Wallace Triplett Wallace ( " Wally " ) Triplett ( born 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 portrait hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton , Ohio . Early life . Triplett , the son of a postal worker , was born and raised in the affluent Philadelphia suburb of La Mott , Pennsylvania . His reputation as a talented high school football player , combined with his upscale address , prompted the University of Miami to offer him a scholarship sight unseen , under the assumption Triplett was white . The then - segregated university rescinded the scholarship when they discovered Triplett was black . Triplett instead earned a Senatorial Scholarship for his academics and chose to attend Penn State University in the fall of 1945 . Penn State . Along with Dennie Hoggard , Triplett was one of the first African - Americans to take the field in a varsity football game for Penn State . During the 1946 season , Penn State ' s Nittany Lion s team voted to cancel a regular - season game at the University of Miami , rather than compromise by not bringing their black players . ( Miami , like other southern schools at the time , refused to compete against integrated schools unless they left their black players at home . ) In 1948 , Triplett became the first African - American to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic , catching the tying touchdown in Penn State ' s 13 - 13 tie with Southern Methodist University . It has been suggested Penn State ' s now - famous " We Are Penn State ! " stadium cheer has its origins in SMU ' s request for a meeting to protest the participation of Penn State ' s two black players ( Triplett and Hoggard ) . Team captain Steve Suhey was said to have responded , “ We are Penn State . There will be no meetings . ” Triplett also co - founded the Gamma Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha while at Penn State . NFL . Although Triplett was only the third African - American chosen in the 1949 NFL Draft , he was the first of the draftees to take the field in a league game . ( Other undrafted African - Americans had previously played in the league . ) The 5 ' - 10 " , 173 - pound running back and return specialist played for the Detroit 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 . 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 .