Football History

George Taliaferro wasn't just a football player; he was a symbol. More than statistics and touchdowns, his story is woven into the fabric of American history, where athletic prowess met racial prejudice head-on, paving the way for future generations.

Taliaferro's talent was undeniable. A three-time All-American at Indiana, he showcased versatility as a halfback, quarterback, defensive back, and even kicker. He led the Hoosiers to their only unbeaten season and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1949. Yet, racism reared its ugly head. He didn't play for the Bears but signed with the Los Angeles Dons in the rival All-America Football Conference.

His professional career was a testament to his unwavering spirit. He played in the NFL for the New York Yanks from 1950 to 1951, the Dallas Texans in 1952, the Baltimore Colts from 1953 to 1954, and Philadelphia Eagles in 1955, earning three Pro Bowl selections. His quickness, elusiveness, and powerful running style captivated audiences, chipping away at the color barrier within the NFL.

Though his statistics, 2,266 rushing yards and 1,300 receiving yards, may not scream Hall of Fame, his impact transcended numbers. Each yard he gained, each tackle he broke, was a victory for equality, opening doors for the likes of Willie Mays and Jim Brown.

Beyond football, Taliaferro was a fierce advocate for civil rights. He challenged segregation in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, and championed educational opportunities for minority students. He understood that his athletic platform could be a powerful tool for change, using his voice to dismantle systemic barriers.

Today, George Taliaferro's legacy is etched not just in football history books, but in the hearts of those who strive for social justice. He wasn't just a talented athlete; he was a pioneer, a trailblazer who used his gridiron gifts to make the world a more equitable place.

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Football fans, history buffs, and anyone who appreciates a story that breaks boundaries – this episode is for you! Today, we delve into the life and legacy of a true pioneer, Duke Slater, with the author who meticulously documented his remarkable journey: Neal Rosendaal.

Neal Rosendaal, a Hawkeye fanatic and renowned sports historian, has penned a fascinating biography titled "Duke Slater: Pioneering Black NFL Player and Judge." This book doesn't just chronicle Slater's athletic achievements, but also sheds light on his groundbreaking role as the first African-American lineman in the NFL.

Get ready to be transported back to a time when racial barriers were high, but Duke Slater's talent and determination soared even higher. We'll discuss Slater's rise to football stardom at the University of Iowa, his trailblazing stint in the fledgling NFL, and his remarkable post-football career as a lawyer and judge.

Neal Rosendaal will join us to share his insights into researching this legendary figure. We'll uncover the challenges Slater faced, the impact he had on the sport, and the lasting legacy he left behind. So, buckle up and prepare to be inspired by the story of Duke Slater – a gridiron giant and a true social justice pioneer.

You must check out Neal's webpages dedicated to Slater and other subjects the author has written about on Neal Rosendaal's DukeSlater.com.

-Transcript on Duke Slater book with Author Neal Rosendaal

Darin Hayes
Hello, my football friends. This is Darin Hayes of pigskindispatch.com. Welcome once again to the pig pen, your portal to positive football history. And we have a great episode in store for you. We have a great topic: the player Duke Slater, a very, very interesting figure in football history. And we have an author who's writing a book about him; Neal Rozendaal is his name. And we'll welcome you into the pig pen right now. Neil Rosenthal, welcome to the pig pen.

Neal Rozendaal
Hey, thanks so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Darin Hayes
We really appreciate you taking the time to talk about some great football history, especially one man named Duke Slater, who was very important to that football history. But before we do that, I'd like to learn a little bit about you. What got you particularly interested in football and maybe in particular about Duke Slater?

Neal Rozendaal
Yeah, well, I'm a Hawkeye fan. I grew up in the state of Iowa and attended the University of Iowa. So, I've always loved the Hawkeyes. And I've loved sports history. That's something that has always sort of appealed to me. And that's why I love podcasts like this, because I really love delving into the history of the sport and kind of making it, especially for current fans, to kind of bring it to life, especially stories of people that they may not remember. Or it may have been before their time. And it's kind of interesting because I know you guys here do a lot of things. You're connected with this sports dispatch, and you do a lot with jersey numbers. Actually, the first book that I ever wrote, I co-authored a book called Hawkeye Greats by the Numbers. And basically, it mentioned the greatest Hawkeye football or men's basketball player by the jersey numbers they wore. So we picked the greatest Hawkeye football or men's basketball player that wore jersey number one, jersey number two, all the way up through jersey number 50. We selected what we considered to be the greatest Hawkeye football or men's basketball player to wear each specific jersey. And then, for that player, we wrote a short chapter about them. And that was the book. And Chapter 15 came along. The greatest Hawkeye player, a football player who wore jersey number 15 in our estimation, was Duke Slater. and I had been interested in Duke Slater for a while. I had heard about his story, and Duke Slater is one of these stories. When you hear a little bit about him, you just hear more and more and more stories. And I just became increasingly fascinated by this guy. And I was fortunate enough to write the chapter on Duke Slater for that book, Hawkeye Greats by the Numbers, but it was, he had one of these stories where I just said, you know what, I could write a whole book just about him. And as someone who's a writer, that's kind of a dangerous thing to say because it sort of becomes destiny in some sense. So, I wound up deciding to write a book about him. And I published his biography back in 2012. And, you know, one of the things about writing the book was he'd kind of been forgotten, he'd kind of been overlooked. And I wanted to get him more recognition; I wanted to kind of bring him back into the public eye. And I'm so thankful and grateful to be able to say that over the last decade, we have really elevated Duke Slater's legacy in the public consciousness. He's been honored in a number of ways, which have been really outstanding. And it's been great to see because I think more and more people have heard this story and learned about Duke Slater. And it's just an incredible story. So it was really an honor for me to tell.

Darin Hayes
Well, he is definitely a great player, and I had the honor and the privilege last year to be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the induction ceremonies I'm I'm from Western Pennsylvania, so there was, you know, a bunch of Steelers going in and you had two different years you had the covert your 2020 going in, and the year 2021 class going in, and Duke Slater I believe was part of that 2020 class going in at that time for the pro football fame so it was quite an honor to sit there, even though he wasn't present. You know, it was, it was a great honor to just have the legacy and have a chat and some of the things popping up on the screen, some scenes and pictures of him, and you know his presenter, so it was a great feeling there.

Neal Rozendaal
Yeah, it was actually one of the the best weekends I've had, honestly, because I actually and you know this because you were there, but because because of the way it was set up. So when I wrote the book on Duke Slater, one of my main goals was to try to lobby for him to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And, of course, it's a lobby for someone to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is the competition is so stiff that everybody wants to be in the Hall of Fame. And there are so many worthy people. And I just was lobbying for years to hopefully get that done. He was finally elected as part of that centennial class in 2020. And so here we were; he was going to get his long-awaited induction, and then COVID hit. And it came in or postponed it at least for a year. And what wound up happening was, and again, you know, this because you were there, as they had so many people being recognized in 2021 because they had the supersized centennial class, plus the 2021 class, two classes coming together, and one of them being particularly large, the way that they handled that was they had sort of induction ceremony, before the main induction ceremony, just for the guys who were going in posthumously. People like Duke Slater, who was deceased, were going in. They sort of had a special ceremony for them earlier, just so they could kind of, I guess, control the numbers in a lot of ways. So I was actually invited to that Hall of Fame ceremony that recognized the players who were going in posthumously, like Duke Slater. After writing the book, I was able to connect with Sandra Wilkins, who is Duke Slater's niece. She's still alive; she's still around. She also invited me to be a guest for the family for this Hall of Fame induction. And it was an incredible weekend. It was amazing to see him be honored in that way and to get his bust in Canton, Ohio, where he belongs, so that he can be there for all time. It was an amazing weekend and an amazing event. And it was really thrilling to be there, as it was sort of the culmination of almost a decade-long campaign that I had tried to put together to get him recognized in Canton. And to see it come to fruition was really, really meaningful.

Darin Hayes
Well, as the guy said, used to say on the A-Team, you got to love it when a plan comes together, and you're a great part of that, and we appreciate you preserving that football history, and I think everybody in the football community applauds you and everybody else that fought for getting Dukes later in there because he's definitely worthy of being there, that's for sure.

Neal Rozendaal
He definitely is, and you know, it's all about sort of preserving his legacy; you know, I think John Madden Uh was the one who said it in his induction speech like He always envisioned when the lights go down that all the busts sort of talk to each other, uh at night, you know Talked football and I just I always felt so strongly that duke slater needed to be part of that conversation He needed to have his voice there because what he went through is one of the greatest players In the nfl in the 1920s and to do it as as a black man and the first black lineman in the history of the nfl Um his was a voice that needed to be in that room when those lights go down, and now it is and it will be forever And I think as people come to visit Canton ohio a year from now ten years from now 50 years from now, They'll be able to see his bust there and be able to To say hey, who is he and learn more about him and discover his story? And that's an amazing thing that will be a preserve for history. I think that's just so so meaningful and wonderful

Darin Hayes
Yeah, absolutely. And I guess I apologize; I have not announced the name of the title of your book, and we're going to do it here a bunch of times. But the title of your book is Duke Slater, a Pioneering Black NFL player, and Neil Rosendaal as the author. So I'll make sure we mention that now. Why don't you let us know where that's available and where people can get it?

Neal Rozendaal
Absolutely. It was published by McFarland and company about ten years ago, so you can get it. I think there are some bookstores that carry it, but the best way to get it generally is online. Amazon, Barnes& Noble, or any online retailer can really get it for you. Or, of course, maybe the best way, from my personal viewpoint, if you want to do it this way, is to go to dukeslater.com, which is my website. And if you go to dukeslater.com, we'll take you to a page where you can order from the website directly from me and help me out a little bit more as an author. Honestly, however, you get the book; if you want to go out and get the book, however, you get the book, it is fine by me because I just want people to hear the story and learn more about this amazing guy.

Darin Hayes
But very well said. Well, why don't we go back to the beginnings of Duke Slater? We sort of jumped ahead and told everybody the outcome. He's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And we alluded to earlier, you know, Iowa. And that's how you became associated with him and gained a lot of interest in it. So why don't you tell us how what happened before he was at Iowa and got him involved in football?

Neal Rozendaal
Well, he actually was raised in Normal, Illinois, but he grew up on the south side of Chicago. He spent his childhood years there on the south side of Chicago. And he loved the sport of football from the very beginning, from being a young kid. And the interesting thing about it was he loved the tackle. He loved being aligned. And the thing was, whenever there was a neighborhood game going up, there was always a place for Duke Slater because there were always people who wanted to be the ball carriers. They wanted to carry the ball and, you know, catch the ball, do all that stuff. But they always needed alignment. So he always had a game, the ability to find a neighborhood game. That's where he learned the game of football was on the streets, on the south side of Chicago. His father, George Slater, was a strong influence in Duke Slater's life. George Slater was a minister and an AME minister. Actually, George Slater became the pastor and the head pastor at an AME church in Clinton, Iowa, when Duke Slater was 13 years old. That's what had Duke Slater relocate from the south side of Chicago to the state of Iowa and then to Clinton, Iowa. Clinton is a Mississippi River town. It's a little city on the shores of the Mississippi River, just on the Iowa side there. And that wound up being where Duke Slater attended high school. Being in the state of Iowa wound up leading him to the University of Iowa and on to his football fame. But that was sort of his upbringing. And his life, not only from a football perspective but obviously off the field. He made a real imprint on Duke Slater and raised him right. And he became an upstanding man and, of course, an amazing person.

Darin Hayes
Okay. And just to let the listeners know the time period that we're talking about, you know, Duke Slater was born in 1898. So this is early 20th century, early football, you know, putting in perspective, you know, the NFL doesn't start as the APFA until 1920. So this is really at the grassroots of football here, where he's playing even on the sand lots.

Neal Rozendaal
Yeah, a true pioneer in terms of, you know, the time period. He played three; he actually only played three seasons at Clinton High School from 1913 to 1915. He played at the University of Iowa just after World War I, which is your time period. To our knowledge, he was the third documented black player in the history of the Hawkeye football program. And even that was fairly unusual to be the third because most football programs, even up north, a number of football programs had not even had a black player by that point. So, he really was a pioneer for black players in a very early era of football. And he wound up becoming one of the most, honestly, without exaggeration, one of the most dominant football players that college football had ever seen in his career. And he just carried that into the NFL.

Darin Hayes
And I'm assuming that this is the back of single-platoon football. So he's playing both sides of the line, offense and defense.

Neal Rozendaal
Duke Slater was actually known, well, particularly in the NFL, for playing all 60 minutes of the game. He'd play offense, defense, special teams; he would run punts down, he would, you know, he blocked for the, for the kickoff team, you know, for the kick returners, he, he would never leave the fields for his time in Rock Island. And he, I think, had played all 60 minutes, which was not unheard of in those days, but he would play all 60 minutes of every game for an entire season. And then he did that season after season for almost every game that he played in Rock Island for years and years in a row. And that was particularly unusual; it wasn't unusual to play all 60 minutes, but to do it game after game, season after season, was highly unusual. And he was a tackle. He played offensive tackle while on offense, and then on defense, he played defensive end. So he was someone who, obviously, was both an offensive tackle and a defensive end, someone who had a very strong impact on the game. Although, again, not as someone who didn't carry the ball, maybe someone who might be overlooked by some, but he had a dramatic impact on the game from those positions and was just a phenomenal two-way player.

Darin Hayes
Well, you know that, especially the era and the positions that he's playing in to play every minute of every game season upon season; I mean, that is quite a testament to the guy must have been one tough Ombre to be able to take that. It was a lot more brutal than the football that we know today. Even, you know, by today's standards, it's pretty brutal.

Neal Rozendaal
Well, and also you imagine the fact that as a black player, and there weren't a ton of documented stories about this, but you know, as a black player, that he was subject to cheap shots, late hits, you know, all those kinds of things. So yes, to be able to play and to stay in there and to do it game after game, season after season, was incredible. And it's funny because, you know, I tell this story, and I mentioned how his father had such a huge influence on him. His, Duke Slater, only played three seasons of high school football. The reason for that was his father did not want him to play football. His father thought that football was a game for rough necks, and his father was legitimately afraid that he'd be seriously hurt. And, you know, and this was an era where people were dying on the football field. So, it wasn't an ill-founded sort of fear that his father had. Well, his father eventually relented and allowed him to play, but he did so by forcing Duke Slater to promise that he would take every precaution to not get hurt. And it's interesting to, you know, hear that what happened was in his high school days, he would come home beat up, sore, whatever else. Duke Slater worked very hard to conceal his injuries. Basically, if he had a bump or a bruise or a limp or whatever else, he would hide it from his father because he didn't want his father to become so worried about the physical nature of the game that he would sort of pull Duke Slater from the sport. He didn't want his dad to essentially say, okay, you're done because you're gonna get hurt after. So Slater, you know, Duke Slater kind of became ingrained with him to, you know, hide his injuries. He continued that even through college and even at the pro level. And it almost added this sort of aura to him of being invincible, of like being impervious to pain. Like people would be like, you can't hurt him, you can't shake him, you can't rattle him. You know, it was, he was one of those guys where a lot of guys if they were shaken up, they would kind of take a time out, you know, just not an official time out, but just sort of a time out to catch their breath on the field and whatever. And it was known that the game rarely stopped because Duke Slater was hurt because it was one of these guys who, you know, almost put on this aura, like, I can't be hurt. And, you know, that was something that I think helped fuel him and kind of added this sort of, you know, mythology to almost the way that Duke Slater played the game that was really impressive, and it's interesting to look back on now, you know, that's how regarded he was in that day.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, uh, it's making me a little bit embarrassed. I get up every morning and complain about, you know, a sore elbow or something. This guy's, you know, getting a snot kicked out of him and, and, you know, pounding away at some other big, big guy for, you know, and they're playing more than one game a week, uh, sometimes, especially when he was at rock Island. And, you know, just to take that punishment and to hide it from people, especially if your father and, uh, keep on playing, that's a, wow. That's quite a testament to who he is. So amazing. Thank you for sharing that with us. Now let's go back into his Iowa, uh, team. So he's, he's, did he play all four years at Iowa?

Neal Rozendaal
He played four years at Iowa because his first season in 1918 was at the height of World War I. And eligibility rules were suspended. So he was actually allowed to play that season and then allowed to play the three seasons that players typically got during those days. He played in the 1918 season, and it was known that that wouldn't count against him. So, he was actually able to play for four years. He was a first-team All-American in, well, he was a. Actually, he was an -American in, he was a second-team All-American in 1919, his sophomore season. He was one of the first black players in the history of college football to name, to be named an All-American and to earn All-American honors. I believe he was something like the sixth black player to ever earn All-American honors behind guys like Paul Robeson, Fritz Pollard, and others like that. But then, in 1921, that was really the year that shot him to collegiate fame. He was a rock on Iowa's 1921 team, which might be the greatest team in the history of the University of Iowa football program. The Hawkeyes went undefeated, untied. In fact, they never trailed at any point in the season. They never trailed an opponent. They won the outright Big 10 championship for the first time in school history. And they have a legitimate claim for the mythical national championship of that year. Of course, national titles back then were well open to dispute, very much a mythical national championship. However, the University of Iowa has as good a claim as any school to the mythical national championship of the 1921 football season. The marquee victory for Iowa in 1921 was a victory over Notre Dame, a non-conference victory over Notre Dame. Iowa beat Notre Dame 10 to seven. It snapped a 20-game winning streak for Notre Dame that had lasted three years. Notre Dame hadn't lost a football game in three years. They lost that one. And what's fascinating about that is that Notre Dame's head coach was Newt Rockne. And Newt Rockne said later in the season, he said, we had heard about the great strength of Duke Slater, and knowing his great strength, we decided to throw three guys at him on any given play. We'd send three guys after Duke Slater. He's like, sometimes Newt Rockne said this. And of the quote, he said, sometimes we were able to slow him down, but more often than not, he just ripped wide holes in our line that allowed the fullbacks to pick up yards and eventually Iowa to pick up the 10 to seven upset over Notre Dame. It was really notable because Duke Slater was really the first black player in the history of college football to play a prominent role on a team that could be considered a mythical national championship contender. Duke Slater had an incredible legacy in football. When the College Football Hall of Fame opened in 1951, Duke Slater was the only black player in the inaugural class. He was the first black player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The only black player elected when it opened in 1951. And even for years after, there were people who selected an all-time college football team in 1946. They did a poll, and they polled over 200 sports writers. And they said, pick your best 11, the 11 players who would be on the all-time college football team. And they'd select players like Jim Thorpe and other players like Ernie Nevers. Duke Slater was one of the individuals selected for the all-time college football team in 1946. That's the sort of esteem and acclaim he was held in for his college career. Being obviously so successful in college was what opened the door for him to go into the NFL, which obviously was not open to very many black players at that time. However, Duke Slater's widespread fame for his collegiate career is really what helped launch his NFL career. And he went on from there.

Darin Hayes
Well, that's a great, great stories and great memories to have of a great player at Iowa. So it was his first team in the, the what's now NFL rock Island. Was that his first team?

Neal Rozendaal
Yes, it was the Rock Island Independence, and they were an NFL team that was located in Rock Island, Illinois, which is just on the other side of the Mississippi River from Iowa. So, it's fairly close to Iowa. He played five seasons with the Rock Island Independence. It's, you know, he actually, on October 1st of this year, was the 100th anniversary of Duke Slater's debut in the NFL. When Duke Slater made his debut in the NFL, he was the first black lineman in the history of the National Football League. He made his debut on October 1st, 1922. The Rock Island Independence played the Green Bay Packers in that game. And Duke helped lead Rock Island to an upset of the Packers. When he broke through on Green Bay's final drive of the game, he broke through twice and twice swatted down Green Bay passes from Packers quarterback Curly Lamba. He swatted the passes down twice, and he helped force the Packers to punt. And the Rock Island Independence held on for 1913, I believe, victory in that game. But that was when he made his debut with Rock Island and was one of the greatest players in the history of that franchise, which, of course, did not last. They, but they're, they're one of the great teams of the 1920s when you think of early era NFL. But yeah, that's how he got his start. And then he spent his final five, five-plus years of his career with the Chicago Cardinals, who, of course, are now known as the Arizona Cardinals. But that's how he started his career. And I want to mention, too, what's interesting about his time in Rock Island was you mentioned his work ethic. One of the things that's amazing about Duke Slater is his work ethic. He graduated from the University of Iowa, and then he enrolled at the University of Iowa Law School. One of the things he would do was he would attend the University of Iowa College of Law; he'd attend law classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday early in the week. And when he was done with that, then he'd make the trek out to Rock Island, which is in the Quad Cities, about an hour's drive away today, probably a little longer back in those days. But he'd go out to Rock Island, and then he practiced with the Rock Island independence for a few days, and then play an NFL game on Sunday. And on a Monday, he'd be right back in Iowa City for first law classes again. And, you know, you think about a guy like that, who's, you know, attending law classes and going to NFL games. And, you know, you mentioned it, it's like, some days that, you know, I have a hard time getting motivated to get out of bed in the morning. Here's a guy who's in the NFL and in law school. At the same time, his work ethic is incredible. And that's definitely a big part of his story and a big part of his legacy, is just that he was someone who was always working extremely hard to, you know, not only for himself, but also to, you know, to give people a good impression of his family, and to stand up for his race, and to stand up for, you know, what black athletes could do in that era, and what black athletes could be, and set a good example for the guys that followed. And yeah, again, he had some amazing days on Rock Island. And yep, that's where you got to start.

Darin Hayes
Well, that's really inspirational to hear that, and it had to be an inspiration to, to younger people, you know, not only of African-American descent but even anybody that heard his story where they had to, you know, you're working real hard, you're playing football and you're going to school and making that journey. That's a lot of, a lot to do. That's pretty good, good role model to be. So, okay. So he, uh, with Rock Island, he moved to the Cardinals, as you said. And he had some, uh, good success with the Cardinals, too.

Neal Rozendaal
Oh, absolutely. Well, he had some great moments with Rock Island. I always tell the story that his best season with Rock Island Independents was in 1924. Rock Island normally was not really much of a factor in the NFL. But in 1924, after the first month of the season, Rock Island was actually undefeated and on top of the NFL was standing. And then Rock Island had a game down in Kansas City against an expansion team called the Kansas City Blues. And because it was in Kansas City, Duke Slater was not allowed to play. They had a gentleman's agreement that black players did not play in NFL games in the state of Missouri, which was a state that was very hostile toward African Americans. And so Duke Slater sat out that game. Rock Island lost that game despite the fact that 10 of their 11 starters were in that game that had started the previous games. The only starter who had to sit that game out was Duke Slater, by rule. And Rock Island suffered an upset loss in that game. A few weeks later, Kansas City had to go to Rock Island and had a return match in Rock Island, Illinois. Duke Slater was allowed to play because the game was played on Rock Island. And he was a dominant force for them again in that game. It's a really meaningful game. And Rock Island wound up shutting Kansas City out 17 to nothing. But unfortunately, the damage was done. Rock Island ended the year with two losses, which was one more than the NFL champion Canton Bulldogs that year. So that was the one thing that kept him out. And what I tell people is, Duke Slater, in a 10-year NFL career, we talked about how durable he was. The only game he missed in a 10-year NFL career was that game. It was not due to injury. It was not because he was sidelined by rule but because of that gentleman's agreement that existed back then. And Duke Slater wound up, ironically enough, wound up playing 99 professional football games in the NFL and AFL combined. He was one game short of playing 100 football games in his pro football career. And it was because of the one game that they made him sit out. So, so yeah, he had some great moments on Rock Island. He was a perennial all-pro in Rock Island. Well, the Rock Island franchise actually folded after the 1926 season. Duke Slater was quickly signed by the Chicago Cardinals for a couple of games that season, beginning full-time in 1927. And the Chicago Cardinals, for listeners who don't know or don't remember, you know, back in the day, the Chicago Cardinals were the other NFL team in Chicago alongside the Chicago Bears. And the Bears and Cardinals had a Cubs white Sox type of hold on pro football. The Bears were on the north side. The Bears were like the Cubs. They were on the north side, kind of white collar, you know, maybe a little more affluent. And then, like the White Sox, the Chicago Cardinals were the south side, you know, they were blue-collar, a little scruffier, a little, you know, a little more hard hat. The other thing about that was the south side of Chicago; there was a huge black metropolis. And in fact, that was where Duke Slater had grown up; he'd grown up on the south side of Chicago. So, the Chicago Cardinals signed Duke Slater, and Duke was able to return to the city where he grew up, the city where he had been raised. And Chicago Cardinals loved it because now they had a box office draw, where a lot of the black football fans, a lot of those fans in that black metropolis, those black citizens on the south side of Chicago, they came to Cardinals games because they wanted to see one of their own, they wanted to see Duke Slater on the line playing for the Cardinals. And so it worked out sort of both ways. The Cardinals have a really good player, Duke Slater, who got to go to his old hometown. And the Cardinals got a box office draw that appealed to the black football fans there. So it kind of worked all around. That's where Duke Slater finished out his career in the final few years, and he had tremendous success there, too.

Darin Hayes
Wow, that's great to have a hometown hero coming in and playing for you. So I had to be a great draw, like you said, so tremendous. And it had to be good for him, too. I had to, you know, you're a little bit long in a tooth coming in there. And maybe that gives you a little bit of a burst of energy. You have some people that, you know, are in the stands and really cheering for you because they helped, uh, Develop you into the player you are. So that's great stuff. Okay. So, God is finishing up law school already when he finished that up with Rock Island, or do you still continue that when he's with the Cardinals?

Neal Rozendaal
Yeah, he still continued with when he was with the Cardinals. He actually graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1928. And I, you know, I want to mention, too, with his football playing in Chicago. What's really incredible about him is that for most of the late 1920s, he was the only black player in the entire NFL. There were several black players in the NFL in the early to mid-1920s. And then, after 1926, the owners in the NFL were kind of trying to follow baseball's lead and kind of knock black players out of the league. In 1927, every single black player in the league. There were six black players in pro football in 1926. In 1927, all of them had left pro football except for Duke Slater. Duke Slater was the only black player in the NFL in 1927. A large part of that was the fact that Duke Slater had been at Alpro for the last four years. He had been one of the best, not only black players but also one of the best players, period, and one of the best linemen in football. And, you know, he was, you know, there was a quote in the book, biography that I wrote on Duke Slater, where they said, if if if owners had blackballed Duke Slater, fans would have questioned not only the owner's integrity but also their sanity because Duke Slater was so good. He was one of those guys that they couldn't blackball. Duke actually lobbied for the Chicago Cardinals to sign another black player. The Cardinals signed another black player named Harold Bradley, who was the second black lineman in NFL history. He played two games alongside Duke Slater in 1928 before Harold Bradley was cut. However, aside from those two games by Harold Bradley in 1928, Duke Slater was the only black player in the NFL from 1927 through 1929. And so Duke Slater was the only black player in the NFL in 1927 and 1929. And yet he was in Alpro both seasons. So that tells you how good he was while he was sort of. He really held the door open. He kept a ban on black players from coming down. It would have come down in 1927 if he hadn't held the door open, but he kept the door open for other black players sent to the league. And he kept a ban from coming down. A ban on black players eventually did come down in the NFL, but not until two years after Duke Slater retired. But he had some great seasons with the Chicago Cardinals. His best-known claim to fame is probably from 1929. On Thanksgiving Day, 1929, Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals helped the Cardinals beat the Crosstown Chicago Bears 40 to six. And Ernie Nevers scored all 40 points. It is a single season, or, excuse me, a single-game scoring record in NFL history. Most points in a single game were scored by any player, and 40 points were scored by Ernie Nevers in that game. It's a record that stood for what is it, 90 years now. Duke Slater played the entire game. He's the only Cardinal lineman to play all 60 minutes of the game. And a number of the post-game accounts credited Duke Slater with being the man who kept the bare front wobbly, as they said. A lot of Nevers' games came behind Duke Slater's blocking. And that was probably maybe his single greatest game or single greatest moment in the NFL. But he played ten seasons and then retired from the NFL. He then used his law degree to start sort of the next chapter of his professional life. But he had some incredible moments. And again, he retired as a seven-time all-pro, having played ten seasons. He had one of the longest careers in NFL history at the time of his retirement and was really truly one of the great players in the 1920s NFL.

Darin Hayes
Well, that's, uh, has quite a lot of accolades and, uh, definitely deserves to be in the pro football hall.

Neal Rozendaal
One of the things, but I'll say this, one of the things that I'm really excited about is that the University of Iowa, my alma mater, which is kind of how I came into Duke Slayer's story, they've done a tremendous job recognizing him and honoring him at the University of Iowa. In 2019, they decided to put a relief of him, a carver relief of him, on the side of the stadium. And it's several feet wide, I think maybe 10 feet wide. It's a huge relief, and it depicts Duke Slater blocking three Notre Dame men in that game against Notre Dame in 1921. And then maybe his greatest honor from the University of Iowa came a couple of years later. Just last year, the University of Iowa named their field at Kinnick Stadium Duke Slater Field after Duke Slater. And now, if you watch Hawkeye football games on television, you will see emblazoned on the field at Kinnick Stadium, and you'll see Duke Slater Field on the field at Kinnick Stadium where the Hawkeyes play football. And it's just a tremendous honor, a collegiate honor for him. And so it's really, I think, given him a lot of exposure for Big 10 fans who, if you watch a Hawkeye football game at the University of Iowa, you'll see on television, you'll see Duke Slater Field on the field, and it's caused more than one person to say, who's Duke Slater, who's that? And it's been a great opportunity for people to learn his story that way, too. So again, the honors that he's been receiving over the past five or ten years have been just so exciting to me personally. And again, it was just so worthwhile for a man with his achievements.

Darin Hayes
Well, that's, that's great. And just to think you're, you're a part of that, of helping people recognize that legacy, so, uh, you know, speaking of that, let's, uh, get the opportunity to let's get and tell the name of your book and where people can pick it up at.

Neal Rozendaal
Yeah, again, you said it's Duke Slater, a pioneering black NFL player and judge, I believe. It's published by McFarland and Company. They picked the subtitle, which throws a lot in there at you, but it's obviously all worthwhile. Just search for Duke Slater, and you'll find the book. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes& Noble, or my website. I'd love it if you came and visited my website and bought it off there. But it's dukeslater.com. Just type in dukeslater.com, and it'll get you there. You'll find all the information on Duke Slater and a way to purchase the book. And again, just an amazing guy. Again, I've talked with you this whole time, and I feel like I threw a lot of information in there. There are just so many facets of his life and so much you could talk about with the amazing man that he is, and it's just a thrill to tell his story. There's just so much to say about this incredible guy, and I love it when people have an opportunity to learn more about him because he's really someone who lived a life that's very much worth remembering.

Darin Hayes
Well, that is very well said, and folks, we will have the information if you're in a car and I don't have a writing utensil on you in the show notes of this podcast and on pigskin dispatch .com with the corresponding posts that we're going to have on there, we will have Neil's website to get you connected to him and to his book and again, he's, he's touched a lot of the highlights of Duke Slater's career, but there's a lot of goodies inside there that you really enjoy and appreciate this man that played football almost a hundred years ago. So, uh, Neil Rosendaal, thank you very much for joining us and spending time and sharing this great story about Duke Slater.

Neal Rozendaal
No, thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it and really appreciated it.