James Burney McAlester: The First Native American to Play Football for Vanderbilt University

By Will Thomas

James Burney McAlester was born in North McAlester, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) June 7, 1876*. He went on to become the first Native American to play football for Vanderbilt University. His father, James J. McAlester, served as U.S. Marshal for the United States Court in the Choctaw Nation from 1893 to 1897. His mother, Rebecca Burney, was a member of the Chickasaw nation, and his uncle, Benjamin C. Burney, was Governor of the Chickasaw Nation from 1887 to 1880.

J. B. McAlester, Nashville, Tennessee, 1898. Calvert Brothers Studios Glass Plate Negatives.

J. B. McAlester studied law at the University of Missouri and then at Vanderbilt University. During his time at Vanderbilt, he played left tackle on the 1897 football team. In his book 50 Years of Vanderbilt Football, famed sports writer Fred Russell calls the 1897 team the "Greatest Eleven of the Nineties." He also notes that McAlester was the only Native American to play football for Vanderbilt (at least, as of the time of the book's publication in 1938).

1897 Vanderbilt University football team in Fred Russell's 50 Years of Vanderbilt Football. Library Holdings.

During the 1890s and early 1900s, Vanderbilt's greatest rival wasn't the University of Tennessee – it was Sewanee (now named University of the South). Between 1891 and 1944, Sewanee and Vanderbilt would battle it out on the gridiron 52 times. Vanderbilt won 40 of the games, Sewanee won 8, and there were 4 tie games.

Statements by Sewanee team captain, Oscar Wilder and Vanderbilt team manager, Lester G. Fant (misspelled in the newspaper), about the 1897 game, Nashville American, Nov. 25, 1897. Newspaper Microfilm Collection.

In 1897, the two teams met in Nashville November 25 (Thanksgiving Day). The game, which Vanderbilt won 10-0, received a great deal of coverage in the Nashville American newspaper (later renamed the Tennessean).

List of players on the Sewanee and Vanderbilt football teams with their respective weights, Nashville American, Nov. 25, 1897. Newspaper Microfilm Collection.

One article lists the offensive players for each team and gives their respective weights (although it incorrectly lists McAlester as "J. E." McAlester). Tipping the scales at 190 lbs., McAlester was the heaviest player on Vanderbilt's team. Now, of course, an offensive lineman under 200 lbs. or a 134 lb. quarterback is something you might only expect to see on a junior high school team.

Illustration depicting Vanderbilt scoring a touchdown against Sewanee, Nashville American, Nov. 26, 1897. Newspaper Microfilm Collection.

*There is some discrepancy about when McAlester was born. His World War I draft registration (which he filled out) lists his birth year as 1876. His death certificate, however, lists his birth year as 1874, and his tombstone lists it as 1875. The date he himself gave is most likely the correct one.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Cherokee Syllabary and the Penelope Johnson Allen Cherokee Collection

Sequoyah, the originator of the Cherokee syllabary, was born about 1776 at the village of Tuskegee, near modern-day Vonore. His father, Nathaniel Gist, was a fur trader from Virginia and his mother, Wut-teh, was the daughter of a Cherokee Chief.

Portrait of Sequoyah, credited with inventing the Cherokee alphabet, ca. 1838, from McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs.
Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA)

Although Sequoyah did not read English, he created a writing system for the Cherokee people. Sequoyah worked on his new language for 12 years before introducing it to the Cherokee in 1821. The Cherokee Syllabary is made up of 85 symbols representing various sounds. Some of the symbols resemble English and Latin characters.

The Penelope Johnson Allen Cherokee Collection, 1775-1878, contains a letter as well as parliamentary rules for the Cherokee Senate and a memorandum to John Ross, all written in Cherokee. The letter is from George Lowrey, Assistant Principal Chief of the Eastern Cherokee and Sequoyah’s cousin, to John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and is dated January 5, 1838. An English translation of the letter is included in the collection.

For more information on the Penelope Johnson Allen Cherokee Collection, see the online finding aid: http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/manuscripts/findingaids/1787.pdf.

To view images of the McKenney-Hall portraits of Sequoyah and John Ross as well as an example of the Cherokee Syllabary showing the characters systematically arranged with the sounds, visit the McKenney-Hall 19th Century Native-American Prints Collection on TeVA: http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/mckenneyHal.

Cherokee Syllabary depicting characters systematically arranged with the sounds, ca. 1836-1844, from McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs.
Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA)

Letter, written in Cherokee, from George Lowrey, Assistant Principal Chief of the Eastern Cherokee and Sequoyah’s cousin, to John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, dated January 5, 1838.
Penelope Johnson Allen Cherokee Collection, 1775--1878.

Portrait of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee from 1828 until his death in 1866, ca. 1843, from McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs.
Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA)

Memorandum, written in Cherokee, sent to John Ross in Washington, November 15, 1837.
Penelope Johnson Allen Cherokee Collection, 1775--1878.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.