Duke Slater facts for kids
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| No. 16 | |||
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| Position: | Tackle | ||
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| Born: | December 9, 1898 Normal, Illinois |
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| Died: | August 14, 1966 (aged 67) Chicago, Illinois |
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| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Clinton (Clinton, Iowa) | ||
| College: | Iowa | ||
| Career history | |||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||
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Pro Football Hall of Fame
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College Football Hall of Fame
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Frederick Wayman "Duke" Slater (born December 9, 1898 – died August 14, 1966) was an amazing American football player and later a respected judge. He was so good at football that he was put into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. Later, in 2020, he was also honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Duke Slater played college football at the University of Iowa from 1918 to 1921. He played as a tackle, which is a key position on the offensive and defensive line. In 1921, he was named a first-team All-American. That same year, his team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, won the national championship!
After college, Slater joined the NFL in 1922. He became the first black lineman to play in the league. He played for ten seasons with teams like the Rock Island Independents and the Chicago Cardinals. During his career, he was chosen as an All-Pro player seven times, which means he was one of the best players in the league.
While playing football, Duke Slater also studied hard and earned his law degree in 1928. He started working as a lawyer in Chicago. In 1948, he was elected to the Cook County Municipal Court. This made him only the second African-American judge in Chicago's history. Duke Slater served as a judge for almost twenty years until he passed away in 1966.
Contents
Duke Slater's Early Life and Football Start
Growing Up in Illinois and Iowa
Fred Slater was born in Illinois in 1898. His father, George Slater, was a minister. When Fred was a boy, he got the nickname "Duke" from the family dog. He kept that nickname for his whole life! When Duke was 13, his family moved to Clinton, Iowa, because his father became a pastor there.
A Hunger Strike for Football
At first, Duke's father, George, didn't want him to play football at Clinton High School. He thought football was too rough and feared Duke would get hurt. Duke was very sad and went on a hunger strike for several days. Finally, his father agreed, but only if Duke promised to be very careful. Because of this, Duke always tried not to show his injuries during games.
High school players had to buy their own shoes and helmets. Duke's father couldn't afford both, so Duke chose shoes. He played every game in high school without a helmet! His feet were so big that his shoes had to be specially ordered from Chicago.
Duke Slater played football for Clinton High School from 1913 to 1915. His team won two Iowa state championships in 1913 and 1914. Even though he mostly played tackle, Duke was the leading scorer in his senior year, running for six touchdowns as a fullback.
Duke Slater's College Football Career
Playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes
In 1918, Duke Slater went to the University of Iowa. Because of World War I, college rules were changed, so he could play football as a freshman. He played for the Hawkeyes for four years, from 1918 to 1921. During his time there, the team had a great record of 23 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie.
In 1919, as a sophomore, Duke was named first-team All-Big Ten. He was also chosen as a second-team All-American. This made him only the sixth black player ever to earn All-American honors in college football.
National Champions in 1921
Duke's senior year in 1921 was amazing. The Iowa Hawkeyes won a share of the national championship! They had a perfect season, winning all seven games and never falling behind. This was Iowa's first Big Ten title in 21 years.
That season, Iowa beat the powerful Notre Dame team 10-7. It was Notre Dame's first loss in three years! During that game, a famous photo was taken. It showed Duke, without a helmet, blocking three Notre Dame players to clear a path for his teammate, Gordon Locke.
Notre Dame's coach, Knute Rockne, later said that Duke Slater almost beat his team by himself. He said Duke was so strong and smart that he had four of his players try to block Duke, but Duke still made big holes for his teammates to run through.
Other famous sports figures also praised Duke. Sportswriter Walter Eckersall said Duke was so powerful that it took two men to stop him. Fritz Crisler, a coach and athletic director, said Duke Slater was the best tackle he ever played against.
In 1921, Duke was named first-team All-Big Ten for the third year in a row. He also became a first-team All-American again. Duke Slater was only the third black player to earn All-American honors in two different seasons.
Duke also played track and field for Iowa, competing in events like the hammer throw and discus throw.
Duke Slater's Professional Football Career
Playing for the Rock Island Independents (1922-1926)
In 1922, Duke Slater joined the Rock Island Independents in the NFL. He became the first black lineman in NFL history. In his first game, he helped his team win by batting down a pass from the Green Bay Packers' quarterback.
After the 1922 season, Duke played two games with the Milwaukee Badgers. Then, he returned to Rock Island and played there for five seasons.
In 1924, the Independents were doing very well. But they lost a game to the Kansas City Blues because Duke Slater couldn't play. At that time, the NFL had an unofficial rule that stopped black players from playing in games held in Missouri. This was the only game Duke missed in his entire ten-year NFL career.
Three weeks later, the teams played again in Rock Island, Illinois. Since the game was in Illinois, Duke could play. With Duke in the lineup, the Independents won 17-0. But the earlier loss to Kansas City was costly, and Rock Island didn't win the NFL championship that year.
In 1926, the Rock Island Independents left the NFL to play in a different league, the AFL. Duke played one season there before that league closed down.
Duke Slater was chosen as an All-NFL player three times with Rock Island. He was also named first-team All-Pro in 1926. For all five seasons with the Rock Island Independents, Duke played every single minute of every game he was in!
Playing for the Chicago Cardinals (1926-1931)
Near the end of the 1926 season, Duke Slater signed with the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals). This made him the first African-American to play for a team that is still in the NFL today.
Duke encouraged the Cardinals to bring in another black lineman, Harold Bradley Sr., in 1928. This made Bradley the second black lineman in NFL history. However, Bradley only played two games. For most of 1927 to 1929, Duke Slater was the only African-American player in the entire NFL.
In 1929, a new star fullback named Ernie Nevers joined the Cardinals. On November 28, 1929, Nevers set an NFL record by scoring all 40 points in the Cardinals' 40-6 win over the Chicago Bears. This record still stands today!
Duke Slater played every minute of that game, too. A newspaper reported that Duke was the "dominant figure" on the line, opening holes for Nevers to score touchdowns.
George Halas, the Chicago Bears coach and owner, said that it was "useless" to run against Duke Slater's side of the line. He called Duke a "One Man Line" and compared him to the "Rock of Gibraltar" because he was so strong and impossible to move.
Even though he was often the only black player in the NFL, Duke Slater was chosen as an All-Pro player in 1927 and 1929. In 1930, he was named All-Pro for the seventh and final time. This made him the first NFL lineman to be All-Pro in seven seasons. Duke retired after the 1931 season. He had played for ten NFL seasons, which was a lot for that time.
Duke Slater played more seasons (10), played in more games (99), started more games (96), and had more All-Pro selections (seven) than any other African-American player in the NFL from 1920 to 1945.
Duke Slater's Coaching and Law Career
Coaching After Retirement
Two years after Duke Slater retired, the NFL unofficially stopped allowing African-American players. No black players played in the NFL from 1934 to 1945. Duke helped black football players by creating and coaching several all-star teams for them. He coached teams like the Chicago Negro All-Stars and the Chicago Brown Bombers.
Becoming a Judge
While he was playing in the NFL, Duke Slater went to law school at the University of Iowa during the off-seasons. He earned his law degree in 1928. He then practiced law in Chicago while still playing football. After a year as a high school coach, Duke returned to Chicago in 1933 to work as a lawyer.
In 1948, he was elected to the Cook County Municipal Court. He received almost one million votes! Duke Slater was the second African-American judge in Chicago's history.
He served two six-year terms on the Municipal Court. In 1960, he became the first African-American to be promoted to the Cook County Superior Court, which was the highest court in Chicago at the time.
Duke Slater was always a strong supporter of the University of Iowa. He helped recruit many talented African-American athletes to the university throughout his life.
Duke Slater's Personal Life and Legacy
Duke Slater married Etta Searcy in 1926. They were married until she passed away in 1962. They did not have any children. Duke Slater died in 1966 at the age of 67 from stomach cancer. He is buried in Mount Glenwood Cemetery near Chicago.
Honors and Recognition
Duke Slater received many honors for his amazing career:
- In 1980, he was elected to the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame.
- He was one of the first five football players inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1951.
- In 1946, he was chosen for an all-time college football All-American team by sportswriters and coaches.
- When the College Football Hall of Fame opened in 1951, Duke Slater was the only African-American chosen in its first group of inductees.
- In 1972, the University of Iowa considered naming its stadium "Kinnick-Slater Stadium" after him and Nile Kinnick. Instead, they named the residence hall closest to the stadium "Slater Hall" in his honor.
- In 2013, the University of Iowa put Duke Slater's name and jersey number (#15) on the Kinnick Stadium Wall of Honor.
- In 2019, a sculpture of Duke Slater was put up at Kinnick Stadium. It shows his famous block against Notre Dame in 1921. A plaque next to it says his life was "defined by triumph and relentless breaking of boundaries."
- An apartment complex in Chicago, Judge Slater Apartments, is named after him.
- On January 15, 2020, Duke Slater was finally elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Centennial Class.
- In July 2021, it was announced that the field at Kinnick Stadium would be named Slater Field in his honor.
See also
