Long before most of the Q's modern players were even born,
Chalklines San Quentin's gridiron was a battlefield where players faced off
against their greatest foe — the inner self.
S
By Marcus Henderson
Photos courtesy of Nigel Poor
an Quentin’s gridiron (football field) is possibly the only place in the prison where it’s legal to hit someone and get away with it. Not in the name of violence, but in the spirit of sportsmanship and winning. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, the incarcerated men played tackle football against outside teams — à la the movie The Longest Yard (1974), where Burt Reynolds played a jailed former pro quarterback who led his team to victory against the Warden’s hand-picked squad. But in real life, these SQ convicts donned shoulder pads, helmets and cleats to take on community teams such as Concord Naval Weapon Station and Alameda Naval Air Station. Can one imagine prisoners and free people suiting up and hitting each other? That’s classic.
Since the beginning of the prison, all the San Quentin sports team were called the Pirates (baseball, football and basketball). Maybe it’s because the prison was started on a ship back in 1852, or perhaps the prisoners took on the Pirates name to find some sense of pride as societal outcasts. In 1979, the Pirates went undefeated, winning all seven games of their season. The historical team had a balanced attack of running the ball and superb passing. The defense was smothering. The team held their opponents to only 31-points for the entire season while they racked up 221 points. They beat Moffett Field 24-3, sunk the Coast Guard 46-0, trampled Mare Island 38-16, and buried Treasure Island 34-0, according to SQNews 1979 Nov. 23 issue. “Although we’re losers for being in here doesn’t mean we have to be losers on the football field,” said “Luscious” Jackson at the time. “Besides having a lot of talent, we had the ability to play as
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WALL CITY
SUMMER 2022
