don't dwell on it [his legacy]. I am thrilled to see people of color participating in a variety of things at the University. If there's anything I've done that has encouraged people to feel comfortable in pursuing those things, I am pleased with that and hope it fosters more involvement in the future."
He is similarly humble when offering himself as an inspiration in the business world.
"My advice to young people as a result of my own experience would be to tell them that just about anything that you can imagine is possible if you put yourself in the position for the best opportunity, and when that opportunity arises, to make sure you are successful in it. It's not going to be easy, you've got to work hard and apply yourself, but it's possible."
Hayward Gipson's advice underscores his reluctance to embrace his example of success and perseverance as singular. Ross more accurately expresses Gipson's legacy:
"His role as one of the first black players in a Princeton uniform doesn't say everything about what he's accomplished in his life or who he is entirely as a person, but it does represent something very important about him and Princeton Athletics. And [because of his humility] he'll probably try to minimize his impact, to not see it as the example that it was, but we can't afford to miss that. It's a great thing."
Indeed it is.