Chuck Ealey

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Chuck Ealey
Date of birth: 1950
Place of birth: Portsmouth, Ohio
Career information
Status: Retired
CFL status: Import
Position(s): QB
Jersey №: 16
College: University of Toledo
Organizations
 As player:
1972-1974
1974-1975
1975-1978		 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and Awards
CFL All-Star: *
Awards: *
Honors: *

Charles "Chuck" Ealey (born 1950 in Portsmouth, Ohio) is a former football player for Notre Dame High School, University of Toledo, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Contents

[edit] High school and college years

From 1964 to 1967, Ealey played for Notre Dame High School under Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer, Ed Miller. In 1967, under Ealey's leadership, Notre Dame captured its first Ohio High School Athletic Association state championship. Ealey was lightly recruited despite finishing his high school career at with a 30-0 record. He was offered a football scholarship to Miami University with then Coach Bo Schembechler to be the team's third string quarterback, but Ealey refused. Ealey was then offered a scholarship to the University of Toledo to start as first string quarterback. Ealey accepted and lead Toledo to 35 consecutive wins in a three year span from 1969-1971, an NCAA record that still stands[1], ranking ahead of players such as the University of Miami's Ken Dorsey and USC's Matt Leinart. His greatest trimuph with Toledo was helping the Toledo Rockets win the Tangerine Bowl in 1971. Ealey led the Toledo Rockets to three straight Top 20 finishes and three straight Tangerine Bowl victories from 1969-1971, winning the MVP award after all three games[2]. In 1971, Ealy's senior season, he was named First Team All-American by Football News, Second Team All-American by United Press International, and Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. Ealy also finished eighth in the voting for the 1971 Heisman Trophy[3], which was awarded to Pat Sullivan of Auburn. Ealy finished his career as a three-time first team all-conference selection, and a three-time Back of the Year selection in the Mid-American Conference, leading the conference in passing yards in 1970 and 1971. Ealy's jersey is one of only four retired jerseys in the history of Toledo football[4], and was elected to the MAC Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1988 [5]. Despite his his amateur accomplishments, Ealy is not a member of the College Football Hall of Fame [6]. Ealy was passed by in the 1972 NFL Draft. This was still a time in which most NFL franchises did not seriously consider African-American quarterbacks.

[edit] His Canadian football career

In 1972 he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He did not start as QB until game four, but then proceeded to have an astonishing rookie season. He led Hamilton to an 11 win 3 loss record, winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award and becoming an All-Star. Best of all, he helped secure a thrilling 13 to 10 last minute victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 60th Grey Cup, when he also won the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award after passing for 291 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 63 yards. He also played with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1974 and 1975 and with the Toronto Argonauts, for 48 games, in 1975 to 1978. Ealey suffered a career ending collapsed lung injury in 1978. In total, Ealy played for seven seasons with Hamilton, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Toronto Argonauts, passing for 13,326 yards and 82 touchdowns [7].

[edit] After football

Ealey is now a Regional Director for Investors Group in Mississauga, Canada (a suburb of Toronto). He can be heard on Wednesday afternoons, giving helpful investment tips and advice on CIWV-FM Wave 94.7. He currently lives in Brampton. He is married, with three kids and three grandchildren. Ealey's son, Damon, also played football for the University of Toledo in 1995. A documentary film on his life is currently being filmed. Chuck Ealey is one of a number of black athletes featured in the book for young readers, Choice of Colours: The Pioneering African-American Quarterbacks Who Changed the Face of Football (2008).

[edit] External links

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Hamilton Tiger-Cats Starting Quarterbacks
Heath • Lakes • Mackrides • Songin • Garrigus • Knox • Curcillo • Faloney • Zuger • Ealey • Jonas • McMillan • Keeling • Jones • Clements • Brock • Hobart • Kerrigan • Porras • Kerrigan • Allen • McPherson • Dillon • Rosenbach • Slack • Taylor • Calvillo • Kerrigan • Dunigan • Calvillo • Foggie • McManus • Jones • Brady • Eakin • Maas • Chang • Printers • Williams
v • d • e
Winnipeg Blue Bombers Starting Quarterbacks
Jacobs • Day • Leake • Ploen • Thornton • Ledyard • Ploen • Schneider • Gabler • Jonas • Ealey • Brock • Clements • Salisbury • Saltz • Burgess • Dunigan • Garza • Pelluer • Austin • Vargas • Kopp • Rubley • Bell • Jones • Glenn • Martin • Glenn • Quinn • Glenn • Dinwiddie
v • d • e
Toronto Argonauts Starting Quarterbacks
Mullan • Stukus • Krol • Dekdebrun • Wirkowski • Galiffa • Dublinski • Knox • Rote • Liske • Day • Gabler • Wilkinson • Jonas • Gabler • Theismann • Rae • Ealey • Adams • Holloway • Barnes • Holloway • Congemi • Renfroe • Foggie • Dunigan • Foggie • Kerrigan • Ham • Slack • White • Graves • Austin • Flutie • Bell • Barker • Kemp • Bell • Slack • Ballard • Allen • Wynn • Allen • Bishop • McMahon • Allen • Butler • Bishop • Joseph