Bedford, a poor but promising high school football star in the 1930s, hoped for a career in medicine but was never offered a scholarship from any Pittsburgh college, which he believed was because of his race. He eventually turned to crime. While robbing a store, Bedford killed a man and spent twenty-three years in prison for the crime. After his release the only job available to Bedford was one in the city’s Sewer Department. Like the ﬁctional Troy Maxson in Fences, Bedford never realized his athletic aspirations, which he then hoped his stepson would achieve.