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Until a mere generation ago, black football players were largely unproven as quarterbacks since they were excluded from a position that demanded strategic thinking instead of brute force. So, talented players headed north, rising to stardom in Canada. John Danakas profiles the pioneering athletes who donned new team colours and changed their sport.

[Fry Reading Level - 4.8]

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9781550289930

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Danakas provides historical and social context for the racial discrimination faced by African American football players and other professional athletes in the USA. Bernie Custis played well as quarterback in college, but when he was drafted in 1951 into the NFL, he was told that the league was not ready for a black quarterback. Unwilling to settle for a less prestigious position, he made a life-changing decision to emigrate to Canada where racism was not as pronounced. He signed on with the Hamilton Ti-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and in his first season was allowed to play the leadership position that he loved, quarterback. <br> In the 1960s, a few more African American quarterbacks made their way to Canada and the CFL in order to play the position that was their specialty. In 1972, no American NFL team was willing to draft a black quarterback, not even one who had a perfect record in high school and university football. Chuck Ealey, like Bernie Custis two decades earlier, fo

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