Ezzrett Anderson

Ezzrett "Sugarfoot" Anderson (February 10, 1920 – March 8, 2017) was an all-star professional Canadian football player.

Ezzertt Anderson
Born:(1920-02-10)February 10, 1920
Nashville, Arkansas, US
Died:March 8, 2017(2017-03-08) (aged 97)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Career information
Position(s)End, Defensive back
CollegeKentucky State
Career history
As player
1947Los Angeles Dons
1948–1954Calgary Stampeders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1949

Biography

Anderson graduated from Kentucky State and turned pro in 1945 and 1946 with the Hollywood Bears in the Pacific Coast Football League (along with Chuck Anderson, who would also later play pro in Canada).[1] After playing with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference in 1947, catching 11 passes for 126 yards and scoring one touchdown, he began a 6-year stay with the Calgary Stampeders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union. As a Stamp he caught 116 passes for 1576 yards and made 5 TDs, with his best year being 1950, when he caught 46 passes for 673 yards. He retired in 1954.[2]

Following in the footsteps of Herb Trawick, he was among the first African-American players in the Canadian professional leagues. In 1990, he was inducted into the Calgary Stampeders Wall of Fame.[3] He died on March 8, 2017 at the age of 97.[4]

He was married to Virnetta Anderson, who was elected to Calgary City Council in 1974 as the city's first Black municipal councillor.[5]

References
  1. Not Only the Ball Was Brown: Black Players in Minor League Football, 1933–46 by Bob Gill and Tod Maher, The Coffin Corner: Vol. 11, No. 5 (1989)
  2. CFLAPEDIA entry - Ezzert Anderson
  3. "Stamps Add to Wall of Fame". Calgary Stampeder Football Club. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  4. "Former Stamps player Anderson dies at age 97". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. William Humber, A Sporting Chance: Achievements of African-Canadian Athletes. Dundurn Press, 2004. ISBN 9781896219998. p. 65.
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