Donnie Little
| No. 1 | |
| Date of birth | October 14, 1959 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Dickinson, Texas |
| Career information | |
| Status | Retired |
| CFL status | International |
| Position(s) | Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Punt Returner, Kick Returner |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg) |
| College | Texas |
| High school | Dickinson High School |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1978–1981 | Texas Longhorns |
| 1982–83 | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Awards | 2013 Texas High School Football Hall of Fame |
| Career stats | |
| Receptions | 46 |
| Rec. Yds | 753 |
| Long Rec. | 36 yards |
| Rec. TDs | 1 |
| Punt Ret | 26 |
| Ret Yds | 211 |
Donnie Little (born 1960) is a former American football quarterback. He was the quarterback of the Texas Longhorns from 1978 to 1980, and in 1978 was the first black quarterback to play for The University of Texas. He is credited with "opening doors" for future black quarterbacks at Texas, such as James Brown and Vince Young.
Little was born in Dickinson, Texas and graduated from Dickinson High School in 1978. He started playing high school football during his junior year when the football coach encouraged black students to play football. Little helped the team make it to the state playoffs in 1976, and in 1977 Dickinson won the Class 3A Football State Championship with Little as quarterback. In the state championship game against the Brownwood Lions, Little set the Texas record for most rushing yards (255) in a state championship game. Only one year later, Eric Dickerson broke this record while playing at Sealy High School.
He was also a shortstop-pitcher in high school who hit better than .400 his senior year and threw two no-hitters.
After being heavily recruited and choosing Texas over Oklahoma, Little played for The University of Texas from 1978 to 1981, becoming the first black quarterback to play for UT. He had wanted to play baseball too, but felt pressured by Coach Fred Akers to focus on football.
In his freshman season, he shared quarterback duties with Randy McEachern and Mark McBath, with McEachern starting most games. Little replaced McEachern in the second quarter of the Oklahoma game, and despite four turnovers in that game, he earned his first career start the following week against North Texas State. But when Little fumbled three times in the first half, and Texas fell behind 9-0, McEachern came off the bench to rally the Longhorns for the win, reclaiming the starting job. Little continued to share quarterback duties as the backup to McEachern until a thumb injury suffered during the Baylor game ended Little's season.
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