Always A Giant: Willie Thrower Memorial

Willie Thrower said it a lot: “Anything you do always be a giant.” Now a giant life-size replica represents this New Ken native whose giant steps led him to become the NFL’s first black quarterback.

As a freshman, Thrower made the varsity team at “Ken” High—Valley High School’s predecessor, New Kensington High. During his four years, the team won two WPIAL championships. Willie made first team All-WPIAL and All-State, as well as being named captain of a group of high school All-Americans representing the Eastern U.S.

After graduating from Ken High, Thrower played quarterback at Michigan State University. That had never been done in the group of schools Michigan State played in football. The group, or conference, was among the nation’s top collegiate football programs at the time. It made Willie Thrower the first African-American quarterback in the Big 10 football conference. Thrower was on the Michigan State team that won the 1952 National Championship.

That season included a win over Notre Dame where Willie stepped in off the bench when Michigan was barely winning, 7-3. He threw for a touchdown and quarterbacked the team to another, to send the Fighting Irish home defeated, 21-3. The win sent Thrower’s team on its way to the national title. After college, Willie went on to play NFL football for the Chicago Bears under legendary coach George Halas. There, he was back-up quarterback to the also-legendary George Blanda (the Youngwood native who played pro for 26 years until he was almost 49—but that’s another story.) Blanda was Thrower’s roommate, and Blanda was whom Thrower replaced on the field during the 1953 game against San Francisco 49ers. He connected on three of eight passes for a gain of 27 yards and to become the first African American quarterback in the NFL. It also earned him his nickname, Willie the Pro.

The statue of Willie Thrower is located in front of the football stadium at Valley High School. Dedicated in late September 2006, it was the result of three and a half years of hard work and determination—a giant effort. The project began a year after Thrower’s 2002 death, when Will Varner and Melvin Smith talked about getting something done to help people remember Willie. Varner said he felt like, “Nobody else had ever done anything like this for him (Thrower).” But the seeds of the project may have been planted years ago when Will Varner was a boy. The rear of Varner’s childhood home was across the alley from the rear of Thrower’s home. Varner remembers meeting Thrower often in the alley in back of their homes and talking sports.

After Varner and Smith talked, they called a group of people together. With the blessing of Willie’s wife, Mary, and sons Willie, Jr., Melvin and Jason, the project was birthed. They formed officers (today, Varner serves as President, Willie Thrower, Jr. is Vice-President, Melvin Thrower is Treasurer and Monique Turner is Secretary.) After much discussion, it was decided to get a statue. The New Ken-Arnold School Board agreed to permit the statue to be placed at the football stadium. Its creation would cost $55,000. But the artist who was chosen, Steve Paulovich, was a Valley High School grad living in Louisville. He cut the price to $28,500. The group began raising money, and over the course of time they collected funds, they not only raised enough for the statue, but also enough to pay for two scholarships over the past four years at Valley. “We wanted to use the funds for things we thought Willie would want to use it for,” Varner says. Hey—anything you do, always be a giant. That’s the way Willie the Pro would have wanted it.

To find out more about Willie Thrower, go to williethepro.com or call Will Varner at 724-337-7393