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Willie Lee Thrower Sr. (March 22, 1930 – February 20, 2002) was an American football quarterback. Born near Pittsburgh in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Thrower was known as "Mitts" because of his large hands and arm strength, which stood in contrast to his 5' 11" frame. He was known to throw a football 70 yards. Thrower was a part of the 1952 Michigan State Spartans that won the national championship. He became the first National Football League (NFL) African American quarterbacks in the modern era, playing for the Chicago Bears in 1953.
Thrower played halfback in the single-wing formation for New Kensington High School (present-name: Valley High School) as a freshman just after the end of World War II, in 1945. Single wing halfbacks received a direct center snap, and then had run, handoff or pass options. The team lost two games in 1945. In subsequent seasons head coach Don Fletcher installed the T formation and moved Thrower to quarterback.
From his sophomore to senior years, New Kensington won 24 straight games, including the 1946 and 1947 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class AA championships. As a dual-threat quarterback, Thrower was also an All-WPIAL and all-state first team honors and was named captain for an All-American scholastic selection covering the nation east of the Mississippi River. His final high school record was 35–3–1.
Despite his accomplishments, Thrower still experienced racism. In 1947, the Peanut Bowl, played at A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium, the home of the University of Georgia's football team, featuring a top high school team from the East against a top team from the South, rescinded the invitation it had extended to New Kensington High School to play in the annual January 1st prep classic game when organizers saw a photograph of its star player, Thrower. In addition, many colleges opted not to extend Thrower a scholarship when they discovered his ethnicity.
After graduating, Thrower chose to play collegiate football for the Michigan State Spartans alongside some of his high school teammates William Horrell, Joseph Klein, Renaldo Kozikowski, Vincent Pisano and the Tamburo brothers, Harry and Richard. He would remain in East Lansing from 1949–1952, competing for playing time at quarterback with All-Americans Al Dorow and Tom Yewcic. Under head coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn, Thrower became the first black quarterback to play in the Big Ten Conference, in 1950, his first year of varsity eligibility (NCAA rules dictated no freshmen on varsity teams, thereby preventing Thrower, who was a freshman in 1949, to play) although during the first two years of his varsity career, he had only attempted 14 passes.
During the 1952 championship season, Thrower was an integral part of the title run, completing 59 percent of his passes (29-of-43) for 400 yards and five touchdowns. In a crucial game with Notre Dame, Thrower stepped in for an injured quarterback Tom Yewcic and threw a touchdown in a 21–3 win. In his final game in a Spartan uniform, Thrower completed seven of his 11 attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown, and added a rushing touchdown in a dominating 62–13 win over Marquette that sealed the nation's Number 1 ranking and championship, for Michigan State.
Although Thrower was not drafted in 1953, he was offered one year, $8,500 contract with the Chicago Bears. He became the backup quarterback and roommate to future Pro Football Hall of Famer George Blanda.
He did not play until October 18, 1953 against the San Francisco 49ers. Bears coach George Halas was unhappy with Blanda's play and pulled him, sending in Thrower. He moved the team to the 15-yard line of the 49ers, but was denied a chance to score a TD when Halas put Blanda back into the game. The Bears eventually lost the game 35–28. Thrower completed 3 out of 8 passes for 27 yards, and had one interception. He would only play one more game for the Bears, who released Thrower after the 1953 season.
Thrower played the next three seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and for a semi-pro team in Toronto, but a shoulder injury ended his career.[1]
Thrower was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army and served during the Korean War.[2]
Thrower died of a heart attack in New Kensington on February 20, 2002, at the age of 71. His funeral was held at the Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in New Kensington, where 150 people mourned.
In 1979, Thrower was elected to the Westmoreland County Sports Hall of Fame. In 1981, he was inducted into AK Valley Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
Being the first African-American quarterback in the NFL, in 2002 Thrower told The Valley News Dispatch of Tarentum, Pa, "I look at it like this: I was like the Jackie Robinson of football. A black quarterback was unheard of before I hit the pros."
In 2006, a statue of Thrower was erected near Valley High School in New Kensington to honor his accomplishments. The statue was unveiled during a Valley High School football game in September attended by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney as well as Thrower's family. Willie Thrower was also mentioned by former NFL quarterback Warren Moon in his Pro Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech. Moon thanked Thrower, among others, for giving him inspiration during a time when few African-Americans played the quarterback position in the NFL.
In 2003, the Willie Thrower Historical Marker was erected on the road that runs past the high school Thrower attended in New Kensington.[3]
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Willie Thrower, 71, First Black Quarterback
Willie Thrower, whose only National Football League game made him the league's first African-American quarterback, died Wednesday at 71. He had a heart attack in his home in New Kensington, Pa., his niece, Shirley Thrower, said.
Thrower was also the first black quarterback in the Big Ten and helped Michigan State win the national championship in 1952. The next year, he became a backup to George Blanda on the Chicago Bears.
On Oct. 13, 1953, against the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field in Chicago, Thrower relieved Blanda. Thrower completed 3 of 8 passes for 27 yards, with an interception, as the Bears lost, 35-28.
The Bears cut Thrower the next year, and he then played three years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League and for a Toronto semipro team. He retired after separating a shoulder.
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''I was like the Jackie Robinson of football,'' he once said.
Fifteen years after Thrower's debut, pro football got its second black quarterback when Marlin Briscoe started for the Denver Broncos of the American Football League.
Now the N.F.L. has many black quarterbacks, like Daunte Culpepper of the Minnesota Vikings, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles, Steve McNair of the Tennessee Titans, Kordell Stewart of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Charlie Batch of the Detroit Lions, Quincy Carter and Anthony Wright of the Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Brooks and Jeff Blake of the New Orleans Saints, Randall Cunningham of the Baltimore Ravens, Rodney Peete of the Oakland Raiders, Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, Tony Banks of the Washington Redskins, Akili Smith of the Cincinnati Bengals, Ray Lucas of the Miami Dolphins and Shaun King of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last February, Thrower was featured in a Black History Month special on ABC television.
Afterward, he told The Valley News Dispatch of Tarentum, Pa., that even some of his neighbors did not believe his stories.
''A lot of people called me a liar,'' he said. ''Now they say: 'Gee whiz, here's a guy living in our hometown. We didn't know he was the first black quarterback.' Just like they didn't know, the rest of the country didn't know.''
Willie Lawrence Thrower was born March 22, 1930, in New Kensington, 21 miles east of Pittsburgh.
After football, he became a social worker in New Kensington and New York. He returned to New Kensington in 1969 and bought two taverns there.
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His survivors include his wife, Mary; three sons, Willie J., Jason and Melvin; and a brother, Jesse, all of New Kensington.
''That's what everyone is going to remember him by, football,'' his wife said. ''He always went by Willie the Pro.''
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