Pioneer, activist, scholar, and a whale of an athlete, Roger Alford became the first African-American to earn an athletic scholarship at WVU in 1962. Along with fullback Dick Leftridge, he integrated the Southern Conference in 1963.
The Wintersville, Ohio, native was a three-sport standout in high school. After an NCAA-mandated year on the freshman team at WVU, he started his sophomore year on defense for coach Gene Corum before finally finding his niche at right guard late in the season.
He anchored the line his junior year, helping to lead the Mountaineers to a huge upset win against No. 9 Syracuse and a bowl appearance in 1964, their first in a decade.
At 5-foot-10 and 219 pounds, Alford was a powerful, mobile lineman, and he somehow managed to maintain an upbeat, positive disposition despite the challenges he faced playing in front of often-hostile crowds during Southern Conference road games.
While Alford was talented enough to be named to WVU’s All-Decade team of the 1960s, perhaps his true calling was in the classroom. Alford earned four degrees at WVU, including bachelor’s, master’s, physical therapy, and dental degrees.
After graduating, Alford established his dental practice in Detroit, and became a successful and respected member of the Motor City community. He also gave back to his alma mater, serving on the board of directors of the WVU Alumni Association and the visiting committee of the School of Physical Education until his untimely death in 1996.
The popular Alford was posthumously honored with induction into the WVU School of Physical Education Hall of Fame in 1996, WVU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and most recently, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2017.
During a time when the emphasis in college football seems to sometimes slip more toward the latter, rather than the former, Alford was a shining, sunny example of a Mountaineer who truly epitomized what it means to be a scholar-athlete.
