Ken Whitlock

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (1920–2012)}}

{{Infobox CFL player

|image=

|caption=

|birth_date = {{birth date|1920|03|23|mf=y}}

|birth_place= Sewickley, Pennsylvania, US

|death_date={{death date and age|2012|01|31|1920|03|23|mf=y}}

|death_place=

|number=

|high_school = Sewickley

|College=Virginia State

|position1=Halfback

|import=yes

|career_highlights=

Negro All-American (1940)

|DatabaseFootball=

|DatabaseFootball-archive =

|playing_years1={{CFL Year|1948}}

|playing_team1=Toronto Argonauts

}}

Kenneth E. Whitlock Sr. (March 23, 1920{{snd}}January 31, 2012) was an American professional football player for the Toronto Argonauts of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU), which later became part of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the first Black player for the Argonauts. After earning a master's degree in education, he became a school principal.

Early life and college

Whitlock was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, the son of Frank Whitlock Sr., who was the first Black on Sewickley High School's football team in 1906.{{cite news|first=Torsten|last=Ove|title=Star Sewickley athlete, first black Marine from area|date=February 4, 2012|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=A-11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83479500/kenneth-whitlock-obituary/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 17, 2021}} Following his father, Ken Whitlock also played football at Sewickley High.{{cite news|title=Black man's family tree includes famous inventor|date=February 15, 1998|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=VN-1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83479218/ken-whitlock/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}}

Whitlock attended Virginia State College, where he played football with the Trojans.{{cite news|title=Argonauts Rated As Team To Beat For Grid Title|date=August 28, 1948|newspaper=The Calgary Herald|page=23|agency=CP|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539769/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}} He earned Negro All-American honors as a junior in 1940.{{cite news|title=Timely-Dispatches|date=January 18, 1941|newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539655/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}}{{cite news|title=Schnebly On 'All-America'|date=January 17, 1941|newspaper=The Dayton Daily News|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539680/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}} He left college to work, later returning to Sewickley to join the United States Marine Corps during World War II.{{cite news|first=Bob Jr.|last=Batz|title=Relatively Speaking, Benjamin Banneker Is a Remarkable Find|date=April 11, 1993|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday Magazine|pages=15–[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83981062/ 16]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83981017/|access-date=August 26, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} The first Black marine from Allegheny County, he served in an all-Black combat unit, the 51st Defense Battalion based in North Carolina. He returned to college after the war, changing his major from agriculture to physical education.

Professional football career

In 1948, Whitlock joined the Toronto Argonauts of the IRFU.{{efn|The IRFU became part of the CFL in 1958.{{cite web|first=Josh|last=Bell-Webster|title=Canadian Football League Turns 50|date=January 19, 2008|website=CFL.ca|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2008/01/19/canadian_football_league_turns_50/|access-date=August 28, 2021}}}} The Argonauts had won three straight league titles with an all-Canadian roster.{{cite news|title=Argos Release Ken Whitlock, U.S. Negro Halfback|date=September 22, 1948|newspaper=The Ottawa Journal|agency=CP|page=20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539523/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}} According to Whitlock, professional football in the United States was mostly segregated at the time, which led him to view Canada as his opportunity for a career in sports.{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Hogan|title=THE UNTOLD STORY OF KEN WHITLOCK, THE FIRST BLACK ARGONAUT|date=February 2, 2021|website=Argonauts.ca|url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2021/02/02/untold-story-ken-whitlock-first-black-argonaut/|access-date=August 26, 2021}} At age 28, the {{convert|175|lb|adj=on}} passing and kicking halfback became the first Black player for the Argonauts.{{cite news|title=Dunlap Practices With Argonauts|date=August 4, 1948|newspaper=The Windsor Daily Star|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539587/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}} In his regular-season debut, he scored on a punt for a rouge in a 20–7 win over Montreal.{{cite news|title=Argo's 2nd-Half Drive Defeates Als, 20–7|date=September 6, 1948|newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen|agency=The Canadian Press|page=13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539827/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 26, 2021}} In the following game against Hamilton, Whitlock scored six points in the fourth quarter, including a five-yard touchdown run, helping lead Toronto to a 14–7 win.{{cite news|title=Argonauts Extended By Wildcats Before Winning, 14–7|date=September 7, 1948|newspaper=The Evening Citizen|agency=The Canadian Press|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84178180/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 26, 2021}} He played a total of four games for the Argonauts before being released.

Later years

Whitlock returned to Virginia and earned a master's degree in education. In 1953, he was named the acting principal of the Mary M. Scott School, a new elementary school within the Richmond Public Schools in Richmond, Virginia.{{cite news|title=Dr. Sisson Named to Direct Personnel at City Schools|date=June 30, 1953|newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83539638/ 5]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83911850/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 22, 2021}}{{cite news|first=Ellen|last=James|title=Former marine tells story of overcoming racial barriers|date=October 7, 2001|website=TribLive.com|url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/former-marine-tells-story-of-overcoming-racial-barriers/|access-date=August 26, 2021}} He was a principal at five schools before he retired in 1980. After beginning research for his autobiography in 1986, Breaking Barriers: The Ken Whitlock Story was published in 2001.

Publications

{{cite book|first1=Kenneth|last1=Whitlock|first2=Kelly|last2=Burgess|title=Breaking Barriers: The Ken Whitlock Story|publisher=Signal Graphics Printing|year=2001|oclc=49667993}}