George Taliaferro

George Taliaferro

Date of birth:	January 8, 1927 (1927-01-08)
Place of birth:	Gates, Tennessee
Career information
Position(s):	Halfback Quarterback
College:	Indiana
NFL Draft:	1949 / Round: 13 / Pick: 129 (By the Chicago Bears)
Organizations
As player:
1949 1950-1951 1952 1953-1954 1955	Los Angeles Dons (AAFC) New York Yanks Dallas Texans Baltimore Colts Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowls:	1951, 1952, 1953
Playing stats at NFL.com
College Football Hall of Fame

George Taliaferro (born January 8, 1927 in Gates, Tennessee) is a former professional American football player. He was the first African American drafted by a National Football League team.

As the leading rusher and an All-American at Indiana University, he led the Hoosiers to their only undefeated Big Ten Conference championship. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. While at IU, Taliaferro became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

Taliaferro, a halfback, quarterback, and punter, was picked by the Chicago Bears in the thirteenth round of the 1949 NFL Draft but chose to play instead with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference. He played with the Dons in 1949, then moved to the NFL, where he played with the New York Yanks 1950-51, Dallas Texans 1952, Baltimore Colts 1953-54, and Philadelphia Eagles 1955. He went to the Pro Bowl in 1951, 1952, and 1953.

A documentary about Taliaferro, titled Indiana Legends: George Taliaferro, was recently produced by WTIU public television in Bloomington, Indiana.

He now resides in Bloomington, Indiana where his wife is a retired juvenile court judge.

Published works

• "I Didn't Do It!" by George Taliaferro

Further reading

• Piascik, Andy (2009). Gridiron Gauntlet. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-443-6

External links

• Dawn Knight, Taliaferro: Breaking Barriers from the NFL Draft to the Ivory Tower
• "Indiana Legends: George Taliaferro", Indiana University