Saga of NFL's African-American pioneers is an untold story

The story of Jackie Robinson's struggle to integrate Major League Baseball is told in a library full of books and a multiplex worth of movies and documentaries detailing its impact on the sport and American culture.

The story of the NFL's African-American pioneers, however, remains largely forgotten.

When the league sprang up in the early 1920s, Fritz Pollard was among its first stars. He was the first African-American coach, too. And, ... Full Story »

Posted by Kristin Gorski
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Subjects: Sports, U.S.
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Posted by: Posted by Kristin Gorski - Feb 25, 2009 - 4:46 AM PST
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Edited by: Kaizar Campwala - Feb 25, 2009 - 10:46 AM PST

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3.8
by Kaizar Campwala - Feb. 25, 2009

Gives great background on the (re)integration of the NFL, which I knew nothing about. The league is lauded for today's progressive policy, but there's no exploration of what racial problems still exist.

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3.8
by Kenneth Sibbett - Feb. 25, 2009

A nice and informative article that tells of the first black players in the early football years. The reason it's not more of a bigger story is pro-football was in it's infancy. Still interesting.

When I saw the name Woody Strode it took a few seconds to hit me that he was in the movies, mainly westerns.

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3.8
by Patricia L'Herrou - Feb. 25, 2009

this is a summary of when african-american players and coaches became part of football leagues in the u.s. the article offers some explanation why this history is nowhere near as well-known as the jackie robinson story yet perhaps not enough. bringing up the (informal) ban on that integration for a number of years offers no discussion about why the l.a. coliseum mandated it nor if the war had an effect. still it's important that a newspaper's sporting news begins to point out this ... More »

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3.9
by Peter L. Combs - Feb. 25, 2009

Well done, interesting time line, very good content and context. I for example had NEVER heard of Fritz Pollard..sounds like a good movie or better yet a book.

While I find good sportsmanship laudable and I think everyone should have an equal and fair chance to participate. When we admire teachers, ... More »

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3.6
by Kevin Barry - Feb. 25, 2009
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3.6
by Ian Cerveny - Feb. 26, 2009

While this is a well-written story, the subject matter is not understudied simply due to race issues. The author makes a connection between race ... More »

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3.7
by Derek Hawkins - Feb. 25, 2009
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4.0
by Jeremy Freed - Feb. 25, 2009

I'm not terribly interested in football, but I found this article quite informative and-- I daresay-- a good read!

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