The first Black player the Green Bay Packers ever drafted in the first round has died. Veryl Switzer was 89 years old.
He played for the Packers in 1954 and 1955.
He served two years in the U.S. Air Force, then played three more years in Canada.
Switzer was the fourth player chosen in the 1954 NFL Draft. He was known mostly as a speedy punt returner and had a 93-yard touchdown in his rookie season with the Packers.
He had been the first Black scholarship player to graduate from Kansas State University.
He returned to the campus as an adult and helped increase student enrollment, graduation rates, and the hiring of more faculty and staff of color.
