Whitlock was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, the son of Frank Whitlock Sr., who was the first Black on Sewickley High School's football team in 1906.[1] Following his father, Ken Whitlock also played football at Sewickley High.[2]
Whitlock attended Virginia State College, where he played football with the Trojans.[3] He earned Negro All-American honors as a junior in 1940.[4][5] He left college to work, later returning to Sewickley to join the United States Marine Corps during World War II.[1][6] The first Black marine from Allegheny County, he served in an all-Black combat unit, the 51st Defense Battalion based in North Carolina.[1] He returned to college after the war, changing his major from agriculture to physical education.[6]
Professional football career
In 1948, Whitlock joined the Toronto Argonauts of the IRFU.[a][1][8] The Argonauts had won three straight league titles with an all-Canadian roster.[3][9] According to Whitlock, professional football in the United States was mostly segregated at the time, which led him to view Canada as his opportunity for a career in sports.[10] At age 28, the 175-pound (79 kg) passing and kicking halfback became the first Black player for the Argonauts.[10][11] In his regular-season debut, he scored on a punt for a rouge in a 20–7 win over Montreal.[8] In the following game against Hamilton, Whitlock scored six points in the fourth quarter, including a five-yard touchdown run, helping lead Toronto to a 14–7 win.[12] He played a total of four games for the Argonauts before being released.[9]
Later years
Whitlock returned to Virginia and earned a master's degree in education.[6] In 1953, he was named the acting principal of the Mary M. Scott School, a new elementary school within the Richmond Public Schools in Richmond, Virginia.[13][14] He was a principal at five schools before he retired in 1980. After beginning research for his autobiography in 1986, Breaking Barriers: The Ken Whitlock Story was published in 2001.[14]
Publications
Whitlock, Kenneth; Burgess, Kelly (2001). Breaking Barriers: The Ken Whitlock Story. Signal Graphics Printing. OCLC49667993.