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Pragmatic Obots Unite

Pragmatic Obots Unite

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NFL Open Thread: The Black Cyclone

November 1, 2015 by Miranda 10 Comments

Do You know about “The Black Cyclone”?

Charles W. Follis, a.k.a. “The Black Cyclone,” (February 3, 1879 – April 5, 1910) was the first black professional football player. He played for the Shelby Blues of the “Ohio League” from 1902 to 1906. On September 16, 1904, Follis signed a contract with Shelby making him the first black contracted to play professional football. He was also the first black catcher to move from college baseball onto a black professional baseball team.

Like other players who integrated sport teams, Follis faced discrimination. Players on opposing teams targeted Follis with rough play that resulted in injuries. At a game in Toledo in 1905, fans taunted him with racial slurs until the Toledo team captain addressed the crowd and asked them to stop. In Shelby, Follis joined his teammates at a local tavern after a game; the owner denied him entry. At the Thanksgiving Day game of the 1906 season, Follis suffered a career-ending injury.

Follis turned to baseball, a sport he played for many years in the spring and summer. Having played for the Wooster College and in the Ohio Trolley League, Follis was an experienced baseball player, but could only play in segregated baseball leagues. He played for the Cuban Giants, a black baseball team, as a catcher.

On April 5, 1910, at the age of 31, Follis died of pneumonia in Cleveland, after a playing in a Cuban Giants game. He was buried in Wooster Cemetery in Wooster, Ohio.

While Follis’ professionalism was reported by the local press, his role as the first black professional football player was not known by sports historians until many years later. In 1975, researchers rediscovered halfback Follis’ on-the-field-achievements while reviewing old pages of the Shelby Daily Globe, with the goal to locate evidence that Follis had played as a professional. After hours of examining the tattered newspapers, researchers finally came across an article in the September 16, 1904 edition that announced Follis had signed a contract for the upcoming season.

MIA @ NE
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PIT
TEN
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SEA
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Filed Under: African Americans, NFL Weekly Pics, Sports Tagged With: Charles Follis, Football Players, The Black Cyclone

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