Condredge Holloway Jr. (born January 25, 1954) is an American former
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
and later in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
(CFL). Holloway was one of the first African-American quarterbacks to receive national exposure. His nickname at Tennessee was the "Artful Dodger".
[Fuchs, Cynthia]
"The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story."
''www.popmatters.com'', February 21, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
Early life and college
Holloway was born to Condredge Holloway Sr., and Dorothy Holloway. Condredge's grandfather on his father's side was born a slave, but was emancipated as a child in 1865. Dorothy was hired to work at the
Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...
in Huntsville in 1962.
[
Holloway starred as a high school ]baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player at Lee High School in Huntsville, where he was named to the ABCA High School All-America Baseball Team. He was selected as a shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
by the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
in the 1971 Major League Baseball draft
The 1971 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1971 MLB season. The draft saw the Chicago White Sox select Danny Goodwin first overall.
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1971 Major League Base ...
. Holloway was Montreal's first pick, and he was the fourth player selected overall. However, Holloway's mother, insisting her son attend college, refused to sign the contract (Condredge was 17, too young to sign a contract under Alabama law) and instead he went to Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. In so doing Holloway became the first African-American to start at the quarterback position in a Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
school. In addition to being the first black quarterback at Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
and in the Southeastern Conference, Holloway also was the first black baseball player in Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
history. The outstanding prospect bypassed a baseball career, and Holloway opted instead for a two-sport collegiate career and went on to excel on the diamond. He garnered All-SEC and All-America honors as a shortstop in 1975 and finished with a .353 career batting average. Holloway — still the owner of Tennessee's longest hitting streak at 27 games — was selected to Tennessee's All-Century Baseball Team, making him the only Tennessee student-athlete named to all-century squads in both baseball and football.
In his three seasons (1972–74) as a starter, Holloway directed the Vols to the 1972 Astro-Bluebonnet, 1973 Gator, and 1974 Liberty Bowls and an overall record of 25–9–2. He ended his career with the best interception-to-attempt ratio in Tennessee history, throwing just 12 interceptions in 407 collegiate attempts. During his three seasons, he completed 238 of 407 passes for 3,102 yards and 18 touchdowns, and rushed 351 times for 966 yards and nine touchdowns.
Canadian Football League
After leading the Volunteers to three bowl game
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
appearances from 1972–74, Holloway was drafted by the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
in 1975—but only in the twelfth round, as a defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
, by the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
(few pro teams had African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
quarterbacks at that time). Instead, Holloway went to the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
, playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...
starting in 1975. Later, he moved to the Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...
, capturing the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award in 1982 and guiding the Argos to a Grey Cup
The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...
championship the following season—Toronto's first title in 31 years. Holloway finished his career with the BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions playe ...
and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...
in 1999.
After football
Currently, Holloway is the assistant athletic director at the University of Tennessee. Holloway is a co-owner of D1 Sports Training in Huntsville, Alabama.
In 1996, he was part of the SEC Football Legends SEC Football Legends is an annual award program of the Southeastern Conference designed to honor outstanding former college football players from each of the conference's fourteen member institutions. Begun in 1994, the Legends Dinner featuring vide ...
, representing Tennessee.
In 2010, he was selected to the 1970s all-decade team of Madison County, Alabama
Madison County is a County (United States), county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, and according to a 2023 population estimate the ...
, high school basketball players by ''The Huntsville Times
''The Huntsville Times'' was a thrice-weekly newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama. It also served the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The ''Times'' formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornin ...
''.
On February 20, 2011, ESPN Films
ESPN Films, formerly known as ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), is an American production company which produces and distributes sports films and documentaries. It is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which o ...
released ''The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story''. It was produced and narrated by country music star Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, Condredge
1954 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Baseball shortstops
Canadian football quarterbacks
BC Lions players
Ottawa Rough Riders players
Tennessee Volunteers baseball players
Tennessee Volunteers football coaches
Tennessee Volunteers football players
Toronto Argonauts players
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Players of American football from Huntsville, Alabama
African-American coaches of Canadian football
African-American baseball players
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
Players of Canadian football from Alabama