While Warren Moon is often credited with demonstrating that an African American can play QB and excel at the position in the pros, he was not the first black QB in the CFL. Before there was Moon, there was Conredge Holloway in 1975 and before Holloway there was Chuck Ealey in 1972. Ealey burst into the CFL in 1972 with Hamilton and was named the Outstanding Rookie in the CFL. Ealey completed 58.4% of his passes for 2573 yards and 22 toudhdowns in that rookie season as he was named the East All-Star QB. Ealey also guided the Tiger-Cats to a Grey Cup win over Saskatchewan in his rookie season. Ealey put up similar stats in 1973, completing 58.6% of his passes for 2312 yards. Ealey ws a "protyptical" CFL QB, dangerous running the ball as well as passing, picking up 515 yards in his rookie season and 687 yards in his second year. In 1974, however, things soured for Ealy as he got off toa slow start in Hamilton and with 8 interceptions to only 2TD passes, Ealey was traded West to the Blue Bombers in exchange for QB Don Jonas. Ealey finsished the 74 season with Winnpeg and was with them for most of 1975, but was displaced by an up and coming QB named Dieter Brock and he was dealt to Toronto. Ealey played three more seasons in Toronto from 1976 to 1978, putting up good numbers, though not as good as his first two seasons n the CFL.
Wikipedia Article on Chuck Ealey
| Year | Team | GP | PA | PC | % | Yds | TD | Int | Sacked | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | HAM | 14 | 253 | 148 | 58.4 | 2573 | 22 | 8 | 38 | 351 |
| 1973 | HAM | 14 | 309 | 181 | 58.6 | 2312 | 14 | 14 | 34 | 290 |
| 1974 | WPG | 10 | 147 | 74 | 50.3 | 975 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 115 |
| 1974 | HAM | 7 | 130 | 71 | 54.6 | 1012 | 2 | 8 | 19 | 130 |
| 1975 | TOR | 3 | 68 | 35 | 50.7 | 515 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 101 |
| 1975 | WPG | 13 | 128 | 67 | 52.3 | 1028 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 145 |
| 1976 | TOR | 16 | 245 | 132 | 53.8 | 1846 | 12 | 10 | 41 | 295 |
| 1977 | TOR | 16 | 240 | 135 | 56.2 | 1653 | 8 | 11 | ||
| 1978 | TOR | 12 | 206 | 112 | 54.3 | 1420 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 146 |
| Year | Team | TC | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | HAM | 87 | 515 | 5.9 | 4 | 47 |
| 1973 | HAM | 129 | 687 | 5.3 | 4 | 69 |
| 1974 | WPG | 55 | 300 | 5.5 | 1 | 25 |
| 1974 | HAM | 58 | 238 | 4.1 | 1 | 37 |
| 1975 | TOR | 31 | 161 | 5.2 | 1 | 25 |
| 1975 | WPG | 68 | 434 | 6.4 | 1 | 34 |
| 1976 | TOR | 85 | 613 | 7.2 | 2 | 86 |
| 1977 | TOR | 99 | 663 | 6.7 | 4 | 30 |
| 1978 | TOR | 52 | 373 | 7.2 | 1 | 37 |
| Year | Team | F | FL | OFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | HAM | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973 | HAM | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | WPG | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | HAM | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | TOR | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1975 | WPG | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1976 | TOR | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1977 | TOR | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| 1978 | TOR | 2 | 1 | 1 |