A cable documentary this weekend features the history-making story of Drakefootball player Johnny Bright. Bright’s jaw was intentionally broken in aracially motivated attack by an Oklahoma A&M player in a game in 1951. DesMoines Register photographers John Robinson and Don Ultang captured theattack and won the Pulitzer prize for those photographs. The Bright story ispart of a 90 minute documentary on Pulitzer prize photographs on TurnerNetwork Television. Cyma Rubin produced the documentary.The attack on Bright ended his legendary career at Drake and led to a numberof changes in college football, including the adoption of the facemask.Rubin says the story is unique too because Ultang and Robinson didn’t setout to focus on Bright.Ultang is still living and he and other Drake athletes were interviewed forthe documentary. The special equipment used for the photographs ishighlighted as well.Bright went on to star in the Canadian Football League. He died in 1983 atthe age of 53. The documentary, “Moment of Impact: Stories of Pulitzer PrizePhotographs” airs Sunday night at 7 p.m.
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