<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Player stats at NFL.com </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Pro Football Hall of Fame </Td> </Tr> <P> Emlen Lewis Tunnell (March 29, 1924--July 23, 1975), sometimes known by the nickname "The Gremlin", was an American football player and coach . He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants and also the first to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . </P> <P> Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Tunnell played college football at the University of Toledo in 1942 and University of Iowa in 1946 and 1947 . He also served in the United States Coast Guard from 1943 to 1946 . He received the Silver Lifesaving Medal for heroism in rescuing a shipmate from flames during a torpedo attack in 1944 and rescuing another shipmate who fell into the sea in 1946 . </P>

First black player in nfl hall of fame