Art Walker Arthur D . Walker , Jr . ( born November 24 , 1933 ) was an American football player . He was an All - American at the University of Michigan in 1954 and played seven seasons of professional football with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League from 1955 - 1961 . Early years . Walker , an African - American who grew up four miles east of South Haven , Michigan , attended South Haven High School where he was an All - Big Seven Conference tackle and president of the student council . He was also a catcher on a local baseball team . University of Michigan . After graduating from high school in 1951 , Walker was awarded an Elmer Gedeon scholarship to the University of Michigan . The Gedeon scholarships , created in memory of a multi - sport student athlete who was killed in World War II , were awarded on the basis of " moral character , good citizenship , scholastic ability , and achievement , promise of leadership and success , and physical ability . " Walker played left tackle at Michigan from 1952 - 1954 . As a 192 - pound sophomore in 1952 , Walker started nine games for the Wolverines and was named an All - Big Ten Conference player . In June 1953 , Walker suffered a setback when he pleaded guilty in Ann Arbor Municipal Court to stealing gasoline from a parked car ; Walker and another student admitted siphoning gas from a car parked behind a dormitory and paid fines totaling $ 16 . 25 . As a 200 - pound junior in 1953 , Walker suffered from injuries . Walker played with a leg injury against Tulane in October 1954 , and the Associated Press described Walker as the " sparkplug of the Wolverine line " and reported that , despite the injury , he " made smashing tackles and was a demon getting down under punts . " However , his play against Tulane aggravated the injury , resulting in his missing the following game . As a 218 - pound senior in 1954 , Walker had his best season at Michigan . He played alongside left end Ron Kramer , giving the Wolverines " the strongest defensive left side in the Big Ten . " During the 1954 season , Walker played more minutes than any other Michigan player — playing 479 out of 540 minutes in Michigan ' s nine - game schedule . He was named to the 1954 All - Big Ten teams selected by the Associated Press and the United Press . He was also selected to play in the annual East - West Shrine Game , and selected by the Football Writers Association of America to the " Look magazine " All - American team in 1954 . Walker was flown to New York to receive the Look magazine award on The Jackie Gleason Show in December 1954 . Walker was the first South Haven athlete ever to receive an All - American rating , and local residents honored him at a testimonial banquet in February 1955 . Michigan ' s line coach Jack Blott spoke at the banquet , and Walker was given a set of luggage . Professional football in Edmonton . Walker was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 12th round of the 1955 NFL Draft , but opted instead to play in the Canadian Football League . Walker told a reporter that he went to Canada because they offered more money than the NFL , and he had heard tales of salary troubles of Green Bay players . Walker played seven seasons of professional football as an offensive tackle and defensive guard for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1955 - 1961 . His best season as a professional player was 1957 , when he was named Edmonton ' s Most Valuable Player and was named to the Western Division all - star teams in two polls , one selected by the fans and the other by sportswriters and broadcasters . He also played in the 1957 CFL All - Star Game . After the 1957 season , Walker told a reporter from his home town that he had no regrets about playing in the CFL , despite having to participate in a practice in 17 below zero weather and playing in a game in six below zero weather . In seven seasons with the Eskimos , he became one of the team ' s most popular players . After a victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1959 , a Winnipeg columnist credited Walker with the victory : " There are many reasons why the Bombers failed to make it close , but a major one was a gent by the name of Art Walker . Even a delighted Eagle Keys went on record that he had never seeen Walker play a better game than he did last night . Art handled Ed Kotowich and Fred Cole as if he owned them . " Another writer described Walker ' s performance in the same game as follows : " Thursday night Walker , who seemed bent on some personal vendetta , simply refused to let Winnipeg run anything to the left side of the Edmonton line . Mostly it was sheer ability , but to make his performance even more galling to the Winnipeg offensive unit , every time he guessed right . " Walker ' s football career came to an end after the 1961 season . He missed most of the 1960 season with a damaged achilles tendon and battled through pain during training camp in 1961 . After making it through the first 15 games of the 1961 season without an injury , Walker ' s achilles tendon injury returned in the third quarter of the season ' s final game . Following the game , Walker told a reporter that , as he hobbled to the sidelines , he knew his football career were over . He said : " I ' d never go through another training camp like I did this year . Anyway what ' s the point of kidding anyone . I ' d never be able to play as well again , even if I tried . " After retiring from football , Walker stated his intent to remain in Edmonton as his permanent home . He noted that he and his wife had good teaching jobs in Edmonton , and " the people in Edmonton have been wonderful to both my family and myself . "