Wally Triplett, the first black player drafted to the NFL, is 90 years old now and slowing down.

While sitting down to answer questions in his Russell Woods neighborhood home, Triplett is wearing a shirt that reads, “NFL” “1949” “Negros Finally Listed,” writes Scott Decamp for MLive.com.

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Decamp describes Triplett as a kind yet complex man with warm eyes and an unassuming nature, as well as a living, breathing piece of American history. Triplett was the first black player ever to play in the NFL. He was drafted in 1949 by the Detroit Lions.

Wally Triplett still lives in Detroit, in the same house he did back when he was playing his final season for the Lions. His house is only a 15 minute drive from the home of today’s Detroit Lions. He describes the changes to the NFL, since his days of playing, as discouraging. Triplett was a hardworking old-school ball player. To Triplett, today’s flashy NFL is almost unrecognizable.

“When I look at this thing they call the (NFL) draft now, I laugh at it with tears because to be drafted now means you’re automatically in a group with people that are going to get paid for doing nothing,” said Triplett. His first year with the Lions, Triplett made a mere $4,800. Adjusted for inflation the amount is still almost nothing in comparison to what players make today. The average salary in the NFL is around $2 million.

Born in Montgomery County, PA, Triplett was also among the first black football players to attend Penn State University. Triplett was a driving force behind the “We Are” mantra that can still be heard on the Penn State campus to this day. The mantra was a response to the discrimination at Penn State in the late 1940s.

EDITORS NOTE: After this story was first published, a story in Onward State disputes the story of the football team being the impetus of the “We Are” mantra.

It’s also not true.

The  inspirational stand by the football team is fact.  It’s a proud moment in Penn State history, one we should all embrace.

But it was not the source of the phrase and cheer.

The real source of the phrase and cheer was told first in 1999, by noted Penn State historian, Lou Prato in the publication Town and Gown.  In that article, since reposted at statecollege.com, Prato details how the Penn State cheerleaders in the mid 1970s and early 1980s created the cheer. Now it has grown into an iconic statement for students, alumni and others, connecting everyone to our Penn State.

The article goes on to tell what it believes is the real story behind the phrase.

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