Eldridge Dickey

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Eldridge Reno Dickey (24 December 1945 - 22 May 2000) was an American football player. After playing for Tennessee State University from 1965-1968, he was drafted in 1968 by the Oakland Raiders in the 1st round as the 25th overall pick. Dickey became the first African-American quarterback selected in the first round by an AFL or NFL team. Despite a strong performance during training camp, Dickey was moved to wide receiver for the start of the season. He was never able to play at quarterback in an AFL or NFL game. Eldridge Dickey began playing football at Booker T. Washington High School in his hometown of Houston, Texas. In college at Tennessee State, he became a three time HBCU All-American with 6,523 passing yards and 67 touchdowns. Dickey was considered a gifted athlete with his strongest positions being quarterback and punter. Similar to Michael Vick, Dickey was a strong running quarterback.