July 20, 2025

This Week in the West: The Groundbreaking Woody Strode

5 minutes

🤠This Week in the West

🎙️ Episode 38: The Groundbreaking Woody Strode

📢 Episode Summary:

This episode of This Week in The West highlights the remarkable life and legacy of Woody Strode—an athlete, soldier, actor, and barrier-breaker born on July 25, 1914. Strode was a pioneer in sports, playing on UCLA’s historic football team alongside Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington, and becoming one of the first Black players to integrate the modern NFL. His early achievements in track and field, professional wrestling, and his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II demonstrated his wide-ranging talents and dedication.

Strode transitioned from sports to Hollywood, where he built a career playing warriors, gladiators, and heroes. His breakout role in Spartacus and his lead performance in Sergeant Rutledge marked significant steps forward for Black representation in film, particularly in Westerns. Director John Ford became a mentor, casting Strode in multiple films and forging a personal bond with him that lasted until Ford’s death.

Despite his talent and charisma, Strode often found himself limited by Hollywood’s narrow view of Black actors, leading him to work internationally in European Westerns and action films. Still, his influence endured—he worked steadily into his seventies, and in 2021, he was inducted into our Hall of Great Western Performers. His legacy lives on quietly, even in pop culture, as the inspiration for Toy Story’s Sheriff Woody.

🔍 What You’ll Learn:

How Woody Strode broke racial barriers in college football, the NFL, and Hollywood.

The cultural and historical significance of his film roles, especially in Spartacus and Sergeant Rutledge.

Why Woody Strode remains an underappreciated but influential figure in both Western film and American history.

👥 Behind the Scenes

Host: Seth Spillman

Producer: Chase Spivey

Writer: Mike Koehler

🔗 Further research:

The Museum of the Moving Image - the Legend of Woody Strode: https://movingimage.org/series/the-legend-of-woody-strode/

UCLA Hall of Fame: https://uclabruins.com/honors/hall-of-fame/woody-strode/310

Men's Health: Woody Strode's Workout: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-muscle/train-smarter/a64849697/charles-bronson-workout/#woody-strodes-brutal-bodyweight-routine

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🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map

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By The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

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