Jackie Robinson? I've always thought so.

But while surfin' the net to confirm one of DG's trivia questions, I stumbled across this site which makes the claim:

"Jackie Robinson was not the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. A few played in the early part of the century, but were light-skinned enough to pass as Hispanic, which is how they were promoted."

Does anyone have more information about this? Who were these guys?

Whatever the answer, Jackie Robinson certainly broke the color barrier and his place in history remains solid.
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07-29-04 11:07 PM
DorianGreyed

1878 - Bud Fowler is the first known professional black player on an integrated team when he plays in Lynn (IA) exhibition games.

Somewhere in the Greyed Family Library, I have a photo of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first black major league player. He played for Toledo of the American Association. His first game was on 05-01-1884, when he went 0-3.

Walker on Oberlin COllege's first baseball team.

Moses Fleetwood Walker from November 1, 1945, The Sporting News, and below, a photo in Cooperstown.


Results 1 - 10 of about 3,670 for Moses + Fleetwood + Walker .

In post Civil War America, organized baseball was just coming into its own. During this disorganized period up until about 1880, there were about twenty Negro baseball players, many on International League Clubs but some in the professional arena. However, Negro baseball had been played before the 1880s. In 1867, the Uniques of Brooklyn played the Excelsiors of Philadelphia for the first officially recorded black teams. The Excelsiors defeated the Uniques 37-24. Soon following, the more prestigious Philadelphia Pythians arrived on the scene. The Pythians were, however, denied membership to the National Association of Base Ball Players (America's first organized league). The denial was based on the premise, "If colored clubs were admitted there would be in all probability some division of feeling, whereas, by excluding them no injury could result to anyone." This premise is the predecessor of the "gentleman's agreement" arriving later involving the major leagues and colored players.

There were quite a few blacks in the 1880s and 90s; most 'disguised' themselves as Cubans or Venezuelans.

Now about the first black in the NFL....

07-29-04, 11:36 PM
coldfuse
Wow, that is some cool stuff! I especially liked the Oberlin photo.

Of football, The debate rages on. Was it Bobby Marshall or Fritz Pollard? Or are we gonna get technical and not count the American Professional Football Association?

07-30-04, 12:49 AM
DorianGreyed
I didn't know about Marshall. It sounds like he was the first. AT least Pollard was the first black coach in the NFL and the first black to play in the Rose Bowl.

" Fritz Pollard was the lightning-swift Brown University All-American halfback of 1916 who paved the way for African Americans in the sport by playing in the first professional football league and by becoming the first African American head coach of a National Football League team." britannica.com


"Brown University and the Black Coaches Association will co-sponsor an annual award honoring Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard of Brown’s Class of 1919. Pollard, the first African American to play in a Rose Bowl Game (for Brown, in 1916) and first to coach in the NFL, was a tireless promoter of integrated rosters in the early days of professional football." - www.brown.edu/Administration

Brown University career

1915 season – as a freshman, led Brown to the Rose Bowl vs. Washington State

First African American to play in Rose Bowl (1916)
In spring 1916, set world record in low hurdles on Brown track team, qualified for Olympic team

1916 season – led Brown to 8-1 record with 12 touchdowns

Against Yale, gained 144 yards rushing, 74 on kickoff returns, and 76 on punt returns (1 TD)

Against Harvard, gained 148 yards rushing, 44 on punt returns, and 51 as a pass receiver in Brown’s first victory over Harvard (2 TD’s)

Brown was first college to defeat Yale and Harvard in the same season.

Named to Walter Camp’s All-American first team, the first African American in the backfield
Later (1930’s) named to Grantland Rice’s “Dream Team”

Coaching and professional career

1919-20 – Coached at Lincoln University, a black college near Philadelphia, while in the military

1919-26 – in the American Professional Football Association

Began with Akron Pros, which became part of the APFA in 1920
Akron won the first professional football national championship in 1920 (unbeaten)

One of the first three African American players in early pro football; Pollard and Jim Thorpe were the major gate attractions

Player/coach at Akron – introduced formations used at Brown under E.N. Robinson ’96

First African American head coach in NFL – Hammond, Ind., Pros

First African American quarterback in NFL – 1923

Recruited prominent black players for APFA and NFL

Organized first inter-racial all-star game in Chicago to showcase African American players; Pollard pressed for integrated competition in professional football (1922)

First African American to play in Pennsylvania Coal League

Hired as a gate attraction for the Providence Steamrollers-Chicago Bears exhibition game at Braves Field, Boston, in December 1925 – Pollard vs. Red Grange

Organized All-Star African American team (Chicago Black Hawks) to promote inter-racial football, hired aspiring young players and NFL veterans

Coached all-black team in New York (Brown Bombers) from 1935-1938
(above also from www.brown.edu/Administration



"African-Americans in Pro Football
Pioneers, Milestones and Firsts

Pre-NFL Years

Charles W. Follis, Halfback, Wooster
Played 1902-06 with the Shelby Athletic Club.
First documented evidence of his playing for pay is for the season of 1904, although recent evidence suggests that the Shelby Athletic Club was professional as early as 1902.

Charles (Doc) Baker, Halfback, no college
Played 1906-08 and 1911 for the Akron Indians

Henry McDonald, Halfback, Canandaigua Academy
Played 1911-17 for the Rochester Jeffersons

Gideon (Charlie) Smith, Tackle, Michigan Agricultural
Played one game (November 28, 1915) for the Canton Bulldogs

1920-1933


Fritz Pollard
Frederick (Fritz) Pollard, Back, Brown
Played 1919-1921, 1925-26 Akron, 1922 Milwaukee, 1923, 1925 Hammond, 1925 Providence

Robert (Rube) Marshall, End, Minnesota
Played 1919-1921 Rock Island, 1925 Duluth

Paul Robeson, End, Rutgers
Played 1921 Akron, 1922 Milwaukee"

1946

Kenny Washington, Halfback, UCLA
Played with San Francisco Clippers (PCPFL) 1944-45. Signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams on March 21, 1946; played 1946-48 with the Rams

Woody Strode, End, UCLA
Signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams May 7, 1946. Played with the Rams 1946 only. Played with Calgary Stampeders (WIFU) 1948

Bill Willis, Guard, Ohio State
Signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference on August 6, 1946. Played 1946-1953 with the Browns

Marion Motley, Fullback, South Carolina State; Nevada
Signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference on August 9, 1946. Played 1946-1953 Cleveland Browns, 1955 Pittsburgh Steelers

Firsts by African-Americans in the Modern Era (Post-World War II)


George Taliaferro
First African-American drafted by an NFL club: George Taliaferro, halfback (Indiana). Picked by the Chicago Bears in the thirteenth round of the 1949 draft but elected to sign with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC. Played with the Dons 1949; New York Yanks 1950-51; Dallas 1952; Baltimore 1953-54; Philadelphia 1955

First African-American draftee to play in the NFL: Wally Triplett, halfback (Penn State). Picked by the Detroit Lions in the nineteenth round of the 1949 draft. Played with Detroit 1949-1950; Chicago Cardinals 1952-53

First name star from a predominantly African-American college: Paul (Tank) Younger, fullback-linebacker (Grambling). Los Angeles Rams 1949-1957; Pittsburgh 1958

First African-American quarterback in the NFL: Willie Thrower (Michigan State), Chicago Bears 1953

Coaching Firsts by African-Americans

First African-American head coach: Fritz Pollard, 1921 Akron, 1925 Hammond

First African-American head coach, modern era: Art Shell, 1989 Los Angeles Raiders

First African-American assistant coach: Lowell Perry, 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers - Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,