Indian University has renamed North End Zone plaza at Memorial Stadium after George Taliaferro, the late Hoosier football star who was the first African American drafted by an NFL team, reports the Associated Press. Indiana University President Michael McRobbie announced the renaming at a celebration of life Saturday to honor Taliaferro, who died last October at the age of 91.
Taliaferro was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and was a three-time All American. He was also the leading rusher on the 1945 Big 10 Championship team that went 9-0-1, the only undefeated team in school history. He was selected 13th in the 1949 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and played six years for teams in New York, Baltimore, Dallas and Philadelphia, being selected for the Pro Bowl three times.
