Walter Beach

American football player (born 1933)

Walter Beach, III (born January 31, 1933) is a former American football player.

Beach grew up in Pontiac, Michigan and attended Pontiac Central High School, where he was a member of the varsity football, basketball, and track teams, and reportedly held the state record in the 100 and 200 yard dashes. He also played American Legion baseball. Following high school, he served for four years in the U. S. Air Force, three of them spent in Germany.

After completion of his military service, Beach attended Central Michigan University from 1956 to 1960, graduating in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. and his 1957 single season rushing yardage, 1,084. Among numerous other honors, Beach was named first team all conference in 1957 and 1958, Central Michigan's most valuable player in 1958 and 1959, and AP All American in 1959. He was inducted into the University's Hall of Fame in 1985. Beach was the only African American player on the team. He later praised the team's (white) coach, Kenneth Kelly, as "a man" for refusing to accept racism aimed at Beach. For example, Beach said, when the team was on the road and a hotel refused to provide accommodation for Beach because of his skin color, Coach Kelly told the hotel and the team, "In that case, all of us are sleeping on the team bus tonight." In addition to playing football, Beach also ran track for Central Michigan, tying the school record in the 100 yard dash. After a year away from football, Beach played cornerback for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League for four seasons at a time, according to Beach, that many teams believed African American players lacked the intelligence to play defensive back. He credits his friend and high school teammate Jim Shorter, who then played defensive back for the Browns, for recommending that he contact the Browns before the 1963 season, and they offered him a contract. That season, however, he only played in one game. 1964 was Beach's (and probably, as of 2022, the Browns') best season in professional football. He states that he was almost cut from the team in training camp, but that the Browns' star running back Jim Brown intervened, successfully arguing with the team that they should keep Beach, as he was a "quality player." Beach played right cornerback in 14 games, started in 13 of them, made four interceptions for 81 yards including one 65 yard touchdown, and recovered one fumble. In the 1964 NFL Championship Game, which the Browns won 27 0 over the favored Baltimore Colts, Beach was a key part of a Browns defense that shut out its opponents in a championship game, an accomplishment that, as of 2022, no professional football team has repeated since 1964. Beach started the game, covered future Hall of Fame wide receiver Raymond Berry, held him to three receptions for 38 yards, made one interception on Johnny Unitas, and returned it for nine yards. In the 1965 season, Beach started in eight games and played in ten. In the 1965 NFL Championship Game, although the Browns lost 23 12 to the Green Bay Packers, Beach intercepted another legendary quarterback, Bart Starr. Following that season, on June 4, 1967, Beach was part of a group of twelve prominent African American men ― eleven athletes and one politician ― who, in what is now known as the "Cleveland Summit" or the "Muhammad Ali Summit," met and then publicly supported Muhammad Ali's refusal to be inducted into the United States Army, as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. The lawsuit was settled in 1975, with Beach receiving back pay and his pension (which had been denied).