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FILE -
In this
July 30,
1953,
file
photo,
veteran
halfback
Wally
Triplett
of Penn
State
U.,
originally
from La
Mott,
Pa.,
poses in
action
during
his
second
year
with
Chicago
Cardinals
and
fourth
year in
the
National
Football
League.
Triplett,
who left
his
indelible
mark on
NFL
history
by
becoming
the
first
African-American
player
to be
drafted
and play
for an
NFL
team,
passed
away
Thursday,
Nov. 8,
2018,
the
Detroit
Lions
announced.
He was
92. (AP
Photo/File) |
| |
Trailblazing
African-American
RB Wally
Triplett
dies at
92
APNews.com
DETROIT
- Wally
Triplett,
the
trailblazing
running
back who
was one
of the
first
African-Americans
drafted
by an
NFL
team,
has
died. He
was 92.
The
Detroit
Lions
and Penn
State
announced
Triplett’s
death
Thursday.
Triplett
was the
third
African-American
selected
in the
1949
draft,
but he
was the
first of
those
draftees
to play
in a
regular-season
game. He
played
in 24
games
for the
Lions
and
Chicago
Cardinals.
Triplett
was also
the
first
African-American
to start
for Penn
State,
and in
1948, he
and
teammate
Dennie
Hoggard
became
the
first
African-Americans
to play
in the
Cotton
Bowl .
“This is
a
tremendous
loss for
not only
our
football
program,
but the
Penn
State
community
as a
whole,”
Penn
State
coach
James
Franklin
said in
a
statement.
“Wally
was a
trailblazer
as the
first
African-American
to be
drafted
and play
in the
NFL, and
his
influence
continues
to live
on. He
had a
profound
effect
on me
and the
team
when he
visited
in 2015
and
shared
valuable
lessons
from his
life
story
and
ability
to
overcome.”
Triplett
was
inducted
into the
Cotton
Bowl
Hall of
Fame
this
year,
and his
appearance
in that
game is
part of
Penn
State
lore.
According
to the
school,
the team
was
asked to
consider
the
possibility
of
leaving
Triplett
and
Hoggard
at home
for the
game in
then-segregated
Dallas.
Teammates
responded
by
saying:
“We are
Penn
State,
there
will be
no
meetings”
— a
reference
to a
previous
Penn
State
team
that
voted to
cancel a
game at
segregated
Miami.
The
story
remains
an
important
part of
Penn
State
history,
especially
given
the
school’s
well-known
“We Are”
moniker.
Triplett
was
drafted
by the
Lions in
the 19th
round in
1949. He
played
in 18
games
for
Detroit
from
1949-50.
On Oct.
29,
1950,
against
the Los
Angeles
Rams, he
had 294
yards on
four
kickoff
returns,
an NFL
record
that
lasted
until
1994.
“As
the
first
African-American
to be
drafted
and to
play in
the
National
Football
League,
Wally is
one of
the true
trailblazers
in
American
sports
history.
He
resides
among
the
great
men who
helped
reshape
the game
as they
faced
the
challenges
of
segregation
and
discrimination,”
the
Lions
said in
a
statement.
“His
contributions
date
back to
his days
at Penn
State as
the
Nittany
Lions’
first
African-American
starter
and
varsity
letter
winner,
highlighted
by his
appearance
in the
first
integrated
Cotton
Bowl.
Wally’s
legacy
also
reaches
beyond
breaking
color
barriers,
having
served
in the
United
States
Army
during
the
Korean
War.”
George
Taliaferro
was the
first
black
player
drafted
in the
NFL when
he went
six
rounds
before
Triplett
in 1949.
Taliaferro
also
died
recently
.
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