Ken Washington                  Tiger Woods

 * Times Change *

Stanford University. Good school. I spent four years there as a undergraduate. During my freshman year in 1959 I pledged Sigma Chi and lived in the fraternity house until graduation in 1963.

We were a jock house. Had nearly half the varsity basketball team and a quarter of the football team. I was captain of the varsity soccer team which went to the NCAA finals in St. Louis plus we were strongly represented in nearly every varsity sport. We weren't too shabby academically either.

Funny thing. None of the Sigma Chi brothers were African American. I don't remember during rush ever deciding to vote "yes" or "no" to pledge someone based on color. Pure and simple there were very few black men coming through rush and none that clicked with our fraternity.

1965 was different. I was at Stanford in law school and on April 3rd our Sigma Chi chapter pledged 20 men and began having them over to the house for meals with the actives extending the warmth of new friendships to each pledge. Along with the necessary paperwork, photos of each pledge were sent to the national Sigma Chi headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

One pledge was different from any pledge that had ever accepted a bid from the Stanford Sigma Chi chapter. Ken Washington was black. He was the son of a Denver physician, captain of his high school basketball team, a jazz musician, and the state speech champion. Plus he was one very fine young man.

It didn't take long. On April 10th the chapter received notification from the Sigma Chi national executive committee that it had been suspended for a year. The Grand Consul didn't hold back any words saying: "it has been made crystal clear to us that your group is not particularly interested in carrying on the rituals, standards and the traditions of the Fraternity" plus the chapter had "the dirtiest fraternity house I have ever seen."

The chapter did not back down and received the full support from Stanford's President, Wallace Sterling, from Senator Metcalf of Montana who was a Sigma Chi alumnus as well as support from many other universities, organizations, and individuals throughout the United States. None-the-less the one year suspension was extended to two and then three years until the Stanford chapter was no longer affiliated with the national.

Even though the Sigma Chi replaced it's "white clause" in 1962 with a clause that stated no chapter could pledge a man "who for any reason is likely to be considered personally unacceptable as a brother by any chapter or any member anywhere," it took until the early 70's for the national to accept African Americans as pledges and brothers. The Stanford Sigma Chi chapter then applied for and was readmitted into the national.

About 10 years ago I was visiting Stanford and decided to stop back to the Sigma Chi house for a visit. Actually the former Grand Consul wasn't totally off base, the house was still pretty dirty.

After walking around the house for awhile, I met a few of the pledges and had a great time visiting with them. If this were the future of America, I felt we are in good hands.

One man was a black pledge who was especially personable. What a good man. I thought back to when I was in graduate school and how the chapter had been forced out of the national. I felt good inside that the national had finally come to its senses. How wrong they had been.

I didn't think much more about my visit to the house. About a year later I picked up a copy of a magazine and there was the black fellow. Right on the cover.

Tiger Woods. How about that. Bet he would be considered acceptable "as a brother by any chapter or any member anywhere."

      ~  The Author is C. F. Sandy Pofahl who is editor of 52Best   ~

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