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| + | {{short description|American football player}} |
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| + | {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} |
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{{Infobox NFL player |
{{Infobox NFL player |
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|name=Kenny Washington |
|name=Kenny Washington |
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|image_size=250px |
|image_size=250px |
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|caption= |
|caption= |
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| + | |number= |
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| − | |currentteam= |
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| + | |position=[[Running back]] |
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| − | |currentnumber= |
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| − | |currentposition=Running Back |
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|birth_date={{birth date|1918|08|31}} |
|birth_date={{birth date|1918|08|31}} |
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| − | |birth_place=Los Angeles, California |
+ | |birth_place=[[Los Angeles, California]] |
|death_date={{death date and age|1971|06|24|1918|08|31}} |
|death_date={{death date and age|1971|06|24|1918|08|31}} |
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|death_place=Los Angeles, California |
|death_place=Los Angeles, California |
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| − | | |
+ | |height_ft=6 |
| − | | |
+ | |height_in=3 |
| − | | |
+ | |weight_lbs=237 |
| − | | |
+ | |high_school=[[Abraham Lincoln High School (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles (CA) Abraham Lincoln]] |
| + | |college=[[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]] |
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| − | |undraftedyear= |
+ | |undraftedyear=1940 |
| − | |debutyear=1946 |
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| + | |pastteams= |
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| − | |debutteam=Los Angeles Rams |
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| + | *[[Hollywood Bears]] (1940–1945) |
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| − | |finalteam=Los Angeles Rams |
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| − | |finalyear=1948 |
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| − | |pastteams=<nowiki></nowiki> |
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*[[Los Angeles Rams]] (1946–1948) |
*[[Los Angeles Rams]] (1946–1948) |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | |status= |
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| + | * [[All-American]] ([[1939 College Football All-America Team|1939]]) |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | * [[UCLA Bruins football#Retired numbers|UCLA Bruins No. 13]] retired |
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| − | |statweek= |
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| + | * [[College Football Hall of Fame]] (1956) |
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| − | |statseason=1948 |
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| − | |statlabel1=Rushing |
+ | |statlabel1=Rushing Yards |
|statvalue1=859 |
|statvalue1=859 |
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|statlabel2=Rushing Average |
|statlabel2=Rushing Average |
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|statvalue3=8 |
|statvalue3=8 |
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|nfl=WAS489831 |
|nfl=WAS489831 |
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| + | |CollegeHOF=1548 |
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| − | |dbf=WASHIKEN01 |
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}} |
}} |
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| − | '''Kenneth S. " |
+ | '''Kenneth S. "Kenny" Washington''' (August 31, 1918 – June 24, 1971) was a professional [[American football|football]] player who was the first [[African-American]] to sign a contract with a [[National Football League]] team in the modern (post-World War II) era. |
| − | == |
+ | ==Biography== |
| − | He was a star [[running back]] at [[Abraham Lincoln High School (Los Angeles, California)|Abraham Lincoln High School]] in Los Angeles |
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| + | ===Early life=== |
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| − | In college at [[UCLA]], he rushed for 1,914 yards in his college career, a school record for 34 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being [[Woody Strode]], [[Jackie Robinson]] and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, in which they made up three of the four backfield players.<ref>B.J. VIOLETT - [http://www.today.ucla.edu/1997/970425TeammatesRecall.html TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY].'' UCLA Today'' magazine, 1997</ref> This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-9389095 "Kenny Washington"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0-0 tie with the [[1940 Rose Bowl]] on the line. It was the first [[UCLA-USC rivalry]] football game with national implications. UCLA teammates have commented how strong Washington was when confronted with racial slurs and discrimination.<ref>B.J. VIOLETT - [http://www.today.ucla.edu/1997/970425TeammatesRecall.html TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY]. ''UCLA Today'' magazine, 1997 Quote:"We couldn’t play in Texas because we had black guys on our team", McPherson said. "They couldn’t stay in the hotels or eat in the restaurants, so we didn’t travel there." Mathews remembers it was rough for black athletes. "One game, some redneck Missouri players were riding Washington pretty good and they would take chalk from the sidelines and rub it in his face. But Kenny was terrific at just playing on through. He was amazing."</ref> |
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| + | Kenneth S. Washington was born in [[Los Angeles]] and grew up in the city's [[Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles|Lincoln Heights]] neighborhood,<ref name="Graser">{{Cite web |url=https://timeline.com/kenny-washington-black-nfl-32e2f52a8b98 |title=The NFL was segregated, until Kenny Washington broke the color barrier in Los Angeles |last=Graser |first=Geoff |date=September 29, 2017 |website=Timeline |access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> the son of [[Blue Washington|Edgar "Blue" Washington]] , who played [[Negro league baseball]], but he was raised by his grandmother Susie and his uncle Rocky, the first black uniformed lieutenant in the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] (LAPD).<ref name="Wolff">{{cite magazine|last=Wolff |first=Alexander |authorlink=Alexander Wolff |date=October 12, 2009 |title=The NFL's Jackie Robinson |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1161017/index.htm |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |location=New York City |publisher=[[Time Inc.]] |accessdate= |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011120338/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1161017/index.htm |archivedate=October 11, 2009 }}</ref> He was a star at both baseball and football at [[Abraham Lincoln High School (Los Angeles, California)|Abraham Lincoln High School]],<ref name="Denicke">{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Denicke|title=Constructing a legacy|work=[[Daily Bruin]] |url=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/issues/00/02.24/sports.washington.html|date=February 24, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040317195123/http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/issues/00/02.24/sports.washington.html |archivedate=March 17, 2004 }}</ref> where he was nicknamed "Kingfish" after a character in the radio show ''[[Amos 'n' Andy]]'',<ref name="Wolff"/> and led both teams to city championships in the same calendar year.<ref name="Rank">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d827061c3/article/forgotten-hero-washington-broke-nfls-color-barrier-in-1946 |title=Forgotten hero: Washington broke NFL's color barrier in 1946 |last=Rank |first=Adam |date=February 17, 2012 |publisher=National Football League |language=en |access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> |
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| + | ===UCLA Bruins=== |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | Washington attended the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA), where he played both [[UCLA Bruins baseball|baseball]] and [[UCLA Bruins football|football]]. As a baseball player, Washington was rated better than his teammate [[Jackie Robinson]]. One story has it that [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] manager [[Leo Durocher]] wanted to offer Washington a contract to play for the team, but only if he went to [[Puerto Rico]] first, which Washington refused to do.<ref name="Rank" /> |
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| + | In football, his position was [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]], and he often passed as much as he rushed.<ref name=" Wolff"/> Washington rushed for 9,975 yards in his college career, a school record for 56 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being [[Woody Strode]], Robinson, and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the four backfield players that year.<ref name=Violett>{{cite magazine | first=B.J. | last=Violett | url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/970425TeammatesRecall | title=Teammates Recall Jackie Robinson's Legacy | magazine=UCLA Today | date=April 25, 1997 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921002629/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/970425TeammatesRecall | archivedate=September 21, 2017 | deadurl=yes |accessdate=March 19, 2018}}</ref> This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9389095|title=Washington, Kenny|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|accessdate=February 6, 2006}}</ref> The Bruins played eventual conference and national champion [[USC Trojans football|USC]] to a 0-0 tie with the [[1940 Rose Bowl]] on the line. It was the first [[UCLA–USC rivalry]] football game with national implications. UCLA teammates have commented how strong Washington was when confronted with racial slurs and discrimination.<ref name=Violett /><ref name=" Denicke" /> |
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| ⚫ | According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's coverage of the 1940 [[College All-Star Game]], Washington was " |
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| ⚫ | Washington was the first Bruin to lead the nation in total [[Offense (sports)| offense]] and became the first consensus [[All-America]]n in the history of the school's football program in 1939.<ref name="Britannica"/> Despite these achievements and the fact that he also doubled as a [[defensive back]], he was named to second-team All-America selection instead of the first and was omitted from the [[East–West Shrine Game]] that year. These slights were the source of much outrage among media outlets which blamed them on [[racial discrimination]].<ref name="Wolff" /> |
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| − | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
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| − | | style="text-align: left;" | "Considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the U. S. last year, Washington cannot play major-league pro football because he is a Negro." |
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| − | |- |
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| − | | style="text-align: left;" | — ''Time'' magazine, 1940<ref name=Time40/> |
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| − | |} |
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| − | 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 [[racial integration|integrated]]. As a result, the team signed Washington on March 21, 1946,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Young|first=A. S. (Doc)|date=May 1969|title=The Black Athlete Makes His Mark|journal=Ebony|volume=XXIV|issue=7|page=119|issn=00129011|accessdate=2011-03-20 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ltoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=kenny+washington+march+21&source=bl&ots=vJJouldmeg&sig=W-oHTYYMQ1Dz0Gfb67nD-tOJIzA&hl=en&ei=hnyGTbvpLIyasAOSvIjrAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=kenny%20washington%20march%2021&f=false}}</ref> and fellow UCLA (and Hollywood) teammate Strode later on May 7.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8270aa10/article/first-africanamerican-nfl-players-helped-break-down-barriers|title=First African-American NFL players helped break down barriers|work=[[National Football League]]|date=2012-02-17|accessdate=2013-01-21}}</ref> 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. |
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| ⚫ | According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's coverage of the 1940 [[College All-Star Game]], Washington was "considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the US last year."<ref name=Time40>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764624,00.html | title=Sport: Kickoff | magazine=Time | date=September 9, 1940 |accessdate=July 12, 2011}}</ref> |
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| − | He can be seen as a contestant on the 16th April 1959 edition of [[You Bet Your Life]]. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | ==Politics== |
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| + | After graduation, [[George Halas]], who coached the College All-Star Game, indicated interest in Washington for his [[Chicago Bears]] team, but was unable to convince the league to permit integration.<ref name="Rank" /> Instead, Washington coached football at UCLA and joined the LAPD.<ref name="Wolff" /> From 1940 to 1945, Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the [[Pacific Coast Professional Football League]], where he was the league's highest-paid player.<ref name="Rams">{{cite web | url=http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/The-Legacy-of-Kenny-Washington/d6ba4c71-fa7b-4fd4-8209-fd44b84900b6 | title=The Legacy of Kenny Washington | first=Nick | last=Wagoner | date=February 15, 2013 | publisher=Los Angeles Rams | accessdate=March 19, 2018}}</ref> He earned all-league recognition each year, including his first year when he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from being conscripted for the war. [[Ezzrett Anderson]] and Washington's UCLA teammate Strode were also on that team.<ref name="Wolff" /> In 1945, he did serve in the military on the [[United Service Organizations|USO]] tour as a type of sports ambassador, visiting with troops and playing in exhibition games.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://kwsfoundation.org/pioneer/ |title=Pioneer |publisher=Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation |language=en-US |access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name="StrodeYoung1993">{{cite book|last1=Strode|first1=Woody|authorlink1=Woody Strode|last2=Young|first2=Sam|title=Goal Dust: The Warm Candid Memoirs of a Pioneer Black Athlete and Actor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pz6C696_IxMC&pg=PA134|accessdate=March 20, 2018|year=1993|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781568330143|page=134}}</ref> |
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| − | Washington was a staunch Republican and strongly supported [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[United States Senate election in California, 1950|1950 U.S. Senate campaign]]. The night before Nixon's crushing victory over Congresswoman [[Helen Gahagan Douglas]], he spent the evening at Washington's south Los Angeles home playing music and trying to relax.<ref>{{cite book |title=Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician |first=Roger |last=Morris |year=1990 |location=New York |publisher=Holt |page=612 |isbn=0-8050-1121-8 }}</ref> |
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| + | When the [[Cleveland Rams]] moved to Los Angeles, the team sought to play in the publicly owned [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]{{spaced ndash}}a decision which created immediate pressure that the team be [[racial integration|racially integrated]], since black taxpayers as well as white had paid for construction of the facility.<ref>{{cite magazine | first=A. S. | last=Young | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118 | title=The Black Athlete Makes His Mark | magazine=Ebony| volume=26 |issue=7 |year=1969 |page=118}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Tribune]]'' was especially outspoken, thanks to its African-American sports editor, William Claire "Halley" Harding, a former professional athlete and member of the [[debate]] team at [[Wiley College]].<ref name="Wolff" /> As a result, the team signed Washington on {{nowrap|March 21,}} 1946, followed by Strode on {{nowrap|May 7}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8270aa10/article/first-africanamerican-nfl-players-helped-break-down-barriers | title=First American NFL Players Helped Break Down Barriers | publisher=National Football League | date=January 16, 2014}}</ref> |
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| − | ==Later career== |
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| − | After his retirement from football, Washington became a distinguished police officer for the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]. |
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| − | For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum#"Court of Honor" plaques|"Court of Honor"]] plaque by the Coliseum commissioners. |
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| + | Prior to his first NFL season Washington underwent surgery in both knees (his fifth knee surgery overall{{spaced ndash}}as a child he contracted [[rickets]] and was once hit by car<ref name="Rank" />), having torn [[meniscus (anatomy)|cartilage]] removed from his left knee and what was characterized in the press as "a growth" from his right.<ref>{{cite news | agency=Associated Press | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3772460/los_angeles_rams_halfback_kenny/ |title=Operation for Gridiron Star | work=Berkshire Eagle | date=April 11, 1946 | page=21}}{{subscription required}}</ref> He played for the Rams for three years, but although his injuries had taken their toll, he was still able to lead the league in yards per carry in his second season,<ref name="Wolff" /> and even scored a 92-yard touchdown, which remains the Rams team record for the longest run from scrimmage.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/los-angeles-and-integrating-nfl |title=Los Angeles and the Reintegration of the NFL |last=Timmermann |first=Bob |date=February 3, 2017 |publisher=[[Los Angeles Public Library]] |language=en |access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> When he retired in 1948, 80,000 people attended his final game and the entire stadium gave him a standing ovation.<ref name="Rank" /> |
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| ⚫ | Washington died of [[polyarteritis nodosa]] on June 24, 1971, at the age of 52.<ref>Bob Boyles |
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| − | == |
+ | ===Later life=== |
| ⚫ | |||
| + | Washington was a staunch [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in his younger years and strongly supported [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[1950 United States Senate election in California|1950 U.S. Senate campaign]]. The night before Nixon's crushing victory over Congresswoman [[Helen Gahagan Douglas]], the candidate{{spaced ndash}}a great football fan{{spaced ndash}}spent the evening at Washington's south Los Angeles home playing music and trying to relax.<ref>{{cite book | first=Roger | last=Morris | title=Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician | location=New York | publisher=Holt | year=1990 | page=612 | isbn=978-0805018349}}</ref> However, in the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 presidential election]], Washington voted for [[John F. Kennedy]] instead of Nixon and tended to vote for [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] for the rest of his life, but he never declared a political party affiliation.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956379043 |title=Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football's Color Line |last=Atwood |first=Gretchen |date=September 6, 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781620406007 |location=New York}}</ref>{{pn|date=March 2019}} |
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| − | ==Further reading== |
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| + | |||
| − | {{Refbegin}} |
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| + | After retirement from football, Washington returned to the LAPD.<ref name="Rams"/> He also worked for a grocery store chain and a whiskey distributor, and was a part-time [[scout (sport)|scout]] for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]], where his son Kenny Jr. played.<ref name="Wolff" /> Thanks to his connections from when he had worked at movie studios during his undergraduate years, he was also chosen for a few film roles,<ref name="Wolff" /> including ''[[Rope of Sand]]'' (1949),<ref>{{Tcmdb title|id=88640|title=Rope of Sand}}</ref> ''[[Pinky (film)|Pinky]]'' (1949),<ref>{{tcmdb title|id=86716|title=Pinky}}</ref> and ''[[The Jackie Robinson Story]]'' (1950).<ref>{{tcmdb title|id=19169|title=The Jackie Robinson Story}}</ref> |
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| − | * {{cite news|first=Dave|last=Denicke|title=Constructing a legacy|work=[[Daily Bruin]]|url=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/issues/00/02.24/sports.washington.html|date=February 24, 2000}}{{Dead link|date=March 2011}} |
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| + | |||
| − | * {{cite web|url=http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30096|work=[[College Football Hall of Fame]]|title=Kenny "Kingfish" Washington|accessdate=August 23, 2005}} |
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| + | ===Death and legacy=== |
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| − | * {{cite web|url=http://frankwykoff2.com/memory.htm|work=El Gordo Newsletter|date=May 1970|title=Down Memory Lane|accessdate=February 6, 2006}} |
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| ⚫ | Washington died of [[polyarteritis nodosa]] on June 24, 1971, at the age of 52 in Los Angeles,California.<ref>{{cite book | first=Bob | last=Boyles | first2=Paul | last2=Guido |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNThHqwUK7kC&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273 |title=The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia (2009-2010)| page=273 | year=2009| accessdate=September 8, 2012 |isbn=9781602396777}}</ref> He is buried in [[Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles)|Evergreen Cemetery]]. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | |||
| − | {{Refend}} |
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| + | For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum#"Court of Honor" plaques|"Court of Honor"]] plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.<ref>[http://www.lacoliseum.com/pages/memcourt.shtml "Los Angeles Coliseum Court of Honor Plaques"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308110835/http://www.lacoliseum.com/pages/memcourt.shtml |date=March 8, 2010 }} on the Coliseum website</ref> He was inducted to the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1956<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30096 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20130113180937/http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30096 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=January 13, 2013 |work=[[College Football Hall of Fame]] |title=Kenny "Kingfish" Washington |accessdate=August 23, 2005 }}</ref> and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA.<ref name="Graser" /> He was posthumously inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://optimists.ucla.edu/profiles/kenny-washington/ |title=He made history as a forgotten hero. |website=The Optimists |publisher=UCLA |language=en-US |access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> His ''alma mater'' Lincoln High School has annually awarded the Kenny Washington Trophy to the school's best football player since 1949.<ref name="Plaschke ">{{Cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/11/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20111012 |title=Remembering forgotten hero Kenny Washington |last=Plaschke |first=Bill |date=October 11, 2011 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 19, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://kwsfoundation.org/the-trophy/ |title=The Trophy |publisher=Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation |language=en-US |access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> |
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| + | |||
| + | One legacy of Washington's and Strode's experience in the NFL — paralleled in 1946 by racial trailblazers [[Marion Motley]] and [[Bill Willis]] in the rival [[All-America Football Conference]] — was that [[Branch Rickey]], president of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], saw that blacks and whites could coexist in a violent sport without much disruption, and decided that Major League Baseball could be integrated as well. He signed Washington's and Strode's UCLA teammate [[Jackie Robinson]] to the Dodgers in 1947.<ref name="Wolff" /> |
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| + | |||
| + | However, for many years, Washington was ignored by the NFL and the story of professional football's postwar integration received little attention. One reason is because for most of the 20th century, baseball was by far the top sport in the U.S., and another was that his NFL career was a short three years.<ref name="Rams" /> Neither Washington nor Strode has been inducted to the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]], although both Marion Motley and Bill Willis of the AAFC's and NFL's [[Cleveland Browns]] have received that honor. |
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| + | |||
| + | ==See also== |
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| + | * [[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]] |
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| + | |||
| + | ==Footnotes== |
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| ⚫ | |||
==External links== |
==External links== |
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| + | * {{pro-football-reference|W/WashKe21}} |
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| ⚫ | |||
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| + | * {{find a grave|91537146|Kenny Washington}} |
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| + | * [http://www.thirdandlong.tv/the-tal-project/video/ ''Third and Long'' documentary film series], which includes an episode about Washington and Strode |
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| + | * [http://kwsfoundation.org/ Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation], a non-profit organization attempting to rebuild the facilities at Lincoln High School |
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| + | {{Authority control}} |
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| − | {{UCLA Bruins football retired number navbox}} |
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| − | {{UCLA All-Century}} |
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| − | {{Persondata |
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| − | |NAME=Washington, Kenny |
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| − | |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |
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| − | |SHORT DESCRIPTION = American football player |
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| − | |DATE OF BIRTH=August 31, 1918 |
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| − | |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Los Angeles, California]] |
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| − | |DATE OF DEATH=June 24, 2012 |
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| − | |PLACE OF DEATH=[[Los Angeles, California]] |
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| − | }} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Kenny}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Kenny}} |
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[[Category:1918 births]] |
[[Category:1918 births]] |
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[[Category:Los Angeles Police Department officers]] |
[[Category:Los Angeles Police Department officers]] |
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[[Category:Los Angeles Rams players]] |
[[Category:Los Angeles Rams players]] |
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| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Players of American football from California]] |
| + | [[Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles]] |
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[[Category:UCLA Bruins football players]] |
[[Category:UCLA Bruins football players]] |
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[[Category:African-American police officers]] |
[[Category:African-American police officers]] |
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[[Category:California Republicans]] |
[[Category:California Republicans]] |
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| + | [[Category:Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles]] |
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Revision as of 14:55, 12 May 2019
| File:KennyWashington.jpg | |
| Running back | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: August 31, 1918 | |
| Place of birth: Los Angeles, California | |
| Date of death: June 24, 1971 (aged 52) | |
| Place of death: Los Angeles, California | |
| Career information | |
| College: UCLA | |
| Undrafted in 1940 | |
| No regular season or postseason appearances | |
| Career history | |
*Hollywood Bears (1940–1945)
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
* All-American (1939)
| |
| Rushing Yards | 859 |
| Rushing Average | 6.1 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 8 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Kenneth S. "Kenny" Washington (August 31, 1918 – June 24, 1971) was a professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern (post-World War II) era.
Biography
Early life
Kenneth S. Washington was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the city's Lincoln Heights neighborhood,[1] the son of Edgar "Blue" Washington , who played Negro league baseball, but he was raised by his grandmother Susie and his uncle Rocky, the first black uniformed lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).[2] He was a star at both baseball and football at Abraham Lincoln High School,[3] where he was nicknamed "Kingfish" after a character in the radio show Amos 'n' Andy,[2] and led both teams to city championships in the same calendar year.[4]
UCLA Bruins
Washington attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played both baseball and football. As a baseball player, Washington was rated better than his teammate Jackie Robinson. One story has it that Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher wanted to offer Washington a contract to play for the team, but only if he went to Puerto Rico first, which Washington refused to do.[4]
In football, his position was tailback, and he often passed as much as he rushed.[2] Washington rushed for 9,975 yards in his college career, a school record for 56 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being Woody Strode, Robinson, and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the four backfield players that year.[5] This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams.[6] The Bruins played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0-0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. It was the first UCLA–USC rivalry football game with national implications. UCLA teammates have commented how strong Washington was when confronted with racial slurs and discrimination.[5][3]
Washington was the first Bruin to lead the nation in total offense and became the first consensus All-American in the history of the school's football program in 1939.[6] Despite these achievements and the fact that he also doubled as a defensive back, he was named to second-team All-America selection instead of the first and was omitted from the East–West Shrine Game that year. These slights were the source of much outrage among media outlets which blamed them on racial discrimination.[2]
According to Time magazine's coverage of the 1940 College All-Star Game, Washington was "considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the US last year."[7]
Professional football
After graduation, George Halas, who coached the College All-Star Game, indicated interest in Washington for his Chicago Bears team, but was unable to convince the league to permit integration.[4] Instead, Washington coached football at UCLA and joined the LAPD.[2] From 1940 to 1945, Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League, where he was the league's highest-paid player.[8] He earned all-league recognition each year, including his first year when he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from being conscripted for the war. Ezzrett Anderson and Washington's UCLA teammate Strode were also on that team.[2] In 1945, he did serve in the military on the USO tour as a type of sports ambassador, visiting with troops and playing in exhibition games.[9][10]
When the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, the team sought to play in the publicly owned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – a decision which created immediate pressure that the team be racially integrated, since black taxpayers as well as white had paid for construction of the facility.[11] The Los Angeles Tribune was especially outspoken, thanks to its African-American sports editor, William Claire "Halley" Harding, a former professional athlete and member of the debate team at Wiley College.[2] As a result, the team signed Washington on March 21, 1946, followed by Strode on May 7.[12]
Prior to his first NFL season Washington underwent surgery in both knees (his fifth knee surgery overall – as a child he contracted rickets and was once hit by car[4]), having torn cartilage removed from his left knee and what was characterized in the press as "a growth" from his right.[13] He played for the Rams for three years, but although his injuries had taken their toll, he was still able to lead the league in yards per carry in his second season,[2] and even scored a 92-yard touchdown, which remains the Rams team record for the longest run from scrimmage.[14] When he retired in 1948, 80,000 people attended his final game and the entire stadium gave him a standing ovation.[4]
Later life
Washington was a staunch Republican in his younger years and strongly supported Richard Nixon's 1950 U.S. Senate campaign. The night before Nixon's crushing victory over Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, the candidate – a great football fan – spent the evening at Washington's south Los Angeles home playing music and trying to relax.[15] However, in the 1960 presidential election, Washington voted for John F. Kennedy instead of Nixon and tended to vote for Democrats for the rest of his life, but he never declared a political party affiliation.[16]Template:Pn
After retirement from football, Washington returned to the LAPD.[8] He also worked for a grocery store chain and a whiskey distributor, and was a part-time scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where his son Kenny Jr. played.[2] Thanks to his connections from when he had worked at movie studios during his undergraduate years, he was also chosen for a few film roles,[2] including Rope of Sand (1949),[17] Pinky (1949),[18] and The Jackie Robinson Story (1950).[19]
Death and legacy
Washington died of polyarteritis nodosa on June 24, 1971, at the age of 52 in Los Angeles,California.[20] He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.[21] He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956[22] and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA.[1] He was posthumously inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.[23] His alma mater Lincoln High School has annually awarded the Kenny Washington Trophy to the school's best football player since 1949.[24][25]
One legacy of Washington's and Strode's experience in the NFL — paralleled in 1946 by racial trailblazers Marion Motley and Bill Willis in the rival All-America Football Conference — was that Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, saw that blacks and whites could coexist in a violent sport without much disruption, and decided that Major League Baseball could be integrated as well. He signed Washington's and Strode's UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers in 1947.[2]
However, for many years, Washington was ignored by the NFL and the story of professional football's postwar integration received little attention. One reason is because for most of the 20th century, baseball was by far the top sport in the U.S., and another was that his NFL career was a short three years.[8] Neither Washington nor Strode has been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although both Marion Motley and Bill Willis of the AAFC's and NFL's Cleveland Browns have received that honor.
See also
- List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Graser, Geoff (September 29, 2017). "The NFL was segregated, until Kenny Washington broke the color barrier in Los Angeles". https://timeline.com/kenny-washington-black-nfl-32e2f52a8b98.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Wolff, Alexander (October 12, 2009). "The NFL's Jackie Robinson". Sports Illustrated (New York City: Time Inc.). Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091011120338/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1161017/index.htm.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Denicke, Dave (February 24, 2000). "Constructing a legacy". Daily Bruin. Archived on March 17, 2004. Error: If you specify
|archivedate=, you must also specify|archiveurl=. http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/issues/00/02.24/sports.washington.html. - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Rank, Adam (February 17, 2012). "Forgotten hero: Washington broke NFL's color barrier in 1946" (in en). National Football League. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d827061c3/article/forgotten-hero-washington-broke-nfls-color-barrier-in-1946.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Violett, B.J. (April 25, 1997). "Teammates Recall Jackie Robinson's Legacy". UCLA Today. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170921002629/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/970425TeammatesRecall. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Washington, Kenny". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9389095. Retrieved February 6, 2006.
- ↑ "Sport: Kickoff". Time. September 9, 1940. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764624,00.html. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Wagoner, Nick (February 15, 2013). "The Legacy of Kenny Washington". Los Angeles Rams. http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/The-Legacy-of-Kenny-Washington/d6ba4c71-fa7b-4fd4-8209-fd44b84900b6. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Pioneer" (in en-US). Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation. http://kwsfoundation.org/pioneer/.
- ↑ Strode, Woody; Young, Sam (1993). Goal Dust: The Warm Candid Memoirs of a Pioneer Black Athlete and Actor. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 134. ISBN 9781568330143. https://books.google.com/books?id=Pz6C696_IxMC&pg=PA134. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ↑ Young, A. S. (1969). "The Black Athlete Makes His Mark". Ebony 26 (7): 118. https://books.google.com/books?id=ltoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118.
- ↑ "First American NFL Players Helped Break Down Barriers". National Football League. January 16, 2014. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8270aa10/article/first-africanamerican-nfl-players-helped-break-down-barriers.
- ↑ "Operation for Gridiron Star". Berkshire Eagle. Associated Press: p. 21. April 11, 1946. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3772460/los_angeles_rams_halfback_kenny/.(subscription required)
- ↑ Timmermann, Bob (February 3, 2017). "Los Angeles and the Reintegration of the NFL" (in en). Los Angeles Public Library. https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/los-angeles-and-integrating-nfl.
- ↑ Morris, Roger (1990). Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician. New York: Holt. p. 612. ISBN 978-0805018349.
- ↑ Atwood, Gretchen (September 6, 2016). Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football's Color Line. New York: Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 9781620406007. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956379043.
- ↑ Rope of Sand at the TCM Movie Database
- ↑ Pinky at the TCM Movie Database
- ↑ The Jackie Robinson Story at the TCM Movie Database
- ↑ Boyles, Bob; Guido, Paul (2009). The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia (2009-2010). p. 273. ISBN 9781602396777. https://books.google.com/books?id=eNThHqwUK7kC&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ↑ "Los Angeles Coliseum Court of Honor Plaques" Archived March 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine on the Coliseum website
- ↑ "Kenny "Kingfish" Washington". College Football Hall of Fame. http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30096. Retrieved August 23, 2005.
- ↑ "He made history as a forgotten hero." (in en-US). UCLA. https://optimists.ucla.edu/profiles/kenny-washington/.
- ↑ Plaschke, Bill (October 11, 2011). "Remembering forgotten hero Kenny Washington" (in en-US). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/11/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20111012.
- ↑ "The Trophy" (in en-US). Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation. http://kwsfoundation.org/the-trophy/.
External links
- Kenny Washington at Pro-Football-Reference.com
- Kenny Washington (American football) at the Internet Movie Database
- Kenny Washington at Find a Grave
- Washington's 1940 UCLA Yearbook Photo
- Third and Long documentary film series, which includes an episode about Washington and Strode
- Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation, a non-profit organization attempting to rebuild the facilities at Lincoln High School
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