Hokie ClubHer husband – one of the most important figures in the history of Virginia Tech football – passed away 17 years ago, but Dora Dobbins continues to purchase season tickets to Virginia Tech football games.
This year's COVID-19 pandemic robbed her of those special Saturday afternoons in the fall, times always reserved not only for watching the Hokies play at Lane Stadium, but also for reflecting on the special relationship that she had with husband John, a former Virginia Tech running back. The two of them bought season tickets for years before his passing, and even after he went to his heavenly home, she kept the tickets and the same seat location (the family has been buying tickets for 25 years).
Some things are just worth holding on to and cherishing forever.
"It's like I felt close to him by keeping them," Dora Dobbins said. "We always went to all the games … We sat right there together, and it's just something special to me."
Most Virginia Tech fans remember John Dobbins as a pioneer – the first African-American scholarship football player at the school. The Radford, Virginia native dominated at nearby Radford High and decided to play for Jerry Claiborne in the early 1970s just two years after Jerry Gaines broke the school's color barrier, becoming first African-American scholarship athlete (track and field) at Tech.
But to Dora Dobbins, John was much, much more than a pioneer. He doted on her constantly and loved her unapologetically. He filled her car with gas, took care of the grocery shopping, and ran her bath water in the mornings before he left to go to work – all expressions of his relentless devotion to her.
"I had one lady tell me after he passed, 'Now you'll see how the rest of us women have to fend,'" she said, laughing. "I said, 'I know. I'm seeing.' He was just a super guy. I was blessed."
John Dobbins' story has been told numerous times over the years, but it never ages. And after a summer and fall of racial tension in the United States, his story warrants telling yet again.
Dobbins arrived at Tech in the fall of 1969. In fact, he and his high school teammate, Tommy Edwards, a white running back and defensive back, signed to play for the school live on Claiborne's coaches' show.
Dobbins had grown up as a Virginia Tech fan, even though the team had no African-American players and few African-Americans attended the school. He knew all about the Gobblers, as they were called then, having attended games in the late 1960s with his coaches.
According to his family, Dobbins enjoyed his experiences at Virginia Tech. Occasionally, he heard racist comments from opposing team fans during the Gobblers' road games, but in Blacksburg, he liked the fans, and he loved his teammates. He and former quarterback Don Strock roomed together until John and Dora married during John's junior season. A group of them became closely knit, woven together by a love for the team and the school and transcending skin colors.
"I would cook because we had an apartment," Dora Dobbins said, reminiscing. "They would come over and eat, and we would have parties. We were a pretty close group – Don, Dave [Strock], Bobby Dabbs, just a bunch of different football players. They would come over. He had a good experience with those guys. We had fun with those guys. Usually after the home games, they would come over, and I would have food cooked, and we'd sit around and talk and laugh and eat."
Dobbins' knowledge of the program enabled him to adapt to the surroundings a little easier than perhaps someone from outside of Southwest Virginia. Being an athlete gave him an advantage, too. Football provided him with an opportunity to prove himself and win over the respect of teammates and fans during a time when respect for an African-American was hard to earn.
After all, there is no place to hide on a football field. Players and fans quickly recognize the phonies in the group, and Dobbins ultimately won over people because of his work ethic, toughness, and quiet disposition.
"Being in sports and being on the field – and I do remember him saying that – that was like their space where everything was equal," said Deitra Dobbins, John's daughter. "Now, outside of it, it was different, but I think that's why he enjoyed playing sports and did it so much because everyone was on an equal playing field then. You had to prove yourself to be on the field, and that's why I think it was a good experience for him because he did what he loved to do – play football."
John Dobbins lettered all three seasons of his career – the NCAA prohibited freshmen from playing on the varsity team in those days – and he finished with 705 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He accumulated 1,261 all-purpose yards in those three seasons.
Fittingly, he wore No. 25 during his career. That number has become an iconic symbol in Virginia Tech Athletics, as legendary football coach Frank Beamer wore that number during his playing days in the late 1960s. Today, the football program pays homage to Beamer's legacy by allowing the special teams player of the game to wear the No. 25 jersey for the following game.
But the Dobbins family also claims a piece of that No. 25 legacy — and deservedly so. He opened a door that continues to allow so many to walk through, and that legacy is just as important, and maybe even more so.
"I know a lot of it came because of Coach Beamer and because he was such a great coach," Deitra Dobbins said. "But for me, the number represented my father because that was the number he wore, and I know that he wore that after Beamer had left [graduated from Tech]. But I feel that's my father, and it does take on a significance when you see it all the time. They give it to the player who had made an impact in the game, and he made an impact to pave the way for other athletes coming through."
John Dobbins never came to Virginia Tech to be a pioneer. He came to get an education and to play football. In his eyes, he received more than he ever gave, and that probably stands as the reason why he rarely talked about his role in the school's history.
All of those familiar with Dobbins mention his quiet nature and humble disposition. Many rarely knew of his overwhelming importance. They only knew of his examples of kindness and the respectful way that he treated people, and truthfully, he probably only wanted to be remembered for that.
Yet no one should consider Dobbins a softy. He stood for what was good and right. He just did so respectfully.
In late September, Virginia Tech Athletics launched a #LOVE initiative as a way to do its part in helping to eliminate racism and discrimination that came to the nation's collective forefront this summer and early fall. The initiative focuses on love as the conqueror of all other emotions and as the choice for all those who represent Virginia Tech Athletics. Not hate, not rioting, not yelling, but love.
According to his family, John Dobbins would approve.
"I think he would be for the peaceful protests, but all this other stuff going on, I don't think he would have wanted any part of it," Dora Dobbins said.
Her daughter agreed.
"I think he would be all for the protesting, but not the violence of it," she said. "You're trying to make a change, and you're passionate about this is the right thing to do. He was all about doing something that he loved, so I think he would be for the protests right now … I think he would be all for the young people doing what they need to do to get their voice heard, but not the violence and all that."
Dobbins passed away from a heart attack in 2003 at the Volvo plant in Dublin, Virginia where he worked as a supervisor. He was a pioneer there, too, as the first African-American supervisor, and his passing shook the entire New River Valley. The family stood in line for more than three hours at the funeral home, greeting people from Radford, Virginia Tech and Volvo who all came to pay their respects and share in the family's mourning. Workers drove Volvo trucks to the funeral the next day and led the procession.
His impact still lives. Radford High School inducted him into its Hall of Fame, and city officials there named a downtown park after him. In 2014, Virginia Tech Athletics recognized him and his family during a football halftime ceremony.
Dora Dobbins still remains a fixture in the community and especially as a volunteer at her local church. She plans on retiring next July after spending 50 years – 50! – at Federal Mogul, a local company. Her son works locally, too, and Deitra fittingly works for Volvo Trucks in Greensboro, North Carolina.
They still hear stories about John, the kids he had helped in Radford and the things he did that they never knew.
For sure, they still miss him, but they know they were blessed.
"I haven't dated or went out with anybody since he passed," Dora Dobbins said. "I just felt like I was so blessed to have such a good husband, and I just don't think anybody else would live up to him."