Football in the 1920's

First Professional Football Team

            

On a day in August 1920, seven men, including legendary all-around athlete and football star Jim Thorpe, meet to organize a professional football league at the Jordan and Hupmobile Auto Showroom in Canton, Ohio. The meeting led to the creation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), the forerunner to the hugely successful National Football League.

         The Beginning of Pro Football

NFL Growth from 1920's-Now

       Kenny Washington 

One of the first African-American college football stars, Kenny Washington was one of two black athletes to reintegrate the NFL in 1946.

Kenny Washington was born on August 31, 1918, in Los Angeles. After college, he was passed over by the NFL, which had not had an African-American player since 1933.

Attended the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star and played 580-600 minutes in 1939, and lead the nation in scoring. 

He became the biggest star and most popular player in two minor professional leagues on the West Coast. Finally, in 1946, the Los Angeles Rams signed him, ending the 12-year ban on black players in the NFL.

Integration of Pro Football