“I was the first African-American to play football for any military academy.”

At Navy, Hill shared the field with legendary quarterback Roger Staubach, forming a friendship that remains strong to this day.

“Even though he played for Dallas.”

But Hill’s journey was just beginning. After one season, he left the Naval Academy and faced yet another historic challenge in 1963. For the third time in his young career, he was about to break a racial barrier—this time at the University of Maryland.

Maryland assistant coach Lee Corso saw Hill’s potential and recruited him to play wide receiver. Hill, knowing the racial climate of the time, responded with a pointed question:

“Why coach, you forgot what conference you’re playing in?”

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and much of the South had never seen a Black football player take the field. But that changed when Hill suited up for the Maryland Terrapins, becoming the first Black player not just for the Terps, but for the entire ACC and Southern region.

Though Maryland welcomed him, other schools in the conference were openly hostile. Some fans hurled racial slurs and threats. Coaches were no better. Clemson’s athletic director and head football coach Frank Howard went as far as to say:

“Well he come down here, he won’t come out of here alive.”

And he said it on national television.

Yet, despite the hatred, despite the dangers, Hill never quit. He played on, proving that he belonged on that field just as much as anyone else. By his senior season, Maryland had recruited more Black athletes, paving the way for a new generation.

Today, Hill’s name is permanently etched in Maryland’s history. The university has a building named in his honor—a symbol of the impact he made not just on the football field, but on the fight for equality.

When asked if he would do it all over again, knowing the struggles and pain he endured, Hill didn’t hesitate: