Just in case you were wondering....
The first black quarterback to start in the NFL was Fritz Pollard, for the 1923 Akron Pros. There were only a few blacks in the league until 1932, when self-admitted bigot George Preston Marshall joined the league with the Boston Braves/Redskins and effectively eliminated integration in the NFL until the mid-forties. Willie Thrower played quarterback for the Chicago Bears in 1953, in one game, WHICH HE DID NOT START.
The first modern day black quarterback to start a Professional Football game was Marlin Briscoe. He played his rookie season with the American Football League's Denver Broncos and still, 40 years later, holds many of the Broncos' rookie records. There is a film in production about his life. He was released after his rookie season upon request when he was not invited to an off-season QB competition in Denver. He played next with the AFL's Buffalo Bills, with O.J. Simpson and the late Jack Kemp. There he would also play with the 2nd black QB (James Harris) to start in modern Professional Football. The NFL lagged behind the AFL in allowing blacks to start at quarterback, however Harris became the first black starting quarterback in the modern NFL, when that league merged with the AFL in 1970, and thus inherited Harris. Later, with the LA Rams, Harris became the first black quarterback to start a conference championship game.
Briscoe's book, the somewhat mis-titled "The First Black Quarterback: Marlin Briscoe's Journey to Break the Color Barrier and Start in the NFL" can be found at Amazon.com although they only have autographed copies listed. You can visit http://www.conigliofamily.com/MinorityPlayers.htm or www.phinphanatic.com to learn more about his life by doing a search on his name or you can visit www.marlinbriscoemovie.com to learn about the film in development. Hope this helps.
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