Forgotten Four

The Forgotten Four: The Re-Integration of Pro Football

Name: William "Tony" Barton , FSU c/o 2017 with BA in Studio Art

Instagram/Twitter: barton_tb3

Facebook: TonyBartonArt

Website: tonybarton.net

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I created this piece because I've always had an interest in sports, yet didn't want to create a simple portrait of current athletes. I wanted to focus on subjects that don't garner much attention and have been overlooked in history. As a young black man,I want to create work that sparks interest from those who would think they can't relate as well as teach others, and even my community about our contributions to the sports, which most of us use as an escape in these controversial times. I also intend to inspire upcoming prospects by showing that they have more power than they realize and they don't need certain schools to have a successful sports career if they choose to; that their talent determines their fate, not exposure at a D1 university.

If you catch a football game on Sundays, and even Saturdays, you would see how invested this nation is in college football, more specifically blacks in athletics. Although there is a business aspect behind the sport, over half the leagues are predominately African American and are based on the success of these players for their respective teams. As much progress has led to this observation, there was a time where blacks were "blackballed" from the professional league for different reasons (race, WWII, replacing white players on rosters, etc). To me, this piece is a visual representation of the men who are considered the "Jackie Robinson" of football and their plight to change the game into what we see today on forever. They're known as "The Forgotten Four" because at the time of their arrival, baseball was the popular sport and football was looked down upon, even professionally.

If you would like to pick up your shirt on June 20 at Happy Motoring, please enter promo code PICKUP at checkout, otherwise your shirt will be shipped to you.