Fred Milton was born in Arkansas in 1948, the son of a sharecropper. Through his achievements in athletics, particularly football, he was able to attend Oregon State University (OSU) on a scholarship. In 1969, while Fred was attending OSU, the infamous "Beard Incident" took place, where Fred came into conflict with his football coach, Dee Andros, over a policy that required all football players to be clean-shaven. Viewing this as a racially charged violation of his human rights, Fred refused, risking his football scholarship and the opportunity to attend college. This inspired the Black Student Union (BSU) to organize a variety of protest actions in solidarity with Fred.
The BSU Walkout, while inspired by Fred Milton, was led primarily by student leaders from the BSU, and grew out of a larger pattern of disrespect faced by OSU's black students. Their actions culminated in a walkout of nearly all of OSU's black students on March 5th, 1969. Following these actions, the OSU president formed a human rights commission, which found that the facial hair rule was a human rights violation, and compelled OSU athletics to change the rule.
Fred Milton chose to leave OSU, and accepted a scholarship to attend Utah State University in 1969. This same year, he married his wife, Loretta Milton. Fred went on to play football for the Montreal Alouettes, but later quit playing football professionally, citing his dissatisfaction with the way football players were treated. He moved to Portland, Oregon, where he got a job as a police community liaison. This began a long career in public service and local government. After 15 years in local government, he founded the Portland Inner-City Sports Club in 1993. Fred Milton passed in 2011.
Additional biographical information about Fred Milton can be found in the
These materials were donated by Loretta Milton. The collection was digitized and then returned to the donors.
The collection is open for research. The entire collection is digital and fully available upon patron request or for use in the SCARC reading room.
Fred Milton Papers (MSS Milton), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon
The Fred Milton Papers are part of the
Related Special Collections and Archives Research Center's collections include the
Additional biographical information about Fred Milton can be found in the
The collection is arranged by type of material and further arranged chronologically by date, when possible. This collection is arranged into three series: 1. Biographical Materials, 2016; 2. News Clippings, 1969-2000s; and 3. Scrapbooks and Photographs, 1960s-2000s.
The Fred Milton papers cover a wide range of topics related to the life, career, and family of Fred Milton, including his involvement with the "Beard Incident" at Oregon State University and the subsequent
The entire collection has been digitized and is only available in electronic form. File types included in this collection are .pdf, .png, and .docx.
This series consists of various biographical materials relating to Fred Milton, including textual documents and notecards used by Loretta Milton in a speech about Fred's life and legacy.
This folder contains the notecards Loretta Milton used during her speech at the Oregon State University Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center’s Black History Month celebrations on February 19th, 2016.
This folder contains digital images of Fred Milton's undergraduate diploma, an appointment letter for an instructor position, and information about VISTA (an AmeriCorps program) staff.
This series consists of 3 folders of newspaper clippings documenting the life of Fred Milton, including the "Beard Incident" and the OSU Black Student Union walkout, Fred Milton's relationship with coach Dee Andros, and Fred Milton's career in government and public service, including several campaigns for elected office.
This folder contains newspaper clippings and other paper materials documenting the 1969 BSU Walkout at OSU, the "Beard Incident" that incited it, the actions of the university, and reactions from the public. The material is primarily drawn from the Daily Barometer.
This folder contains newspaper clippings documenting the life and career of OSU football coach Dee Andros, as well as his relationship and reconciliation with Fred Milton. The folder also contains newspaper clippings documenting OSU athletics and the concerns of black athletes following the BSU walkout. In addition to newspaper clippings, this folder contains other paper materials relating to Dee Andros' personal life, death, and relationship with Fred Milton.
This folder contains newspaper clippings and other paper material that document Fred Milton's campaign to join the Portland City Council and his campaign to become Multnomah County Commissioner.
This series consists of 4 scrapbooks documenting the personal life, athletic career, and family of Fred Milton. The scrapbooks primarily contain newspaper clippings and photographs, but are also supplemented by personal notes, captions, genealogical information, certificates, awards, and letters.
This scrapbook contains photographs and newspaper clippings pertaining to the life, career, and family of Fred Milton. The scrapbook is also annotated with personal notes from Fred and Loretta Milton's children, addressed to their mother.
Created in March 2001, this scrapbook memorializes Margie Ann Giles Wright, the mother-in-law of Fred Milton's brother, Jimmie Milton. The scrapbook consists primarily of photographs with explanatory captions, documenting the life and family of Margie Ann and her descendants. The scrapbook also contains family trees and other genealogical information.
This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, certificates, and awards documenting Fred Milton's varied athletics careers in football, wrestling, and track. The scrapbook also contains hand-drawn captions that contextualize the materials.
This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs, letters, and other paper materials documenting Fred Milton's early football career, from circa 1966 to 1971.
This folder contains various photographs of Fred Milton from childhood to old age.