Charles Clay Anderson (September 29, 1917 – February 13, 1975) was an all-star and Grey Cup-champion professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

player.

Biography

Anderson graduated from

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and turned pro in 1945 and 1946 with the Hollywood Bears in the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) (along with

Ezzert Anderson Ezzrett "Sugarfoot" Anderson (February 10, 1920 – March 8, 2017) was an all-star professional Canadian football player. Biography Anderson graduated from Kentucky State and turned pro in 1945 and 1946 with the Hollywood Bears in the Pacific ...

, who would also later play pro in Canada.) After playing with the

Los Angeles Bulldogs The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of ...

of the PCFL (in 1947) he took his multi-talented skills (he could play any position on the offensive line) to Canada, where he won a Grey Cup in 1948 with the undefeated

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. In a twist of fate, he joined the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

the next season and defeated his former (championship) team to win another Grey Cup. He played with the Larks for three seasons (missing 1951 after a tryout with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and finished his career with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1953. Following the path blazed by Herb Trawick, the first professional African-American player in the Canadian leagues, Anderson was among the first to break the colour barrier. He died after an illness of two and a half years in a hospital in

Louisville, Ohio Louisville ( /ˈluːɪsvɪl/) is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,521 at the time of the 2020 census. Located northeast of Canton, it is a suburb of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History On Octo ...

, on February 13, 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Chuck Calgary Stampeders players Montreal Alouettes players Ohio State Buckeyes football players Ottawa Rough Riders players Sportspeople from Montgomery, Alabama African-American players of Canadian football 1917 births 1975 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople