He bided his time during the Second World War playing part-time minor league football—trashing the cartilage in his knees in the process. Other images from the same period show Washington photographed with his fellow black teammates, Robinson and Woodrow Strode. His uncle Rocky was having the unique distinction of being the first Black uniformed lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). How Popular Kenny Washington is * 101 is AGE #698 * 1918 is the Birth Year #96 * 8 is the Birth Month #658 * 31 is the BirthDay #352 * Los Angeles is the birth Place #170. Kenny Washington had to remain content with coaching the UCLA team initially immediately after his graduation. So Washington graduated from UCLA, coached a little and joined the LA police department, where his uncle Rocky was the highest-ranking black officer. The first BLACK football player in the NFL’s contemporary, post-WW II, era. Home NFL Career Breaking the Race Barrier College Early Life Bibliography Timeline Gallery Quotes Quotes Kenny wasn,t much of a talker but he would occasionally say something "Records are made to be broken" Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates. (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images), The photograph He was an athletic phenomenon who broke the NFL's "color barrier.". “The Kingfish” was an athletic phenomenon. Confronted by Harding with the facts, and facing a financial crisis if he could not obtain permission to use the Coliseum, Walsh promised he would give Black athletes a fair shot to make the team. The helmet is made from leather with a lighter brown shade.”. The colors of the uniform have been recreated in consultation with UCLA. Jackie Robinson became a trailblazer for breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier, when he made his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1947. After we vacated Kenny Washington's sentence, eight years elapsed before the district court re-sentenced him. On March 21st 1946 Washington became their marquee signing: the first black player to sign an NFL contract in the postwar era. Before the Bruins play Memphis on Sept. 6, Kalai Strode, son of Woody Strode, and Karin Washington Cohen, daughter of Kenny Washington and an alumna, will take on the role of honorary captains during the coin toss. “The Kingfish” was an athletic phenomenon. Washington died in 1971, aged 52. He was the first person to ever dance with African American … Kennedy won the presidency on November 8, 1960, at the age of 43 to become the 35th president of the United States. After the Second World War ended the NFL was compelled to abandon its discriminatory policies: the LA Rams, the 1945 champions newly relocated from Cleveland, were required to sign African American players or lose their lease on the LA Memorial Coliseum. A standout operating back again at UCLA, he rushed for any college record 1,914 back yards during his period with … But in 1939 he was a star, plain and simple. Help Celebrate Ella Fitzgerald's Centennial. Kenny Washington led the nation in total offense in 1939 to become the school’s first ever consensus All-American football player. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) after his high school graduation and played both baseball and football for the UCLA team. The Chicago Bears’ George Halas tried to sign him out of college, but he was blocked by NFL owners. Washington, Strode, and Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, in which they made up three of the four backfield players. 1933. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department and started playing in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League on behalf of the Hollywood Bears football team. “In the 1930’s the UCLA jersey was a navy blue with gold lettering accents, and pants were gold as well,” says Emily Knox, Senior Art Director at UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. 1918-1971. His final game was attended by 80,000 enthusiastic supporters with the entire stadium giving him a standing ovation. 20. Washington played for the Los Angeles Rams for three seasons and retired from the game in 1948. Kenny Washington Biography, Life, Interesting Facts Kenneth Stanley Washington, the first African-American to have played in the American National Football League (NFL) in the post-World War II modern era, was born on August 31, 1918, in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. (John D. Kisch/Separate Cinema Archive/Getty Images) In 1946, the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, still a nascent sports town then. What he would have made of the NFL today, with its #takeaknee protests and ongoing racial disquiet, is unknowable. The Past in Color features the work of colorist Marina Amaral, bringing to life black and white photos with color applied digitally. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. In college at UCLA, he rushed for 1,914 yards in his college career, a school record for 34 years. Washington played three seasons on knees that had been surgically rebuilt and he held his own, averaging over six yards per carry before his retirement in 1948. Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, ending a 12-year-old embargo on the entry of the Black players in the NFL. Today would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 100th birthday. He rushed for a total of 9,975 yards during his collegiate career, a record that stood at … Washington and Strode will also be honored on the field. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The first African American football player in the NFL’s modern, post-WW II, era. Kenny Washington was born on August 31, 1918 in Los Angeles, California, United States. He was a star running back at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles. When the NFL started, in the 1920s, a handful of African Americans played in the new league. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins But Kenny Washington was the Jackie Robinson of the National Football League (NFL). 21. Raised primarily by his grandmother Susie and his uncle Rocky, Washington grew up in Los Angeles’ Lincoln Heights neighborhood and studied at the Abraham Lincoln High School, where he excelled both as a football and baseball player. Home NFL Career Breaking the Race Barrier College Early Life Bibliography Timeline Gallery Quotes Timeline 1. Kenny Washington had an eventful–and in some ways contradictory–life ahead of him. Education Facts. Bit-part Hollywood star. It’s pretty shocking, isn’t it? Kenny Washington, byname of Kenneth S. Washington (born August 31, 1918, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—died June 24, 1971, Los Angeles), one of the first African American college gridiron football stars on the West Coast and one of two black players to reintegrate the National Football League (NFL) in 1946. He studied accounting before signing a deal with Arista Record. The UCLA Bruins left halfback set a college record of 3,206 yards for total offense over his career, won the Douglas Fairbanks trophy for the best college player in the U.S. and was named to an American college all-star team in August 1940. Nevertheless, he had broken the so-called “color barrier” in the NFL a full year before his one-time teammate Robinson first crossed baseball’s color line by walking out to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Trailblazer for racial integration. In all of them, Washington and his comrades exude the athleticism and confidence of preternaturally talented young athletes. He appeared in some movies as well including the likes of ‘Pinky’ (1949), ‘Rope of Sand’ (1949) and ‘The Jackie Robinson Story’ (1950). In 1939, he achieved the rare feat of being the first UCLA player to be named an All-American. Football player. He was a star running backa Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles In college at UCLA, he rushed for 1,914 yards in his college career, a school record for 34 years. University of California at Los Angeles Bruins football player Kenny Washington leaps high into the air with a football. Kenny Washington: Pos: HB-DB, Career: 27 G, 9 TD, 859 Yds, 6.1 Y/A, Rams 1946-1948, born CA 1918, died 1971 Kenneth Stanley Washington, the first African-American to have played in the American National Football League (NFL) in the post-World War II modern era, was born on August 31, 1918, in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Kenny Washington Biography Completed Bomb as High Schooler, Snubbed in All-American Balloting. 14–10623 Decided: February 01, 2016 Before DAVIS, ELROD, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. This image of Washington was taken at the height of his college career, when he wore 13 on his chest and played 580 minutes out of 600. Washington played tailback and was both a skilled rusher and passer. A firm Republican Party loyalist, he favored the 1950 U.S. Senate campaign by Richard Nixon. His coach during the College All-Star games, George Halas was very keen to sign him for his Chicago Bears team. Kenny Washington played halfback and defensive back. 1918. He led Lincoln High School to the city title his freshman year and then six months later to the football championship his senior season. The 58 year old Brooklyn born, Staten Island-bread drummer has played behind Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Ahmad Jamal and a never-ending list of amazing players. What position did Kenny Washington play? Washington (born August 31, 1918, Los Angeles, California, U. Kenneth S. 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. (He also played baseball for UCLA alongside Jackie Robinson—averaging .454 in 1937 and .350 in 1938.). Kenny Washington. He went to school with Jackie Robinson Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Basic education dept revises promotion requirements for grades 10,11 due to impact of Covid-19 | News24 The first African American football player in the NFL's modern, post-WW II, era. Kenneth S. Washington (August 31, 1918 – June 24, 1971) was an American professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League (NFL) team in the modern (post-World War II) era. Reeves also instituted the famed "Free Football for Kids" program, providing the groundwork for today's successful TV policies, and became the first to employ a full-time scouting staff. This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when … Breaking down barriers Kenny Washington rejoined LAPD after his retirement and also represented a whiskey distributor as well as a grocery store chain. Biography. His jersey number 13 was retired by UCLA in 1956, and his name also was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in the same year. The ban on entry of the Black players into the NFL finally was overturned in 1946, when facing the prospect of losing its lease in the publicly owned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum unless their team is racially integrated. He was roughhoused and targeted on the field. Facts About Kenny G 2: He Is An Accounting Student In University Of Washington. Kenny Washington (0) Guard - 2019-20: Scored a season-high 12 points at Akron-Wayne (12/14/19) ... grabbed Kenny Washington - 2020-21 - Men's Basketball - Indiana University South Bend Skip To … But in 1939 he was a star, plain and simple. The cause of his death is attributed to a disease called polyarteritis nodosa. All Rights Reserved. There was no championship title, and Washington did not repeat the stardom he had enjoyed at college level a decade earlier. new releases, Christian McBride, Nubya Garcia, Gregory Porter, Immanuel Wilkins, Kenny Washington, Bill Frisell, John Beasley, Chick Corea, Matt Wilson Quartet. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. KENNY WASHINGTON, Defendant – Appellant. Nixon supporter. Kenny Washington is best known as a Football Player. … Kenny Washington. He played in the league from 1941 to 1945 and became the highest earning footballer of the league. Today his pathway would be clear: from college legend to NFL draft to stardom, endorsement deals and riches. Kenny Washington age is around 101,as Kenny Washington was born on the 31th of Aug, 1918 in Los Angeles. But one year earlier, two of his UCLA team mates, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, made their NFL debuts, becoming the first Black NFL players in the modern era (post WWII). Kenny Washington breathed his last on June 24, 1971. He associated himself with the Los AngLos Angeles Dodgers, else Dodgers where his son Kenny Jr. played, as their talent hunter. He then signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode to make them the first two African-American athletes with an NFL contract since 1932. No. LAPD officer. Went to UCLA and played on the same team as … His mortal remains are interred in Evergreen Cemetery situated in the east side neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California. 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