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Willie Thrower, circa 1948.
Credit: Courtesy of the Willie Thrower Foundation
New Kensington PA's Willie Thrower was the first African American to play quarterback in the Big Ten Conference and on Oct. 18, 1953, became the first African American to play quarterback in the National Football League. Thrower played only a single game in the NFL, then played four years in Canada before a separated shoulder ended his career.