Trailblazers in Black History: Duke Slater

Frederick Wayman "Duke" Slater was an American football player and one of the great Black players of his era. Slater played for the University of Iowa in college and played professionally for ten years. He is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Not only was Slater the first African-American lineman in NFL history, he was also one of the most outstanding linemen of his era. A movement began at that time among the ownership of the league to follow the racist example of professional baseball, however, and in 1927 every African-American player was out of the league, with the sole exception of Duke Slater.

The color ban faced by Slater and other black players was not ironclad, however, and four other African-American players managed to draw salaries in the NFL during short careers interspersed from 1928 through 1933.Slater was once again the only black player in the league in 1929. 

 

Additional information is available here. 

 

Source: Wikipedia