Kenny Washington - Broke NFL Color Barrier– The Jackie Robinson of the NFL

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Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

I thought the year Washington came in to the NFL that there were a few teams that all had black players so the all intergrated the NFL together .

You are correct. Besides Washington, it was Strode, Motley and Willis. Washington was the first to actually sign, however, and they made a big deal about him being the first and he has been forever associated with breaking the barrier. Strode was second and also was signed by the LA Rams as he was best buddies and an ex-teammate of Washington's at UCLA so they brought him in to be Washington's roommate. He rarely got to play in that single year he played in the NFL. Motley and Willis were signed a little later that year by the Cleveland Browns of the AAFC league. Later some of these teams from the AAFC were brought into the NFL, including the Browns.

Rob M

[Chris-Counts]

Does anybody have a scan of Washington's Hage's Ice Cream card? He had a brief stint in the PCL with the Angels ...

[CowboysGuide]

Here's my All American tribute to Kenny Washington...

Having done research and written a book on Jimmy Claxton, the term "the first" is oversold. Very rarely is the popularly acknowledged "first", actually the case. Claxton was not "the first" either, just one of many unacknowledged pioneers in the sport.

Not to diminish Kenny Washington's achievements, without question a phenomenal athlete, but there were many other black professional football players in the 1920-30's including Fritz Pollard (1920), Bobby Marshal (1920), Duke Slater (1927, 1929), Joe Lillard (1932, 1933), and Ray Kemp (1933) just to name a few.

Here's Claxton with the semi-pro Edmonds nine, 1925 Snohomish County Independent Champions (photo courtesy of Mukilteo Historical Society):

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Originally Posted by Chris Counts

Does anybody have a scan of Washington's Hage's Ice Cream card? He had a brief stint in the PCL with the Angels ...

Hey Chris, I didn't even realize he had any kind of baseball card. After you mentioned it, I found this pic of his Hage's Ice Cream card online.

Rob M

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