George Taliaferro

Did You Know?

George Taliaferro

Athlete, Activist, University Administrator,

(possible) Relative!

George Taliaferro was the first Black man drafted into the NFL, and is attributed with being the NFL's 1st Black starting quarterback and the only one to play SEVEN positions. His family hails from Gates, Tennessee, near where Alliah's maternal-maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Taliaferro was raised, and according to family lore, he may be related... even if he's not, we all cousins, right? (HA!) My family first learned about this connection via our good family friend, the late great Buffalo Bills alumni, Charley Ferguson.

George had an incredible career on and off the field - raised in Gary, Indiana, he played college football at Indiana University, where he broke barriers, desegregating institutions across their Bloomington campus. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1949 NFL draft - the first African American NFL draftee ever (although he did not play with them - he maintained his earlier commitment to play with the Los Angeles Dons). Fritz Pollard was the first African-American to play in the NFL in 1920, but the draft wasn't implemented until 1936.

After his playing days, Taliaferro became dean of students at Morgan State, and later returned to Indiana University as dean at the school of social work, and later a special assistant to the president, where he helped implement affirmative action programs.