BOBCATS 125: Charles Jackson
5/26/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Montana State's first African American football player was a brilliant guard and linebacker from 1956-59
Leading to the 2022 season, the 125th anniversary of Montana State's first football team, we will look at 125 of the greatest Bobcats. You can find details here and a directory here.
Charles Jackson, G, 1956-59
ALL-TIME TEAM: None
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America 1957/58, Bobcat Athletics Hal of Fame
A CLOSER LOOK: Arriving at Montana State sight unseen from Bainbridge Naval Base in the fall of 1956, Charlie Jackson became Montana State's first full-time African American student-athlete (joining fellow Hall of Famer Larry Chanay, who joined the basketball team later that fall). A fullback for most of his previous football life, Jackson used his strength and quickness to compensate for a lack of bulk and immediately settled into a starting role at guard. He was also a ferocious linebacker, but the emergence of freshmen linemen Jackson and Sonny Holland solidified the explosive offense that Montana State rode to the Rocky Mountain Conference and NAIA championships. Jackson entered the next three seasons listed as the team's second guard, but finished his career as a four-year starter on both sides of the ball and two-time mid-bracket honorable mention All-America. Following his Bobcat career he received his commission as an U.S. Army officer, and retired years later as a full colonel.
FROM FORMER TEAMMATE PHIL SCHNEIDER: "My first impression of Charlie, who was a senior when I was a sophomore, is that he was the first athlete I saw that obviously used weights. He was sculpted. He came from Winchester, Virginia, and he came to Montana State out of the Navy. I'm the starting freshman center for the Bobkittens, and we were cannon fodder for the varsity. We're scrimmaging, and he was one of the linebackers. I went to block him and he jumped up in the air and kicked me right in the head. Here I am a brash freshman, we had a pretty good freshman football team. I said, 'What the blank kind of thing is that,' and he said 'Welcome to the big time son.' He was a damn good football player and he retired as a Colonel in the United States Army."
Charles Jackson, G, 1956-59
ALL-TIME TEAM: None
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America 1957/58, Bobcat Athletics Hal of Fame
A CLOSER LOOK: Arriving at Montana State sight unseen from Bainbridge Naval Base in the fall of 1956, Charlie Jackson became Montana State's first full-time African American student-athlete (joining fellow Hall of Famer Larry Chanay, who joined the basketball team later that fall). A fullback for most of his previous football life, Jackson used his strength and quickness to compensate for a lack of bulk and immediately settled into a starting role at guard. He was also a ferocious linebacker, but the emergence of freshmen linemen Jackson and Sonny Holland solidified the explosive offense that Montana State rode to the Rocky Mountain Conference and NAIA championships. Jackson entered the next three seasons listed as the team's second guard, but finished his career as a four-year starter on both sides of the ball and two-time mid-bracket honorable mention All-America. Following his Bobcat career he received his commission as an U.S. Army officer, and retired years later as a full colonel.
FROM FORMER TEAMMATE PHIL SCHNEIDER: "My first impression of Charlie, who was a senior when I was a sophomore, is that he was the first athlete I saw that obviously used weights. He was sculpted. He came from Winchester, Virginia, and he came to Montana State out of the Navy. I'm the starting freshman center for the Bobkittens, and we were cannon fodder for the varsity. We're scrimmaging, and he was one of the linebackers. I went to block him and he jumped up in the air and kicked me right in the head. Here I am a brash freshman, we had a pretty good freshman football team. I said, 'What the blank kind of thing is that,' and he said 'Welcome to the big time son.' He was a damn good football player and he retired as a Colonel in the United States Army."
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