Matthew Washington Bullock

Matthew Washington Bullock, Class of 1904, was born on September 11, 1881 in Dabney, North Carolina to slave parents. Mr. Bullock's parents fled the south in 1889 to Massachusetts with seven children and ten dollars in cash. At Everett High School, in Everett, Massachusetts, Matthew Bullock excelled in academics and athletics. He was elected captain of the school's baseball, football, and track teams his senior year. Matthew's father gave him fifty dollars and sent him on his way. In the fall of 1900, Matthew Bullock enrolled in Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth, Mr. Bullock participated in varsity football for three years, varsity track for four years, the glee club, and was a member of Palaeopitus. Mr. Bullock graduated in 1904 and attended Harvard Law School from which he graduated in 1907. He paid his way through law school by coaching at Massachusetts Agricultural College (now known as University of Massachusetts). He is believed to be the first black man to hold the head coach position at a predominantly white institution (both collegiate and high school). Mr. Bullock became the Athletic Director and teacher at Atlanta Baptist College (now known as Morehouse). He taught courses in economics, history, Latin, and sociology. Mr. Bullock also accepted a position as Dean of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Normal, Alabama for two years. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1917. He served as the executive secretary of the Boston Urban League and special Assistant Attourney General for the state of Massachusetts. Mr. Bullock also was a member of the Knight of Pythias, the Masonic order, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1971 from Dartmouth College (he also recieved an honorary degree from Harvard Law School). Matthew Washington Bullock died on December 17, 1972 at the age of ninety-one.