Wilson Samuel Lathan, Jr. (1990) - Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame

Wilson Samuel Lathan, Jr.

Induction:
1990
Class:
1960

During the 1959 and 1960 seasons, lineman Wilson Zenobia Lathan Jr. rarely left the field for Coach Charlie Snyder’s Marshall football teams. The 6-foot, 205-pound lineman was originally recruited to Marshall by Coach Herb Royer out of Charleston’s Stonewall Jackson High School, played on both offense and defense. He was known as one of the strongest and quickest linemen in the Mid-American Conference. Lathan was named a first team all-league honoree by the Associated Press as a junior, a year in which he recovered a fumble for a touchdown against Kent State. He then received second team All-MAC accolades in voting by the league coaches after his senior season, a year in which Lathan became the first African-American to be named a captain for the Marshall football team. Lathan was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.