FIVE POINTS, DENVER — Air Force Lt. Col. John Mosley was born in Denver in 1921 and grew up in the Five Points neighborhood, where he attended Manual High School. Thousands and thousands of great athletes and people have come through Manual's doors since it opened in 1892.
But none more important or impactful than Mosley. After graduating from Manual as valedictorian in 1939, Mosley got an academic scholarship to Colorado State University – then called Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts or Colorado A&M – where he walked on to the football team and became the first Black football letterman at CSU in 1940.
He was also an all-conference wrestler and class vice president in his junior and senior years.
It wasn't easy. Mosley faced discrimination, segregation, and racial obstacles and roadblocks during his four years at CSU.
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After he graduated college, Mosley again had to fight racism and segregation to join the Air Force and the world-famous Tuskegee Airmen. He flew combat missions in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and after he retired from the Air Force in 1970, he dedicated his life to public service. I met his son, Eric Mosley – also an Air Force command pilot – to talk about his father's legacy.
Eric said it was rough for his dad growing up in this neighborhood nearly 100 years ago, but he loved the people in Five Points.
"The kind of people that dad grew up with were quality people with incredible work ethic," said Eric. "Role models that I think inspired him to excel in all that he did. Whatever the obstacle, whatever the challenge is, with hard work you can succeed.”
“It wasn't without failure from time to time, but he was always able to get up, brush himself off, and do whatever was necessary to reach his goals."
John Mosley's service to the community included establishing a scholarship fund for Black college-bound students in Denver. And in 2011, CSU created the John Mosley Student-Athlete Leadership Program to help mentor student athletes to be successful off the field. And in 2015, the John and Edna Mosley School in Aurora was opened for elementary and middle school children. And just last year, CSU retired John Mosley's No. 14 across all men's and women's sports – a final tribute to the man who touched so many lives and inspired so many to be great.
"You know, his legacy lives on, his spirit lives on. It was something that brought our family and I think the entire community felt just a real sense of pride," said Eric Mosley of the number retirement ceremony. "And I think more importantly in the pride in what he and the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen did, but just as an example of what they can do. If they set their minds to it, uh, in spite of the obstacles, in spite of all the challenges, in spite of personal circumstances, that is something if he could do it then perhaps I could do it too."
Lieutenant Colonel John Mosley passed away in 2015 at age 93, but he remains a Five Points legend. Leaving behind a legacy of service, grit, determination, and a never give up mentality. Something that defines what Five Points is all about.
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