10/9/2018 football Edit

Indiana Football: IU Legend George Taliaferro Dies At 91

Stu Jackson • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

Stu Jackson covers Indiana University basketball, football and recruiting for TheHoosier.com. He also hosts Heard on The Hoosier, the site's official podcast.

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Former Indiana All-American George Taliaferro, a trailblazer for African-Americans in football, has passed away at age 91, according to the Twitter page for the George Taliaferro Sports Association.

"We regret to announce that our namesake of the organization has passed away," GTSA tweeted late Monday night. "George Taliaferro was truly a role model in the Bloomington community. We will continue to make sure his legacy lives on here and throughout the country!"

Taliaferro became the first African-American to be drafted by an NFL team when the Chicago Bears selected him in the 13th round of the 1949 NFL Draft. The Gary, Indiana native went on to play seven seasons of professional football with stops with NFL franchises in New York, Dallas, Baltimore and Philadelphia as well as the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football Conference from 1949-55.

At Indiana, Taliaferro was a member of Indiana's 1945 undefeated football team - the only team in program history to accomplish the feat. Overall, was a three-time football letter winner who was named IU's Most Valuable Player in 1948. He also collected first team All-Big Ten in 1945 and 1948 and made at least one All-American team in 1945, 1947 and 1948. Additionally, Taliaferro was IU's leading rusher in 1945 and 1948, and also led IU in passing in 1948. He also starred on special teams, leading the Hoosiers in punting in 1945, 1947 and 1948.

Taliaferro returned to Bloomington to work under former university president Jon Ryan in 1972, helping develop the affirmative action plan for all eight of Indiana University's campuses according to The Bloomington-Herald Times. He spent a decade teaching in IU's School of Social Work before retiring in 1992.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Taliaferro moved into a retirement community in West Chester, Ohio, in 2016 to be closer to family.

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