From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Darryl R. Bishop was born in Louisville, KY. At Seneca High School Darryl became an outstanding star athlete in football, basketball, and track and field.

In 1969, he was the first African American to play basketball for the University of Kentucky (UK), playing a few games as a walk-on, then withdrawing from the team.

Bishop had a more successful career as a defensive back on the football team. At that time at UK, football players could not play until their sophomore year. In spite of only playing three years, Bishop's career at UK was phenomenal. He holds the UK career record for most pass interceptions (14) and return yardage (376). He made more tackles (348) than any defensive back in UK history. He is also remembered for the 43-yard interception return touchdown in the 1971 win over Vanderbilt and the 97-yard touchdown return against Mississippi State.

Darryl Bishop was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in January 1974. (Information provided by the University of Kentucky Athletics Media Relations Office). See also Fifty Years of the University of Kentucky African-American Legacy, 1949-1999.

In March of 1974, Darryl R. Bishop signed to play with the newly formed World Football League* [source: "Sports in brief," Lakeland Ledger, 3/5/1974, p. 3B]. Bishop played with the New York Stars until he was cut from the team in July 1974 [source: "Sports in brief," Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 07/06/1974, p. B3].

He lived in Boston, MA, for last 40+ years of his life, working for Detention Youth Services (DYS), and the Boys and Girls Club in Roxbury. He coached at the Cathedral High School and the Shelburne Community Center, from which he retired in 2017.

Darryl R. Bishop died in 2022 and is buried in Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery in Louisville.

*The World Football League existed from 1974-1975.