| Born: | (1950-01-06)January 6, 1950 (age 75) Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| CFL status | American |
| Position(s) | QB |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| College | Toledo |
| High school | Notre Dame |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1972–1974 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1974–1975 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 1975–1978 | Toronto Argonauts |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Charles Ealey (born January 6, 1950) is an American former professionalfootball player for theHamilton Tiger-Cats,Winnipeg Blue Bombers andToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He became the first black quarterback to win theGrey Cup when he led Hamilton to the title in1972.[1] Ealey playedcollege football at theUniversity of Toledo andhigh school football forNotre Dame High School inPortsmouth, Ohio. He finished his high school career without a single loss and is one of only twoFBS quarterbacks to finish their collegiate careers undefeated with at least 25 games played (the other being Jimmy Harris ofOklahoma).[2] Ealey was also named to several All-American teams as a senior at Toledo.
From 1964 to 1967, Ealey played forNotre Dame High School under Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Ed Miller. In 1967, Notre Dame captured its firstOhio High School Athletic Association state championship.[3] Ealey was lightly recruited despite finishing his high school career with an undefeated record.[4] He was offered a football scholarship toMiami University with then-coachBo Schembechler to be the team's third-string quarterback, but Ealey refused.[5] Ealey was then offered a scholarship byUniversity of Toledo Head CoachFrank Lauterbur with an opportunity to start as first-string quarterback., Ealey accepted the offer and would lead Toledo to 35 consecutive wins in a three-year span from 1969–1971.[5] Ealey's greatest triumph with Toledo was helping the Toledo Rockets win the1970 Tangerine Bowl. Ealey led the Rockets to three straight Top 20 finishes and three straightTangerine Bowl victories during their run of unbeaten seasons, winning the MVP award in all three games.[6]
In 1971, Ealey's senior season, he was named First Team All-American byFootball News, Second Team All-American by theUnited Press International, and Third Team All-American by theAssociated Press. He also finished eighth in the voting for the 1971Heisman Trophy,[7][8] which was awarded toPat Sullivan ofAuburn. Ealey finished his career as a three-time first team all-conference selection, and a three-time Back of the Year selection in theMid-American Conference, leading the conference in passing yards in 1970 and 1971. His jersey is one of four retired jerseys in the history of Toledo football,[9] and was elected to the MAC Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1988.[8]Due to his amateur accomplishments, Ealey is a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[10] He was passed by in the1972 NFL draft, after making it known that he only wanted to play quarterback at a time when African-American quarterbacks were not seriously considered in the NFL.[11]
In 1972, Ealey signed with theHamilton Tiger-Cats of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He did not start as quarterback until the third game of his rookie season, but then proceeded to lead Hamilton to an 11–3 record and first place in the East Division. Ealey won theCFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award and was named to the CFL All-Star team. He helped secure a 13–10 last minute victory over theSaskatchewan Roughriders in the60th Grey Cup, when he also won theGrey Cup Most Valuable Player award after passing for 291 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 63 yards.
Ealey was traded to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers halfway through the 1974 season and played one and a half injury-plagued seasons with the Bombers. In 1975, he was traded to theToronto Argonauts and played three seasons before suffering a career-endingcollapsed lung in 1978. In total, Ealey played seven seasons in the CFL, passing for 13,326 yards and 82touchdowns.[5]
Ealey is now a regional director forInvestors Group inMississauga, and makes radio appearances as an investment and finance commentator on radio stations in the area. He currently lives inBrampton with his wife. He has three children and seven grandchildren (6 grandsons and 1 granddaughter). Ealey's son, Damon, also played football for theUniversity of Toledo in 1995.
A documentary film on his life,Undefeated: The Chuck Ealey Story was aired on November 27, 2008.[12]
Chuck Ealey is one of a number of black athletes featured inChoice of Colours: The Pioneering African-American Quarterbacks Who Changed the Face of Football, a book for young readers released in 2008. Chuck is also the subject of the 2012 documentary "The Stone Thrower." It is part ofEngraved on a Nation, a series of eight documentaries celebrating the100th Grey Cup that aired onTSN in October 2012.
Ealey's daughter, writer and broadcasterJael Ealey Richardson, has also written about Ealey's life in a memoir published in 2012 and a children's book adaptation published in 2015, both under the titleThe Stone Thrower.[13]
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