Reintegration of Pro Football (1946)

The Color Barrier is Broken in Cleveland, Ohio

Paul Brown, coach of the Cleveland Browns professional football team, from the late 40s to the early 60s, is credited with the reintegration of professional football when he signed the first two African American players to NFL contracts (fansided.com).

The significance of the signing was that all of sports in the past wouldn't accepted black athletes. According to Joe Horrigan, Executive Vice President at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there was a rule called the Rule of Two that stated that if a team were to sign two black players the two would have to room together. Although the signing to the Browns was important to all black athletes, there was still more to clean up concerning racism. In 1946 the Cleveland Browns officially signed Marion Motley and Bill Willis (Joe Horrigan). Soon after, two other black athletes, Kenny Washington and Willie Strode, were signed to professional contracts. Paul Brown was lucky to sign Willis and Motley. The signing of these players signaled a change for the National Football League, and sports in general.

Marion Motley was a fullback, and Bill Willis who's position was defensive tackle were the two African Americans that were signed by the Browns; Willis and Motley came out of UCLA and Ohio State (profootballhof.com). These two had been surrounded by racism coming into the league. The Rule of Two came into place as Willis and Motley were forced to room together. Willis had success in college, winning the Big Ten title, and a national championship with Ohio State (www.nfl.com). Other than personal success and making it pro, Motley and Willis were the spark of reintegration in pro football. According to Horrigain, after Willis and Motley signed, more teams were deciding to pick up more black players.(www.profootballhof.com).

After Willis, Motley and Brown came together, it only took six years for the every team in the NFL to have a black player. By 1952, the Washington Redskins were the only team to not have black players Who knows how long it would have taken for blacks to join the NFL if Brown, Willis and Motley didn't impact the game.