‘Humbled and grateful’: Once denied, former Myers Park athlete honored with scholarship

CHARLOTTE — Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, an athlete once named All-American and voted best football player in Charlotte, will now have a scholarship named after him.

Kirkpatrick’s story about resilience started more than 50 years ago when the game had not been desegregated.

“I’m old enough to remember the old Charlotte,” Kirkpatrick told Channel 9 reporter DaShawn Brown. “I can remember the segregated theaters, parks.”

[‘She stayed hungry, humble’: Charlotte athlete competes in Tokyo Olympics]

Kirkpatrick remembers 1965, when he was a standout running back at the all-Black Second Ward High School. He had the option to become among the first students to desegregate an all-white Myers Park High School and join their football team.

“The community was kind of divided on whether I should go,” he said. “It was the time of the Civil Rights movement and integration. I was basically the only Black player at any time on the field, so certainly, there were times when players may have roughed you up or said things. Or when you were underneath the pile, a couple of times you were spat on. I didn’t have that kind of fear or concern at Myers Park and I know it had a lot to do with me being a good football player.”

Kirkpatrick scored 19 touchdowns during his senior season at Myers Park when he was named All-American.

“I was voted best player in the city that year,” he said. “It was a Thom McCan trophy. They would bronze your shoe and put it in your high school. It was great. It’s still at Myers Park.”

However, the Grier Heights native was excluded from the All-Star game, also known as the Shrine Bowl. There was controversy and a legal challenge following that decision.

[READ MORE: NC governor’s order grants college athlete compensation]

“As soon as the players were chosen, the people around me immediately go, ‘Here it is, Jimmie. Told you that was going to happen.‘ You know?” Kirkpatrick said. “The lawyer, a Julius Chambers, spoke with my mother and told her that I was certainly the center of the controversy. But I wasn’t a part of the litigation.”

The judge ruled that future Shrine Bowls should be integrated. Kirkpatrick was not able to play in that game but said it was an honor to have a scholarship named after him.

“I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the whole thing because I’m still fairly shocked about it,” he told Channel 9.

The Charlotte Sports Foundation recently created a new scholarship bearing Kirkpatrick’s name and the depth of his legacy. Each year, a senior playing football in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will be awarded after being chosen from 19 finalists nominated by each school.

[ALSO READ: CMS suspends rule requiring student-athletes to maintain 2.0 GPA this fall]

They will be honored for their talent, passion, and service.

“In some ways, it’s going to allow young people, the recipients of this award, to ask those questions, like, ‘Well, who is Jimmy Lee?’” Kirkpatrick said. “For me, personally, it just reaffirms a lot of the things that I have believed in about myself. And about people and humanity. It’s coming full circle in some ways. I’m just humbled and grateful.”

The official scholarship is called The Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick Award presented by Dr Pepper.

The award comes with a $10,000 scholarship, a trophy and recognition at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

(Watch the video below: Panthers receiver Brandon Zylstra awards scholarship to 2 high school students)

Panthers receiver Brandon Zylstra awards scholarship to 2 high school students

©2021 Cox Media Group