Today's Tidbit... 1938 Chicago Bears vs. Negro All-Stars

From its beginning through the 1933 season, the NFL had a handful of Black players peppered across the league's rosters. Never more than a handful, they included stars like Fritz Pollard and Duke Slater, with Pollard even co-coaching two franchises during his playing days. By the 1933 season, the NFL had only two black players: Ray Kemp, a former Duquesne lineman and line coach who played for the Pittsburg Pirates (now Steelers) before being cut after three games, and Joe Lillard, who led the Chicago Cardinals in rushing and passing yards, and points.

Ray Kemp (My Black History)

Joe Lillard during his Oregon playing days. (The Oregonian)

In 1934, they were gone, and the NFL did not see its next Black player until 1946. Although Redskins owner George Preston Marshall often gets blamed for the banning, every club in the league complied with the unwritten rule, so they share the blame equally.

Unable to play in the NFL, Black players of the era competed on predominantly White semi-pro teams and all-Black teams such as the Virginia, New York, and Chicago Black Hawks. The latter teams often barnstormed, playing anyone willing to take them on.