Willie Lawrence Thrower (March 22, 1930 – February 20, 2002) was a American football quarterback. Born near Pittsburgh in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Thrower was known as "Mitts" for his large hands and arm strength compared to his 5'11 frame. He was known to toss a football 60 yards. Thrower was a part of the 1952 Michigan State Spartans who won the national championship, He became the first African American to appear at the quarterback positi...
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Willie Lawrence Thrower (March 22, 1930 – February 20, 2002) was a American football quarterback. Born near Pittsburgh in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Thrower was known as "Mitts" for his large hands and arm strength compared to his 5'11 frame. He was known to toss a football 60 yards. Thrower was a part of the 1952 Michigan State Spartans who won the national championship, He became the first African American to appear at the quarterback position in the National Football League (NFL), playing for the Chicago Bears in 1953. Thrower would often joke that even his neighbors did not believe this claim, as his accomplishment was not as well-publicized as Jackie Robinson's breaking of the baseball color barrier in 1947.
After brief stints in Canadian football leagues, Thrower worked as a social worker in New York, where he lived with his wife Mary and their three sons. He later relocated to New Kensington, where he lived the remainder of his life as a tavern owner. In 2002, at the age of...
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