50 years ago in 1971, Adele Harris became the first Black female to hold a front office position in the NFL. She was hired by the St. Louis Cardinals as an assistant in the public relations department.
She would spend 26 years in the Cardinals organization in a variety of public and community relations roles until she retired in 2001.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of her hiring, the Cardinals announced Wednesday the creation of the “Adele Harris Scholarship.”
It is a $10,000 award given yearly to a graduating Arizona high school student who is pursuing a career in sports.
“This scholarship serves two main purposes,” said Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill in the team’s press release. “It recognizes the valuable role that Adele played within our organization for more than a quarter of a century and also connects her to future generations who aspire to follow in her footsteps. We are grateful for the opportunity to do both of those things.”
While the team has not experienced a lot of historical success on the field, the Cardinals have been progressive in issues of diversity. They hired the first Black woman in a front office. When Dennis Green was head coach and Rod Graves was general manager, they were the first team to have both a Black head coach and a Black general manager.
The scholarship will help us remember Harris and will assist students in getting an education.
It is absolutely fantastic.
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