Ray Kemp

About

Tackle for the first Pittsburgh Pirates football team who was the team's first African-American player, and only the second one to ever play in the NFL.

Before Fame

After playing football at Duquesne University he starred on Art Rooney's semi-professional J.P. Rooney team, which eventually became the Steelers.

Trivia

He lasted only one year in the league, and after him no other black player would make it onto an NFL team until 1946.

Family Life

He was born in Cecil, Pennsylvania, in the state's coal mining section, where his father moved to from Virginia.

Associated With

Like him, Art Shell, the first African American NFL coach, broke boundaries for equality in the NFL.