Jackson State University has a rich and colorful history in football dating back to 1911, the first year football was mentioned in the college's catalog.

Since 1911, the Tigers have produced over 50 All Americans, had 100 players selected in the NFL draft, including seven first-round draft picks, and had four players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The 21 head coaches in Jackson State's history have led the team to a 495-349-22 career record, 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, and four black college national championships.

When Jackson State kicks off its 111^th season of football a week from today against Florida A&M University in Miami, Florida on September 4, 2022, the Tigers will be on the cusp of another significant milestone.  With five victories, JSU will reach the 500^th win plateau.

Since 1911, Jackson State has had many significant victories and winning seasons that have made the team one of the most successful college football programs in the country.  Perhaps no season is more notable than the 1920 season.

Dr. Lelia G. Rhodes chronicled in her book "Jackson State University, The First 100 Years, 1877-1977" that the 1920 season almost didn't happen.  Upon the resignation of Jubie Braggs, the team's second head coach, Jackson State was without a head coach during the 1920 academic year. 

For at least two weeks, there were but five or six players present for practice.  President Zachary Hubert suggested the players forget about football for that year.  The students continued to practice until the number reached 13.  The team selected Earnest Richards, a teacher of French and a man who had never played football, to serve as coach.  These 13 players demonstrated such relentless resolve and strong dedication to the game, as they directed their practices and instituted their own plays.  They became known as "The Iron Thirteen."

Ironically, the team won its first game, 13-0, over Tougaloo College, and went on to win every game that was scheduled that year, including victories of 63-0 over Utica and 21-14 over Mississippi Industrial College on Thanksgiving Day.  The team went undefeated for three years.

The famous "Iron Thirteen" included Henry Johnson (RE), Earl Banks (RT), Horace Johnson (RG), Edgar "Trip" Stewart (C), Luther Marshall (LG), Theodore Ambrose (LT), Joe Boothe (LE), Roy Bolton (FB), Percy Greene (LHB), W. A. Scott (QB) and Horace Brown (RHB).  Substitutes were Horace Courtney and Aureleus Scott.  Banks, Stewart, Marshall, Ambrose and Greene are in the JSU Sports Hall of Fame. 

In 1938, Greene started the Jackson Advocate, now the oldest black-owned newspaper in Mississippi.

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