Walter Achiu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walter Tin Kit ("Sneeze") Achiu (August 03, 1902-March 21, 1989) was a Chinese-American football player. Walter was most notably known as the first Asian to play in the National Football League. He was one of the first minorities to play in any major American professional sports league, preceding Jackie Robinson's entry to Major League Baseball by twenty years. He was elected into the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.

College career

Achiu was a standout three sport athlete (football, baseball, and track) at the University of Dayton from 1922-1927.

Professional career

Achiu played for the now defunct Dayton Triangles of the NFL in 1927 and 1928. He was primarily used as a running back and defensive back. He later became a well-known professional wrestler.

[edit] Sources http://www.cincypost.com/bengals/2002preview/dayton090702.html http://www.cms.daytonflyers.com/HallOfFame.html http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ACHIUWAL01 http://www.daytonflyers.cstv.com/hallfame/dayt-hallfame.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_retired_American_football_players http://www.nfl.com/news/000131pearlsofwisdom.html http://www.starbulletin.com/1999/08/03/sports/kwon.html