The History of the Black QB: Part I
Posted by Chase Stuart on February 1, 2008
Twenty years ago, yesterday, Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to ever appear in a Super Bowl, and for at least one more season, he'll remain the only one to ever win the big game. The 2007 NFL season -- in which 15 black quarterbacks took a snap -- marked the fortieth consecutive season where at least one black quarterback was in the NFL. In 2007, the Giants became the final franchise to have a black quarterback throw a pass, when Anthony Wright had six attempts for the Giants in week two. This month, I'll be looking at the history of black quarterbacks in the NFL, with posts every Friday.
The usual place to start -- the beginning -- resides in an NFL far different from the one today. For the most part, everyone now plays clearly defined positions, but that wasn't the case when Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard entered the NFL in 1920. Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two black players in pro football history, and the next season, Pollard became the first black head coach in NFL history. Pollard was the "quarterback" even if that wasn't the official term back then, as he took snaps from under center. It's worth noting that the forward pass was illegal inside of five yards behind the line of scrimmage until 1933, so Pollard barely resembles the modern QB (although he did throw a few touchdown passes during his career). But on the strength of his legs, he led the Akron Pros to the first NFL Championship and, despite what the modern press would have you believe, the first undefeated season in NFL history.
It took another thirty years for a black QB to enter the NFL, and there were no black players in the NFL at all from 1934-1945. In 1946, Bill Willis and Marion Motley were signed by Paul Brown and the AAFC's Cleveland Browns, while Kenny Washington ended the drought in the NFL. While historians differ on why the league was all white for those dozen years, most agree that there was an informal ban on black athletes championed by Washington Redskins owner George Marshall.
After George Taliaferro played quarterback in the AAFC in 1949, he became the second black QB in NFL history when he joined the New York Yanks in 1950. Taliaferro was a jack-of-all trades: in both 1952 and 1953, he accumulated over 200 passing, rushing and receiving yards, and scored a touchdown via all three methods, as well. Despite making three Pro Bowls, Taliaferro never led his team in passing, and was more a utility player than a quarterback.
The next guy, though, was a thrower. Literally. Willie Thrower became the third black QB in league history in 1953, when he threw eight passes in one game for the Bears (and did not record a rushing attempt or a reception). Two years later, Charlie "Choo Choo" Brackins was signed by the Green Bay Packers -- the first quarterback to come from a historically black college. While Pollard (Brown), Taliaferro (Indiana) and Thrower (Michigan State) came from major schools, Brackins was the first in a small line of quarterbacks from historically black colleges, paving the way for quarterbacks today such as Steve McNair, Tarvaris Jackson and Quinn Gray.
After Brackins and Thrower (ten NFL passes combined), the NFL did not see another black QB for twelve seasons. 1967 marked the last time in NFL history no franchise had a black QB. The Broncos drafted Marlin Briscoe in '68, making him the first modern black player to take snaps under center. Unlike his predecessors, Briscoe was the Broncos main quarterback in all of '68, and ranked sixth in the AFL in passing yards, touchdowns and quarterback rating, while leading the league in yards per completion. The next year, however, Briscoe joined the Bills, was converted to wide receiver, and would play the position for seven years.
In 1969, James Harris was drafted by those same Bills, and started one game at quarterback. He played sparingly in '70 and '71, before being out of football in 1972. He joined the Rams in 1973, and the next season became the first black QB to make the Pro Bowl. Coincidentally, Joe Gilliam was drafted by the Steelers in '72, making him the sole black QB in the league that year. Gilliam would play four seasons, with the majority of his work coming in 1974.
Tony Adams (Kansas City), J.J. Jones (New York Jets), Dave Mays (Cleveland), Parnell Dickinson (Tampa Bay) and Vince Evans (Chicago) would enter the NFL soon thereafter, before history was truly made. By the end of the 1977 season, of the eleven black QBs in pro football history, none had been selected before the sixth round of the draft. Would owners spend a high pick on a black QB? That question was answered definitively when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Doug Williams with the 17th pick in the first round of the 1978 draft.
After Williams, no black QBs entered the league for five years. During the 1983 season, Vince Evans was the only black QB in the NFL (Williams was in the USFL at the time). Evans followed Williams' path, and joined the USFL after the '83 season, which would have left no black QBs in the NFL if help hadn't arrived from up north. And it came in a very big way.
Warren Moon joined the Canadian Football League in 1978, and promptly led his Edmonton Eskimos to the Grey Cup title in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982. In 1983, he set the single season passing yards record, and won the Most Oustanding Player award. And then, the Houston Oilers won the rights to Warren Moon, the future 9-time Pro Bowler and NFL Hall of Famer. He still ranks in the top five in NFL history in completions, despite not throwing a pass until he was nearly 28 years old. Moon was a classic thrower, not a runner, and showed that black quarterbacks could run any offense -- including the Run 'N Shoot. In 1990 and 1991, Moon threw for an incredible 9,379 yards.
Randall Cunningham was drafted the next season, and would become a star in his own right. His historic 1990 season saw him throw 30 touchdown passes and rush for 942 yards; no other QB with 30 TDs in a single season has even rushed for half as many yards. After Reggie Collier was drafted by the Cowboys in 1986, a string of black QBs entered the NFL during the strike: Mark Stevens, Walter Briggs, Larry Miller, Willie Gillus, Bernard Quarles, Tony Robinson and Willie Totten. Two years later, Rodney Peete was drafted by the Lions, and the following year, the Lions drafted Andre Ware...with the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Since 1990, there have been at least five black QBs in the NFL every season. Last year there were fifteen black QBs that threw a pass: it took 66 years for the fifteenth black quarterback to enter the NFL. The high-water mark came in 2001, when twenty black QBs were on NFL rosters and had taken snaps. There have been 57 black QBs to play in the NFL, and ten of them were first round picks. And more are on the way.
Andre' Woodson and Dennis Dixon have received a ton of attention this year, and both will be drafted in April. If you're looking for a sleeper, my buddies Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom predict Josh Johnson to be a top-five QB in this draft class, and are in love with his potential. You can listen to them rave about Johnson in this audio clip of them at the Shrine Game; they start discussing Johnson a bit before the halfway mark on there.
I'll close with a list of all black quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Defining who is a quarterback, and who "played" can be a bit dicey, but I think this list is as exhaustive and accurate as any.
Jamarcus Russell LSU 2007 Troy Smith Ohio State 2007 Tarvaris Jackson Alabama State 2006 Vince Young Texas 2006 Jason Campbell Auburn 2005 Seneca Wallace Iowa State 2005 Quinn Gray Florida A&M 2004 Cleo Lemon Arkansas State 2004 Byron Leftwich Marshall 2003 Henry Burris Temple 2002 Rohan Davey LSU 2002 David Garrard East Carolina 2002 Quincy Carter Georgia 2001 Jarious Jackson Notre Dame 2001 Tee Martin Tennessee 2001 Michael Vick Virginia Tech 2001 Aaron Brooks Virginia 2000 Michael Bishop Kansas State 2000 Dameyune Craig Auburn 2000 Anthony Wright South Carolina 2000 Spergon Wynn Southwest TX St.2000 Daunte Culpepper Central Florida 1999 Shaun King Tulane 1999 Donovan McNabb Syracuse 1999 Akili Smith Oregon 1999 Charlie Batch Eastern Michigan1998 Wally Richardson Penn State 1997 Tony Banks Michigan State 1996 Ray Lucas Rutgers 1996 Steve McNair Alcorn State 1995 Kordell Stewart Colorado 1995 Jeff Blake East Carolina 1992 Shawn Moore Virginia 1992 Andre Ware Houston 1990 Rodney Peete USC 1989 Mark Stevens Utah 1987 Walter Briggs Montclair State 1987 Larry Miller Northern Iowa 1987 Willie Gillus Norfolk State 1987 Bernard Quarles Hawaii 1987 Tony Robinson Tennessee 1987 Willie Totten Miss. Valley St.1987 Reggie Collier Southern Miss. 1986 Randall Cunningham Nevada-Las Vegas1985 Warren Moon Washington 1984 Doug Williams Grambling State 1978 Vince Evans USC 1977 Parnell Dickinson Miss. Valley St.1976 Dave Mays Texas Southern 1976 J.J. Jones Fisk 1975 Tony Adams Utah State 1975 Joe Gilliam Tennessee State 1972 James Harris Grambling State 1969 Marlin Briscoe Nebraska-Omaha 1968 Charlie Brackins Prairie View A&M1955 Willie Thrower Michigan State 1953 George Taliaferro Indiana 1950 Fritz Pollard Brown 1920
Finally, here's a list of when every franchise first had a black QB throw a pass in a game, and when was the last time the franchise had a black QB throw a pass in a game.
team first last clt 1953 1954 chi 1953 2005 gnb 1955 1987 den 1968 2003 buf 1969 1987 pit 1972 2007 mia 1972 2007 ram 1973 1998 kan 1975 2000 det 1975 2001 cle 1976 2000 tam 1976 2003 sdg 1977 1979 oti 1984 2007 phi 1985 2007 dal 1986 2003 was 1986 2007 sfo 1987 1987 nyj 1975 2004 min 1987 2007 rai 1987 2007 cin 1994 2006 sea 1997 2007 rav 1998 2007 nwe 2000 2004 nor 2000 2005 car 2001 2004 atl 2001 2007 jax 2002 2007 crd 2003 2004 htx 2003 2005 nyg 2007 2007
February 1st, 2008 at 7:11 am
Great work, Chase.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:54 am
Simply put,this is a job both timely and WELL DONE !!!! [rest of comment deleted NOT because the content was objectionable in any way, but because it was likely to lead to a completely off-topic discussion.]
February 1st, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Excellent work. The history of the game should never be forgotten.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
It's been 53 years since the Colts had a black QB? That's astounding.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:27 pm
J.J. Jones played in 7 games for the Jets in 1975. He started a Monday Night game against San Diego before being relieved by Joe Namath.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
And Brad Smith threw one ill-advised pass for the Jets in 2007...
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Interesting how the Colts were the first and the last on that list.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Well done my friend, however, you left out Onaree Jackson (not certain on the spelling of the first name). He was drafted out of Alabama A&M university in the fifth round by the Boston Patriots, I believe it was 1968 or 1969. You should look into this because he was also a graduate of Brighton High School, the same school as Parnell Dickinson who went on to Mississippi Valley and subsequently to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What is interesting to me about this is that how many high schools can boast about putting two quarterbacks into the NFL?
Ron
March 27th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Thanks Ron. If you go here you can see that Jackson was indeed a fifth round pick of the Patriots, but seeing as how he never played in the NFL, he was left off my summary. Good find!
April 18th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Another one: Eldridge Dickey. He was the first Black QB to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft (Oakland raiders) in 1968, out of Tennessee State (same school as Joe Gillian). I've heard he was ambidextrous: could throw a football 100 yards with his right hand and 60 years with his left!
-BR
April 30th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Nice list.....only one mistake I noticed. Tony Adams from Utah State was not an African-American. I have researched the WFL extensively for 20 some years, and I can safely say Adams, who played for the WFL's Southern california Sun, was white.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
hi.
good work.
i believe the eagles first black QB was john walton http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WALTOJOH01
his first nfl pass was in 1976. predating randall by almost a decade.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:26 am
The information in your entry looks very similar to information compiled by Editor Lloyd Vance for the website http://www.bqb-site.com, which is THE Place for information on the black quarterback.
The website includes the most comprehensive list of black quarterbacks and it was also featured in the ESPN book "Third and a Mile, The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback".
February 17th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Do you have a listing of all of the black quarterbacks that have played in the CFL?
August 6th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Ditto on John Walton for the Eagles by way of Elizabeth City State and the WFL.