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In 1933, after 31 years of limited integration, the NFL banned African American athletes from participating in league play. When the NFL was reintegrated in 1946, black players made an immediate impact, leading their teams in rushing, passing, and receiving.
The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to integrate when they hired black veterans Kenny Washington and Woody Strode the same year. The New York Giants and the Detroit Lions were the only other NFL teams to welcome black players during the 1940s and more NFL teams recruited black players in the 1950s. Several NFL teams stood out for their racist beliefs, including the Washington Redskins, the last professional football team to integrate, signing Bobby Mitchell in 1962. LINK
Woody Strode in NFL History
Woody Strode (1914-1995) was a star football player at UCLA in the late 1930s. Along with former UCLA teammate Kenny Washington, Strode became the first African-American to play in the modern NFL after signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. After retiring from football, Strode went on to a very successful second career as a Hollywood actor, starring in such films as Spartacus (1960), The Professionals (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). LINK
Strode played only a single season in the NFL, suffering from a lack of playing time and constant racial abuse, both verbal and physical, from opponents and teammates alike. After the 1946 season, he left the NFL to play in the Canadian Football League, then briefly found work as a professional wrestler before launching his film career. Though today Strode is hailed as a sports pioneer for his role in desegregating the NFL, the player himself did not remember his NFL experience fondly. "If I have to integrate heaven," Strode told a reporter in 1971, "I don't want to go."
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 commissioners to use the coliseum. Halley Harding, African American sportswriter for the Los Angeles Tribune gave a speech at the commissioner hearing in 1946 that turned the tide of public opinion, ended segregation in the NFL, and gave Kenny Washington and Woody Strode the opportunity to play for the new Los Angeles Rams, breaking a thirteen year color ban FOREVER.
Kenny Washington
After graduation, George Halas attempted to sign Washington to the Chicago Bears, but was blocked by NFL owners. Instead, Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League from 1941 to 1945. Unlike most professional athletes, he was able to avoid joining the United States military during World War II and was not drafted into service.
In 1946, when the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, the commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated. As a result, the team signed Washington on March 21, 1946,[6] and fellow UCLA (and Hollywood) teammate Strode later on May 7.[7] His NFL stint only lasted three years, but the impact he had on the league was enormous. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA.
The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to integrate when they hired black veterans Kenny Washington and Woody Strode the same year. The New York Giants and the Detroit Lions were the only other NFL teams to welcome black players during the 1940s and more NFL teams recruited black players in the 1950s. Several NFL teams stood out for their racist beliefs, including the Washington Redskins, the last professional football team to integrate, signing Bobby Mitchell in 1962. LINK
Woody Strode in NFL History
Woody Strode (1914-1995) was a star football player at UCLA in the late 1930s. Along with former UCLA teammate Kenny Washington, Strode became the first African-American to play in the modern NFL after signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. After retiring from football, Strode went on to a very successful second career as a Hollywood actor, starring in such films as Spartacus (1960), The Professionals (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). LINK
Strode played only a single season in the NFL, suffering from a lack of playing time and constant racial abuse, both verbal and physical, from opponents and teammates alike. After the 1946 season, he left the NFL to play in the Canadian Football League, then briefly found work as a professional wrestler before launching his film career. Though today Strode is hailed as a sports pioneer for his role in desegregating the NFL, the player himself did not remember his NFL experience fondly. "If I have to integrate heaven," Strode told a reporter in 1971, "I don't want to go."
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 commissioners to use the coliseum. Halley Harding, African American sportswriter for the Los Angeles Tribune gave a speech at the commissioner hearing in 1946 that turned the tide of public opinion, ended segregation in the NFL, and gave Kenny Washington and Woody Strode the opportunity to play for the new Los Angeles Rams, breaking a thirteen year color ban FOREVER.
Kenny Washington
After graduation, George Halas attempted to sign Washington to the Chicago Bears, but was blocked by NFL owners. Instead, Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League from 1941 to 1945. Unlike most professional athletes, he was able to avoid joining the United States military during World War II and was not drafted into service.
In 1946, when the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, the commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated. As a result, the team signed Washington on March 21, 1946,[6] and fellow UCLA (and Hollywood) teammate Strode later on May 7.[7] His NFL stint only lasted three years, but the impact he had on the league was enormous. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA.
