In honor of the recently celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, here is a 1952 Parkhurst football card of the very first African American to play quarterback in pro football, Bernie Custis. Although Willie Thrower (Chicago Bears, 1953) is the first black to play QB in the NFL, Custis played the position in the Canadian League beginning in 1951 with the Hamilton Tiger Cats. His career totaled 6 seasons, split between Hamilton and Ottawa. After his playing days ended, he had a long, distinguished career as a coach at various Canadian colleges. While playing college ball at Syracuse, his roommate was future Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis.