Gabe Patterson (September 9, 1919 – October 26, 1991), nicknamed "Galloping Gabe", was an American professional multi-sport athlete who played Canadian football and Negro league baseball.
Career Patterson played high school football at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, and his college football at Kentucky State and the University of Pittsburgh. He was signed by the Montreal Alouettes in 1947, but was released.Regina Lays Claim to Charlton: Riders set sights on 1948, by George Foster, Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 27, 1948 He then signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, playing two seasons and was selected an all-star in both seasons.CFLAPEDIA entry - Saskatchewan Roughriders and Gabe Gets Major Score for Regina, Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 29, 1947 Patterson was the first African-American to play for the Roughriders, breaking the colour barrier, like Herb Trawick.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.
Patterson also played professional baseball for the New York Black Yankees in 1941 and 1947, and for the Philadelphia Stars in 1947 and 1948. He had a wife and three daughters, 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.
References
External links Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Archives and Seamheads