Mississippi State football will honor two of its first African American players on Saturday in a special ceremony.

Frank Dowsing, Jr. and Robert Bell played for the Bulldogs back in 1969 and have paved the way for others that have gone in similar footsteps at Mississippi State.

Dowsing and Bell will be honored at Mississippi State with the team sporting a specially designed uniform.

Frank Dowsing’s sister, Virginia Toliver, shared what people didn’t know about her brother and what this honor means to the family.

“Frank was competitive and believed in hard work,” Toliver said. “My grandparents and parents raised him like that. So, this recognition is the culmination of that hard work. When he went to Mississippi State and when he played at Tupelo High, he always talked about you have to always give your best in whatever you’re doing and the only way it’s going to pay off is through hard work.”

With similar attributes, Bell’s daughter, Chelsee, remembers her father’s wisdom and what he meant to her as a trailblazer for African American football players.

“I always say, I compare my dad to all of the great dads on TV,” Chelsee said. “I always say that Carl Winslow, James Evans nor Uncle Phil had anything on The Real Deal Robert Bell. His family mattered. He was all about the Bell Show having a good time with our very own fresh prince from Mississippi. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience from a father. He has definitely shown us how a father is supposed to be and how a man is supposed to treat his wife. We are so grateful.”

Both Dowsing and Bell will be remembered in a monumental ceremony on Saturday against Bowling Green.