George Taliaferro

George Taliaferro

Taliaferro on a 1952 Bowman football card
No. 20, 24
Position:	Halfback Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1927-01-08)January 8, 1927 Gates, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:	October 8, 2018(2018-10-08) (aged 91) Mason, Ohio, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:	Gary Roosevelt (Gary, Indiana)
College:	Indiana
NFL draft:	1949 / round: 13 / pick: 129 (by the Chicago Bears)[1]
Career history
Los Angeles Dons (1949) New York Yanks (1950–1951) Dallas Texans (1952) Baltimore Colts (1953–1954) Philadelphia Eagles (1955)
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl (1951–1953) NFL kickoff return yards leader (1951) First-team All-American (1948) 2× Second-team All-American (1945, 1947) 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1945, 1948) Second-team All-Big Ten (1947)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing touchdowns: 15 Rushing yards: 2,266 Carries: 498 Receptions: 95 Receiving yards: 1,300 Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

George Taliaferro (January 8, 1927 – October 8, 2018) was an American professional football player who was the first African American drafted by a National Football League (NFL) team.^[2] Beginning his football career at Indiana University for the Hoosiers team, he played in the NFL for the New York Yanks from 1950 to 1951, the Dallas Texans in 1952, the Baltimore Colts from 1953 to 1954, and Philadelphia Eagles in 1955.

He was the first African-American drafted into the National Football League when he was selected in the 13th round (129th pick overall) of the 1949 NFL draft. On November 22, 1953, he became the first black player to start at quarterback in the NFL in the post-color bar era when he saw emergency duty against the Los Angeles Rams.

Taliaferro was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.