Wallace Triplett

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Wallace Triplett
Date of birth	April 18, 1926
Place of birth	La Mott, Pennsylvania
Position(s)	HB
College	Penn State
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1949-1950 1952-1953	Detroit Lions Chicago Cardinals

Wallace ("Wally") Triplett (b. April 18, 1926) is a former professional American football player, the first African-American to be drafted by and play for a National Football League team. For that reason, his picture hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

With Dennie Hoggard, Triplett was one of the first African-Americans to take the field in a varsity football game for Penn State University. During the 1946 season, Penn State's Nittany Lions team voted to cancel a regular-season game at then-segregated University of Miami, rather than compromise by not bringing their black players. In 1948, Triplett became the first African-American to play in the Cotton Bowl, catching the tying touchdown in Penn State's 13-13 tie with Southern Methodist University.

Triplett was only the third African-American to be picked in the NFL draft, taken by the Detroit Lions in 1949, but he was the first of the draftees to take the field in a league game (other African-Americans had previously played in the league). The 5-10, 173-pounder played running back and return specialist for the Lions from 1949-50.

Triplett holds the Lions' single-game record in kickoff return yardage with 294 (second highest total in NFL history), including a 97-yard touchdown return, against the Los Angeles Rams in 1950; his average of 73.5 yards per return in that game is also an NFL record. He also set the Lions' record for the longest run from scrimmage with an 80-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.

Following the 1950 season, Triplett became the first NFL player drafted into military service for the Korean War. When he returned from active duty, the Lions traded him to the Chicago Cardinals. He retired from professional football in 1953.

[edit] Personal

Since his playing days, Triplett worked as a teacher, in the insurance business, and in management for the Chrysler Corporation. He has been married to his wife, Leonore, for more than 50 years. They have four children.