100 Years of NFL History – The Story of Integration in Pro-Football

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(Last Updated On: October 9, 2021)

Integration of the NFL – A story 100 Years in the Making!

by

John C Abercrombie

This post was updated 10/9/21 to include a new book. Scroll to the bottom of the books and videos to check it out.

As the National Football League begins with celebrations of 100 years, we see players of all races on all of the teams. We often assume that things have always been this way, but that is just an illusion.

As we prepare for yet another season, we see the best players in the sport playing professionally. Many of them have had distinguished careers in college, playing at a very high level of competitiveness. At each level of competition, Pee Wee, Middle School, High School, and finally College, only the best stand out at  the next level.

Fans gather to watch the draft of college players. The families of hopefuls and well wishers gather with great anticipation for college level stars to be drafted. Fans of each team talk all off season about prospects for the upcoming year, talk of trades and drafts provide endless conversation.NF

Many fans today see the best players drafted without regard to race, but it was not always this way!

The current NFL started as a group of regional teams in 1920. From 1920 until 1926, there were a total of 9 Black players in the entire NFL. They included Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall.

Fritz Pollard became the first and only Black coach during his playing days. In those days, there were only player-coaches as teams did not have separate coaching staffs like today.

In 1926, there were only 5 Black players in the entire league. Several teams were ousted from the league for financial reasons. With an excess of White players, Black players were phased out in favor of White players. In 1933, the last year the league was integrated, there were only 2 Black players Joe Lillard and Ray Kemp.

In modern times the draft of college players by the NFL started in 1936. This was to avoid the bidding wars among the league’s teams by the arbitrary assignment of negotiating rights to amateur players.

The Great Depression fueled an increase in racism across the country. When jobs and opportunities become scarce, many people focus on the very fact that any Black or other minority has a job or any other financial opportunity. Opposition on the basis of race becomes open and downright hostile.

Racism has always been a prevalent issue in America. Football is no exception. George Preston Marshall was also a large factor in the absence of Blacks as Marshall openly refused to have Blacks on his team. His team was first known as the Boston Braves, later the Washington Redskins. Marshall reportedly pressured the rest of the league to follow his lead and not hire Blacks.

Marshall also had strong appeal in the South because of his racial attitude and the Redskins had a strong following there. He also opposed expansion of the NFL into the South because of economic concerns on his behalf.

The NFL was an all-White league from 1934 to 1946.

1939 saw a bumper crop of Black players who eventually made history, but not in 1940. These players did not get their chance until 1946. They are Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Bill Willis and Marion Motley.

George Halas wanted to select Kenny Washington in 1940, but the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” not to hire Blacks and the vigorous objection of George Preston Marshall prevented it.

These great football players did not get the opportunity to play until 1946, following World War II.

The big break came when the Cleveland Rams were allowed to move to Los Angeles and play in the Coliseum.

Black Print media made the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission aware of the absence of Black players in the entirety of the NFL and that the stadium was built and supported with public funds. As such, the commission had to integrate.

The commission advised the Rams of the need to integrate the team and the Rams agreed. They then signed Kenny Washington.

The signing of Kenny Washington caused a catastrophic reaction among the owners of NFL teams. The Rams added to the controversy with the signing of Woody Strode shortly afterwards.

The same year (1946), Bill Willis was signed by a new league, the All-America Football Conference playing for the Cleveland Browns. At the time, no Black player had played in a pro football game since the National Football League in the early 1930’s. Paul Brown founder and coach of the team also signed Marion Motley, a powerful fullback.

The signing of Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Bill Willis and Marion Motley was the first appearance of a Black player in what is now the NFL in modern times.

Because we see Black players in the NFL and some in other jobs, we often have a mistaken impression that opportunities were available all the time. That is not true. The NFL turned their backs on many able players because of the color of their skin.

Note: The signing of these Black players was a year before the signing of Jackie Robinson, who was signed to play professional baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Most players drafted into the NFL come from major colleges because these schools are well known and have large followings. Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) produce great athletes as well as scholars, they are just less well known. These institutions produce great graduates and should not be overlooked in the search of colleges and universities to attend.

There were few Black players in the major college ranks because many White institutions refused to admit Black students, which contributed to the dearth of Black players. The opportunities for Blacks to attend major colleges was severely limited due to racial policies of the institutions.

It can be seen in the autobiographies and biographies of Blacks who had the opportunity to attend college that they ere more than capable, however the opportunities were few.

In the early days of modern era NFL, most Black players came from Black institutions of higher learning. These Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) have ben stalwarts of Black opportunity. However, many of these institutions were below the radar of many fans, scouts and teams.

Today that is changing, with the start of Black colleges and universities competing in the 1st Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, this year featuring the Morehouse Maroon Tigers vs the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.

There was an exciting finish to the game! With a minute left, Morehouse took a 30-28 lead. Alabama A&M then drove back and scored the winning touchdown with 3 seconds remaining.

 

The 2019 1st Annual Black College Football  Hall of Fame Classic: Morehouse Maroon Tigers vs Alabama A&M Bulldogs game was televised live on the NFL Network

It should be noted that the UCLA football team of 1939 had 3 Blacks in the backfield, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, who were both drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. Anyone have a guess as to the name of the other Black player?

None other than the famed baseball player, Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson who is well known for breaking the color line in baseball, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He will be covered in a future post.

Thus, we see that even in a sport (or business) where winning is paramount, racial overtones and attitudes have worked to exclude and/or limit Blacks and other minorities.

Incidentally, the same situation that spurred the integration of the NFL in 1946, led to the integration of the Washington Redskins in 1961.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall warned Marshall that the refusal to hire Black players would prevent the Washington Redskins from playing in the new District of Columbia Stadium since it was owned by the United States Department of the Interior. Thus, it was government property and segregation was prohibited.

The 4 players focused on in this article Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Bill Willis and Marion Motley should have been drafted in 1940, however that was prevented by the strong, outspoken objection of George Preston Marshall.

We see many misperceptions and myths at work here and in other employment. As absurd as it sounds, there was a general perception that Blacks

  • Did not have the physical skills
  • Did not have the mental ability
  • Did not have the temperament

There were many other perceptions that were never tested

  • White players would not play with Blacks
  • White patrons would not pay to see Black players
  • There was no segregated seating for any Black fans that may attend

Even after Black players were allowed to play, they ran into the same indignities that ordinary Blacks ran into in every day life. Restaurants would refuse to serve them; hotels would refuse to accommodate them, and public places would refuse them the use of restrooms. All of these situations faced the majority of Blacks during these times.

For many years after Black players were allowed to play in the NFL, there was a scarcity of Black quarter backs fueled by the misperceptions and myths that seem to persist.

Most Blacks who played quarterback in college, were moved to the position of receiver or utility back. While there may have been a momentary appearance, there was not a starting Black quarterback until October 6, 1968 when Marlin Briscoe started a game for the Denver Broncos against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Doug Williams played quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he entered the NFL. Williams was the only starting Black quarterback at the time. He was also the lowest paid quarterback  in the league. His salary at the time was lower than 12 of the back up quarterbacks in the league.

Doug William made history in 1987 when playing for the Washington Redskins became the first Black quarterback to play in and win the Super Bowl.

Today we celebrate the progress that has been made in pro football, but we need to continue to support the HBCU’s that offer so many the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, leadership, and most important, their scholarship and academic achievements.

For additional coverage of this topic, we invite you to watch the following videos, including the last one which is particularly relevant to the subject.

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100 years NFL 2nd Half The “Forgotten Four”, Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Bill Willis & Marion Motley, integrated the NFL in the modern era.

It was their courage and achievements that helped lead to Jackie Robinson’s integration of baseball.

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Sports and Outdoors

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The Black Bruins:

The Remarkable Lives of UCLA’s Jackie Robinson, Woody Strode, Tom Bradley, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett The Black Bruins chronicles the inspirational lives of five Black athletes who faced racial discrimination as teammates at UCLA in the late 1930s. Best known among them was Jackie Robinson, a four‑star athlete for the Bruins who went on to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball and become a leader in the civil rights movement after his retirement. Joining him were Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Ray Bartlett, and Tom Bradley—the four played starring roles in an era when fewer than a dozen major colleges had black players on their rosters. This rejection of the “gentleman’s agreement,” which kept teams from fielding black players against all-white teams, inspired black Angelinos and the African American press to adopt the teammates as their own.

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Football LEGEND Kenny Washington

Kenny Washington was a famed football player in the NFL, and also played at UCLA with famed MLB player Jackie Robinson.

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Humor and Entertainment

Another subject that goes hand in hand with sports, use the link below ABH – Humor and Entertainment ** Sports Illustrated October 12, 2009 Daniel Graham/Denver Broncos on Cover, Why Tim Tebow Should Sit, Texas Christian University Horned Frogs Football, Pedro Martinez/Philadelphia Phillies, Kenny Washington – The Jackie Robinson of the NFL

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Kenny Washington Breaks the NFL’s Color Barrier

Kenny Washington didn’t achieve the accolades of Jackie Robinson but holds the distinction of being the NFL’s first African-American player in the modern era after being signed by the Los Angeles Rams.

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Integrating the Gridiron:

Black Civil Rights and American College Football Even the most casual sports fans celebrate the achievements of professional athletes, among them Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Louis. Yet before and after these heroes staked a claim for African Americans in professional sports, dozens of college athletes asserted their own civil rights on the amateur playing field and continue to do so today.

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3RD AND LONG

The integration of the National Football League when Kenny Washington and Woody Strode joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1946.

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Marion Motley & Bill Willis – African American Pioneers in Pro Football The Ro Ro Group honors Marion Motley for being a Pioneer in Pro Football. My Thoughts on my great uncle “Marion Motley”: I can remember my thoughts with my uncle just like yesterday, my sister and I would spend our summers in Canton Ohio

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The last team in the NFL to integrate – The Washington Redskins – Bobby Mitchell CBS Sports profiles

Bobby Mitchell, an unsung hero who in 1962 was the first black player to play for the Washington Redskins, the last NFL team to integrate.

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Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football’s Color Line

Many know the story of Jackie Robinson integrating major league baseball in 1947. But few know that the NFL integrated a year earlier, when Kenny Washington stepped on the field for the Los Angeles Rams. He wasn’t the only one. Four men broke pro football’s color line in 1946, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode with the Los Angeles Rams and Bill Willis and Marion Motley with the Cleveland Browns.

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WOODY STRODE – THE FOOTBALL YEARS STRODE ROAD – FROM FOOTBALL TO ACTING.

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The Magician- The Story of Marlin Briscoe

Marlin Briscoe broke almost every rookie quarterback record in Denver Broncos history but was released without explanation. Then Marlin switched to wide receiver, earning All-Pro honors and two Super Bowl rings.

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For football historians – first part shows some of the stars before 1934 and the speech by Halley Harding that led to the integration of the NFL in modern times. WOODY STRODE – 1946 HALLEY HARDING SPEECH STRODE ROAD – BLACK FOOTBALL HISTORY.

The Cleveland Rams, national football champions of 1945, wanted to relocate to Los Angeles. There was a problem. The NFL was segregated and had to get permission from city

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Bill Willis and Marion Motley

Bill Willis & Marion Motley Integrate the Browns | NFL Cleveland Browns players Bill Willis and Marion Motley not only helped integrate the NFL, but they elevated the Browns, as the team went on to win five championships during their careers in Cleveland.

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Doug Williams:

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‘Skin Deep’ – The Doug Williams Story

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New Book Just Added

The Forgotten First: Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier

THE FORGOTTEN FIRST chronicles the lives of four incredible men, the racism they experienced as Black players entering a segregated sport, the burden of expectation they carried, and their many achievements, which would go on to affect football for generations to come.

More than a year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, there was another seismic moment in pro sports history. On March 21,1946, former UCLA star running back Kenny Washington—a teammate of Robinson’s in college—signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams. This ended one of the most shameful periods in NFL history, when African-American players were banned from league play.

Washington would not be alone in serving as a pioneer for NFL integration. Just months after he joined the Rams, thanks to a concerted effort by influential Los Angeles political and civic leaders, the team signed Woody Strode, who played with both Washington and Robinson at UCLA in one of the most celebrated backfields in college sports history. And that same year, a little-known coach named Paul Brown of the fledgling Cleveland Browns signed running back Marion Motley and defensive lineman Bill Willis, thereby integrating a startup league that would eventually merge with the NFL.

THE FORGOTTEN FIRST tells the story of one of the most significant cultural shifts in pro football history, as four men opened the door to opportunity and changed the sport forever

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People often interpret what they see as having been true forever. In this post we see the devastating effects of racism in sports. Not only did it deny Blacks the opportunity to compete, but it denied spectators of the best athletes. We can extrapolate what this did to other areas of our lives. It is time for people of all races and creeds, all genders and religions to be judged on their merits and not stereotypical mirages.  

 

 

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