George Taliaferro passed away on Monday, October 8, 2018, at the age of 91. He was considered to be a football legend, a status many athletes aspire to earn. Taliaferro, however, did not make history because he was a once in a lifetime ball player. Instead, he earned his sports immortality by being the first African-American player to be drafted by an NFL team.

Called the “Jackie Robinson of Football,” Taliaferro was drafted in 1949 during the 13^th round of the draft by the Chicago Bears. He had been a three time All American at Indiana University prior to the draft. Taliaferro was a huge Bears fan, but he never ended up playing for the team that drafted him. Roughly a week before the NFL draft, Taliaferro had signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the All America Football Conference.

“I knew everybody who ever played with the Bears,” Taliaferro said. “That was my team.”

Taliaferro made his entrance into the NFL in 1950 after the All America Football Conference folded. He spent six seasons in the NFL and played for four teams. He was with the New York Yanks from 1950 to 1951 before he joined the Dallas Texans for the 1952 season. After that, Taliaferro played for the Baltimore Colts in the 1953 and 1954 seasons before finishing his NFL run with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1955.

During his time in the NFL, Taliaferro played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, punter, kick returner, punt returner and defensive back. He was only the second African-American to play quarterback, and he remains the only person in NFL history to play seven positions.

I’m the one person in the history of the NFL to play seven positions,” Taliaferro said. “When I went on the field, the game was over when I came off.”

Taliaferro was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the three consecutive seasons between 1951 and 1953 and was a starter on the 1945 Hoosiers team that went 9-0-1. They were the only team in school history to finish undefeated, and during that season, Taliaferro became the first African-American player to lead the Big 10 in rushing yards. In 1981, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Taliaferro was a football legend. According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, that was not all he was. Irsay described Taliaferro as “a trailblazer and a true gentleman … [as well as] one of our last connections to the pro football of the ‘40s [and] ‘50s.” There is no doubt that he will be missed.