Memorabilia
Joe Gunning is creating and donating a $250 statue of Lou Montgomery to help with fundraising at our first annual Gala, to be held in June, in Brockton.
www.halloffamecustoms.com
Books
Robert Cvornyek and Douglas Stark, editors: Race and Resistance in Boston: A Contested Sports History, 2025
Boston’s Black Athletes: Identity, Performance, and Activism, 2024
Museums
The Sports Museum
TD Garden, 100 Legends Way
Boston, MA 02114
Richard A. Johnson, curator
www.sportsmuseum.org/
Documentaries
Etoile Productions USA produced two documentary films covering Lou Montgomery
and some of his struggles and his ability to overcome so many challenges:
Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored
explores the racial climate of the times when in 1937, Lou Montgomery became the first black football player at Boston College. A major contributor to the building of BC’s “Team of Destiny,” Mr. Montgomery was left on the sidelines due to the racial prejudice of the Jim Crow era, and over time, Lou Montgomery and his contributions were forgotten, as were his sacrifices. The film was screened at Boston College in April 2016 and was part of the Reconnect II, AHANA Alumni Weekend at Boston College in July 2016. The film was also selected for screening at the Roxbury International Film Festival in 2017.
This compact documentary touches all the bases, presenting an informative and poignant picture of the intersection of segregation, enlightenment, and failure in America’s institutions of higher education. It is a thought-provoking look at a forgotten moment of shame at an otherwise crusading school. And it brings back into focus an admirable player in the war against racial injustice, an athlete who should not be forgotten. Paul Dervis, The Arts Fuse
bcheights.com/top-story/2016/the-lasting-legacy-of-lou-montgomery/
bcgavel.com/2016/03/03/documentary-revisits-history-of-racism-in-bc-football/
The film was screened at Boston College in April 2016 and was part of the Reconnect II, AHANA Alumni Weekend at Boston College in July 2016.
Lou Montgomery: His Story is Our Story,
a sequel to Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored, revolves around the ways in which society has chosen to address, or look past, the inequalities of racism and injustice, from the time Lou Montgomery was a young athlete growing up in Brockton, MA, through his college years. As a member of the 1940 “Team of Destiny” at Boston College, Lou Montgomery, the first Black athlete at BC, understood the significance of his role at a time when Jim Crow laws violated justice and perpetuated a racist America. Courageously teaching by example, he helped forge a path for other young Black athletes faced with being “the only,” or “the first.”
This documentary bridges Lou Montgomery’s story, beginning in the early 1930’s in Massachusetts, with contemporary experiences of high school and college student-athletes, through interviews with current and former members of Brockton High School and Boston College football teams. Through his own words and achievements, and the reflections of former members of the NFL, historians, educators/administrators, coaches, and religious leaders, Lou Montgomery, an outstanding athlete, scholar, and gentleman, continues to inspire the next generation to tackle racism, and to work together for social justice.