Who was the first African American football player?

Linus_337

Given that football (or "soccer" as it known in America) is still a white, suburban, small town or white ethnic, urban sport, with smatterings of Hispanic teams in Spanish-speaking communities. African-American communities and African-American children around the country, especially in urban areas, have not yet adopted football in a manner similar to their suburban neighbours. http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/culture.html Given this, I would plump for the relatively recent, all-time most-capped player for the US team, Cobi Jones. http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/players/cobi_jones/ Nov 12 03, 2:40 PM

Hamlet.

The first black American Football player was Charles Follis in 1902 with the Shelby Athletic Club... Nov 12 03, 9:20 PM

McGruff

My answer also concerns pro football in the US: The first known African-American to play pro football was Charles Follis, with the Shelby Athletic Club in 1902. When Follis retired from professional football in 1906, he was replaced that same year by Charles "Doc" Baker, the second African-American pro-football player. Baker played two years as a running back with the Akron Indians. http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/441/Black_contributions_to_American_professional_football_are_many This site has a lot of "firsts" and other info on early black players. Following graduation Wally Triplett was drafted by the NFL's Detroit Lions, making him the first African-American player to be formally drafted by an NFL team. For that reason you can find his picture hanging in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. http://mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us/~chalumni/halloffame/newest/wtriplett.htm Nov 13 03, 1:15 AM

GreatWhitesSAs

William (Pudge) Heffelfinger http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/release.aspx Oct 10 09, 12:11 PM

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Who was the first African-American football player? Hi, who was the first African-American player in the NFL, and what was his nickname? Who was the first African American to be nominated as a presidential candidate? Who was the first African-American to win a Wimbledon title? Who is the oldest living retired professional American football player?

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