The Johnny Bright incident was a violent on-field assault against African-American player Johnny Bright by Wilbanks Smith, a white opposing player during an American college football game held on October 20, 1951, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The game was significant in itself as it marked the first time that an African-American athlete with a national profile and of critical importance to the success of his team, the Drake Bulldogs, had played against Oklahoma A&M College at Oklahoma A&M's Lewis Field. Bright's injury also highlighted the racial tensions of the times and assumed notoriety when it was captured in what was later to become both a widely disseminated and eventually Pulitzer Prize–winning photo sequence.
Johnny Bright Incident – October 21, 1951 Des Moines Register newspaper page showing Robinson and Ultang photo sequence
The Pulitzer Prize–winning sequence of photos showing the first hit on Johnny Bright by Wilbanks Smith
Image: John D. Bright, 1952 Drake University Quax yearbook portrait
Image: Wilbanks Smith, 1951 Oklahoma A&M College Redskin yearbook football portrait
John Dee Bright was an American professional football player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Drake Bulldogs. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and the Des Moines Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
Bright depicted in a 1959 football card
Johnny Bright Incident – October 21, 1951 Des Moines Register newspaper cover showing Robinson and Ultang photo sequence
Bright's senior portrait in the 1952 Drake University yearbook
Bright football card issued by Topps
