Born near Pittsburgh in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Thrower was known as "Mitts" because of his large hands and arm strength, which stood in contrast to his 5' 11" frame.
He became the first National Football League (NFL) African American quarterback in the modern era, playing for the Chicago Bears in 1953.
From his sophomore to senior years, New Kensington won 24 straight games, including the 1946 and 1947 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class AA championships.
As a dual-threat quarterback, Thrower was also an All-WPIAL and all-state first team honors and was named captain for an All-American scholastic selection covering the nation east of the Mississippi River.
[1] After graduating, Thrower chose to play collegiate football for the Michigan State Spartans alongside some of his high school teammates William Horrell, Joseph Klein, Renaldo Kozikowski, Vincent Pisano and the Tamburo brothers, Harry and Richard.
He would remain in East Lansing from 1949 to 1952, competing for playing time at quarterback with All-Americans Al Dorow and Tom Yewcic.
In a crucial game with Notre Dame, Thrower stepped in for an injured quarterback Tom Yewcic and threw a touchdown in a 21–3 win.
Willie Thrower, former Michigan State Negro quarterback star making his major league debut, passed 12 to (Jim) Dooley, putting the ball on the 4.
Being the first African-American quarterback in the NFL, in 2002 Thrower told The Valley News Dispatch of Tarentum, Pa, "I look at it like this: I was like the Jackie Robinson of football.
The statue was unveiled during a Valley High School football game in September attended by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney as well as Thrower's family.
Willie Thrower was also mentioned by former NFL quarterback Warren Moon in his Pro Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech.