Ealey honored as college football#8217;s top winning QB
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 14, 2006
PORTSMOUTH — More than anything else, Chuck Ealey was a winner, both on and off the field. And the record books will back it up.
Ealey’s accomplishments as college football’s greatest winner as a quarterback were recognized by his hometown Monday with a plaque unveiled at Spartan Stadium in his honor.
Playing in an era when freshmen were ineligible, Ealey did not start until his sophomore season. But in three years, Ealey led the Toledo Rockets to a 35-0 record that included two Tangerine Bowl wins and Most Valuable Player awards, three Mid-American Conference Back of the Year awards, three top 20 finishes in the Associated Press poll and an eighth place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting.
“Personal records have no meaning. They’re really no issue. The one record that’s very complimentary to me and my teammates was the 35-0. I feel really good about that,” Ealey said.
Ealey’s record has been challenged, but never broken. Southearn California’s Matt Leinart was 37-2, Miami’s Ken Dorsey 38-2 and Oklahoma’s Steve Davis 32-1-1.
Despite his great accomplishments, Ealey was snubbed in the NFL draft which had 17 rounds. Ealey said there could have been several factors he was bypassed including his height and/or the fact he was a black quarterback.
Backup Joe Gilliam of Pittsburgh was the only black quarterback in the NFL in 1972.
“Don’t get bitter, get better,” Ealey said. “There was never an intent when I was growing up to play in the NFL. There wasn’t a drastic feeling that I had to play in the NFL. I was always wanting to get a scholarship to get my education further. When I got to my junior year and people started asking me about pro, I kind of went, ‘Oh, that’d be nice.’ That wasn’t necessarily a driving point.
“When I didn’t get drafted, based on the circumstances, it was disappointing, and I just said ‘OK, you got to move on.’”
Ealey signed to play in the Canadian Football League and led the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the CFL title his first season as he was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. He suffered a collapsed lung after seven seasons and elected to retired.
Ealey said a lot of people were influential in his life, but none more than his mother who had only an eighth grade education. His mother knew that the answer to a better life was through education and he worked to become a great football player in order to get a college scholarship in order to get that education.
“I had the drive, determination and dedication because of my mother. She was the driving force behind my decision to play ball because it was about education and not football,” Ealey said.
“I tell young kids, ‘Don’t worry about playing football. Worry about gettting an education because football will end.’ I want them to remember me for the legacy after football.”
Ed Miller, Ealey’s high school coach at Portsmouth Notre Dame, said Ealey had a great work ethic along with the drive, determination and dedication to become a great player. The Ohio high school hall of fame football coach spoke about his prize player’s accomplishments.
“He was a young man who worked hard every day and never missed a practice,” Miller said. “He was a leader on and off the field and a joy to coach.
“We had a lot of outstanding players around him and a running game that could score from about any place on the field. Most of our games were over at halftime. We did not throw the football very much, but when we did, he made it count. Chuck was the best rollout quarterback I ever coached in my career.”
Ealey led Notre Dame to back-to-back 9-0 seasons and an Associated Press Class A poll championship in 1967. Ohio did not have postseason playoffs until 1972.
Miller said college coaches such as Bo Schembechler at Miami, Ohio, and the late Bill Hess at Ohio University recruited Ealey as a defensive back instead of a quarterback. Toledo signed Ealey as a quarterback and he led the Rockets to three straight wins over Ohio and Miami since all three teams were in the Mid-American Conference.
“I would like to spend an hour talking about all the great things that have happened in my life just because people said no to me.”
Miller said Ealey always made it a point to find Hess after the game to shake hands.
“He told coach Hess, ‘You made a mistake in recruiting,’” Miller said.
John Carpenter, who spearheaded the movement to honor Ealey with a plaque, said the next step was to get former Toledo quarterback into the College Football Hall of Fame.
“What he did was a great accomplishment. South Bend, open your doors and let Chuck Ealey in the hall of fame,” Carpenter said.