Name Walter Achiu Role American football player | Died March 21, 1989 Education University of Dayton | |
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Walter Tin Kit ("Sneeze") Achiu (Simplified Chinese: 徐天杰) (born August 3, 1902 in Honolulu, Hawaii and died March 21, 1989) was an American football player. He was a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools and Saint Louis College (now Saint Louis School) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Achiu is most well known for being the first person of east Asian descent to play in the National Football League. He was one of the first people of a minority to play in any major American professional sports league, preceding Jackie Robinson's entry to Major League Baseball by twenty years. He was elected into the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
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College career
Achiu was a standout three-sport athlete (football, baseball, and track) at the University of Dayton from 1922-1927.
Professional career
Achiu played for the now defunct Dayton Triangles of the NFL in 1927 and 1928. He was primarily used as a running back and defensive back. He later became a well-known professional wrestler.