Gabe Patterson

Gabe Patterson (September 9, 1919 – October 26, 1991) was an American professional multi-sport athlete who played Canadian football and Negro league baseball.

Gabe Patterson
Nickname(s)"Galloping Gabe"
Born:(1919-09-09)September 9, 1919
Greenwood, South Carolina
Died:October 26, 1991(1991-10-26) (aged 72)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)Halfback, Kicker
CollegeKentucky State, Pittsburgh
Career history
As player
1947–48Saskatchewan Roughriders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1947, 1948
Gabe Patterson
Outfielder
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Negro league baseball debut
1941, for the New York Black Yankees
Last appearance
1948, for the Philadelphia Stars
Teams

Patterson played high school football at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh,[1][2] and his college football at Kentucky State and the University of Pittsburgh.[3] He was signed by the Montreal Alouettes in 1947, but was released.[4] He then signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, playing two seasons and was selected an all-star in both seasons.[5] Patterson was the first African-American to play for the Roughriders, breaking the colour barrier, like Herb Trawick.[6]

Patterson also played professional baseball for the New York Black Yankees in 1941 and 1947, and for the Philadelphia Stars in 1947 and 1948.[2] He had a wife and three daughters,[3] and died in Pittsburgh in 1991 at age 72. His previously unmarked grave was marked by the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project in 2009.[7]

References
  1. "Gabe Patterson". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  2. "Gabe Patterson". seamheads.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  3. "Regina Grid Fans Blow Gabe's Horn". The Winnipeg Tribune. October 18, 1948. p. 15. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Regina Lays Claim to Charlton: Riders set sights on 1948, by George Foster, Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 27, 1948
  5. CFLAPEDIA entry - Saskatchewan Roughriders and Gabe Gets Major Score for Regina, Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 29, 1947
  6. The Rider Pride 100th anniversary book states that Robert "Stonewall" Jackson was the first African-American Rider player, in 1930. He was a porter with the railways and is in a team picture from that year. See: The Migration of African Americans to the Canadian Football League during the mid-20th Century: An Escape from Discrimination? by Neil Longley, Todd Crosset and Steve Jefferson (all Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts), IASE/NAASE Working Paper Series, Paper No. 07-13, June 2007.
  7. "Completed Grave Marker Projects". nlbgmp.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
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