Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

In the midst of doing additional research on the USFL, I was watching a 1985 match-up between the Arizona Outlaws and Denver Gold where Doug Williams and Vince Evans were the starting QBs. As I was watching the game, I started to wonder about when was the first time two African-American starting QBs faced one another in a professional football game. Surprisingly, I was not able to find the answer explicitly stated through various online searches so I thought I would post the question here.

In an effort to find the answer myself, I started cross-referencing Deadspin's 2/6/2014 post "The Big Book of Black Quarterbacks" against the game logs for each QB at Pro Football Reference. From what I could tell, it would appear this first occurred in the NFL at Soldier Field on September 30, 1979 (Week 5) when Evans and the Chicago Bears hosted Williams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs would win the game, 17-13, with Williams completing the go-ahead and eventual game winning touchdown with 5:07 left in the game on an 8-yard pass to WR Isaac Hagins. The stats for each QB that day is listed below:

Williams (TB): 14 of 31 for 168 yds, 1 td and 2 ints
Evans (CHI): 12 of 23 for 173 yds, 1 td and 2 ints

Both teams would finish the season 10-6 and make the playoffs, though it would be the last game Evans would play in 1979. The two would not meet again until Week 16 of the 1980 season, with Evans' Bears coming out victorious by a score of 14-13 at Tampa Stadium.

But was this truly the first such occurrence in the NFL and professional football? Did it happen in the WFL or earlier in the CFL?

One earlier near miss that I found occurred December 4, 1977 when Dave Mays (in his second season out of Texas Southern) made his third career start (of 4) for the Cleveland Browns in a Week 12 visit to San Diego. James Harris, considered the first African-American quarterback to get a legitimate shot to prove himself a capable starter in the NFL beginning with the Rams in 1974, had started the first 9 games for the Chargers that season. However, Harris would suffer an injury in their Week 9 loss to the Broncos that would eventually have him out the rest of the season.

As for the USFL, it would take until the league's second season before such a match-up would occur in spite of having Johnnie Walton (formerly of the WFL and NFL) starting every game for the Boston Breakers and intermittent starters like rookie Reggie Collier (Birmingham Stallions) and "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam (Washington Federals) in the inaugural season. It occurred in Week 2 at the rain-soaked Liberty Bowl on March 4, 1984 when Vince Evans (Chicago Blitz) and Walter Lewis (Memphis Showboats) squared off. The Showboats won the game 23-13 behind their running game and a +4 turnover margin, though it should be noted that the rookie Lewis did throw for 3 touchdowns.

Evans (CHI): 14 of 32 for 288 yds, 1 td and 1 int
Lewis (MEM): 9 of 18 for 142 yds, 3 tds and 0 ints

As a side note, Evans and Williams would renew acquaintances as division rivals in the USFL less than 2 weeks later at a snowy Soldier Field. Williams' team got the upper-hand again, as the Oklahoma Outlaws nipped the Chicago Blitz 17-14 on a 34-yard field goal with 1 second left in the game.

Williams (OKL): 18 of 40 for 240 yds, 2 tds and 0 ints
Evans (CHI): 10 of 28 for 245 yds, 1 td and 2 ints.

Would greatly appreciate to hear from others with more knowledge on this subject. Thanks!

I certainly don't have more knowledge for you, but I think there's probably a very interesting Coffin Corner article here.

A CFL game on July 24, 1974 (Hamilton @ Montreal) featured two African-American starting QB's going head-to-head in Week 1:

Jimmy Jones (Montreal) 13 of 21 for 182 yards, 2 td. passes and 1 interception



Chuck Ealey (Hamilton) 10 of 26 for 190 yards and 2 interceptions
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E ... %2C2399762

Montreal had previously started African-American QB's in the 1960's (Sandy Stephens 1962-63 & Carroll Williams 1967-1969). Bernie Custis started for Hamilton in 1951 and led them to the playoffs. Jimmy Jones was the Alouette's back-up in his rookie season (1973) and played against Chuck Ealey and the Ti-Cats on 11-4-73. However, George Mira started that game for Montreal. Ealey started every game at QB for Hamilton from 7/31/72 through 8/25/74 (he was traded to Winnipeg shortly after Hamilton's win on 9/2/74).

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 1974

HAMILTON 11, Ottawa 10 (28,950) - Chuck Ealey scored the only Tiger-Cat TD as he scrambled for 66 yards on 17 carries. It was the first game Ealey didn't start since arriving in Hamilton three years ago.

As a sidenote (probably this is nothing new to you guys),Herb Trawick (not a QB) became the first black professional football captain for the Allouettes in 1950. He was the "Jackie Robinson of Canadian pro football in 1946."
http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/t/trawick_herb.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Trawick

Retro Rider wrote:Ealey started every game at QB for Hamilton from 7/31/72 through 8/25/74 (he was traded to Winnipeg shortly after Hamilton's win on 9/2/74).

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 1974

HAMILTON 11, Ottawa 10 (28,950) - Chuck Ealey scored the only Tiger-Cat TD as he scrambled for 66 yards on 17 carries. It was the first game Ealey didn't start since arriving in Hamilton three years ago.

This is off topic but the above brings back the sad memory of my dad phoning me bright and early from work (something he never did) on the morning of September 3rd, 1974 as I was getting ready for the first day of my Grade 11 school year. He was calling to tell me that our Blue Bombers had traded my hero, Don Jonas, to Hamilton for Chuck Ealey. The Bombers had won the Labour Day Classic against Saskatchewan the day before 20-18, on a last play Walt McKee field goal, to even their record at 3-3 after an 0-3 start. Ealey was never again the QB he was as a rookie in 1972 when he led Hamilton to a Grey Cup win, and Jonas, heartbroken by the trade, finished a mediocre season in Hamilton and retired.

Jonas brought the Blue Bombers back from the dead when they acquired him from Toronto in 1971, taking a team that went 4-12, 3-13, 3-12-1 and 2-14 the four previous years (the first four years after the Bud Grant era) to a 7-8-1 record and the playoffs. All Jonas did was lead the league in all passing statistics and in scoring (he was also our placekicker). He also became the first Winnipeg player to win the Schenley Award as Most Outstanding Player in the CFL. The Big Blue was the highest scoring team in the league almost doubling the previous season's total from 184-366. It was SO exciting and he personally made Winnipeg football crazy again. So crazy, if fact, that an upper deck was built on the west side of the stadium which increased capacity from 22,552 to 25,210.

In 1972, seven of the eight regular season home games were complete sellouts and Jonas had another terrific season as he led the Bombers to a 10-6 record and first place in the West. Unfortunately, things started to crumble in the Western Final as Saskatchewan came back from a 24-7 second half deficit to win 27-24. It was Winnipeg's first home loss of the season and it was absolutely devastating.

In 1973, RB Mack Herron, who should have won the MOP award in 1972, and WR Jim Thorpe, one of the league's best, were released before the season because of their involvement with drugs. They were irreplaceable and Jonas and the Blue Bombers fell to 4-11-1.

Jonas was a huge personality who was involved with all kinds of events and promotions in the city. He even once helped clear one of my tables at the Pancake House restaurant I worked at as a bus boy, when I was 14 in the summer of '73. The restaurant was right by the old Winnipeg Stadium and the guys were there on a Sunday morning before leaving for Regina and a Monday night preseason game against the Roughriders. I was awestruck when I saw that he and a bunch of his teammates were sitting at the table. I'll never forget him prodding his teammates in his Fred Flintstone voice, "C'mon fellas! Let's help the kid out." He was the best.