Colorado State University’s Canvas Stadium, near campus and in the heart of Fort Collins, hosted its first game in 2017. Seven years later, the university decided to use the field to honor one of its grads.
CSU’s Canvas Stadium’s 14 Yard Line Honors Graduate John W. Mosley
It was in September of 2024, that Colorado State Athletics retired jersey number “14” across all sports programs in honor of CSU graduate Lt. Colonel John William Mosley Jr. A year later, they made the decision to specially mark the 14 yard line of Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in his honor.
Mosley was just the second African American football player to play for the team when he joined the Colorado A&M Aggies in 1939; he was the first African American to “letter” in football, which he did in all three years of playing. Mosley also was on the wresting team for CSU where he would earn All-Conference honors.
After graduating from Colorado State, he set his sights on being a pilot. Clearly very smart, he taught himself how to fly planes and excelled at it enough (and fought hard enough) to become a member of the great Tuskegee Airmen in 1944, as a twin-engine fighter pilot. Mosely flew during the Korean and Vietnam wars and worked his way up to the rank of Lt. Colonel.
A Life of Segregation Lead to a Career in Civil Rights
After earning a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver in 1948, Mosley’s post-military life saw him fight for civil rights. His efforts included, being a part of the Nixon administration as a Special Assistant to civil rights activist James Farmer. He was also an equal opportunity specialist for the Office of Civil Rights and Staff Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services…