|
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. ==UCLA Bruins== Washington was a star running back at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles In college at UCLA, Washington rushed for 1,914 yards in his college career, a school record for 34 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, in which they made up three of the four backfield players.〔B.J. VIOLETT - (TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY ).'' UCLA Today'' magazine, 1997〕 This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams.〔("Kenny Washington" ) ''Encyclopædia Britannica''〕 They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0-0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. It was the first UCLA-USC rivalry football game with national implications. UCLA teammates have commented how strong Washington was when confronted with racial slurs and discrimination.〔B.J. VIOLETT - (TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY ). ''UCLA Today'' magazine, 1997 Quote:"We couldn’t play in Texas because we had black guys on our team", McPherson said. "They couldn’t stay in the hotels or eat in the restaurants, so we didn’t travel there." Mathews remembers it was rough for black athletes. "One game, some redneck Missouri players were riding Washington pretty good and they would take chalk from the sidelines and rub it in his face. But Kenny was terrific at just playing on through. He was amazing."〕 He led the nation in total offense and became the first consensus All-American in the history of the school's football program in 1939.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Washington, Kenny )〕 However, he was named to second team All-America selection instead of the first and was omitted from the East-West Shrine Game that year. These slights were the source of much outrage among West Coast media outlets which blamed them on racial discrimination. According to ''Time'' magazine's coverage of the 1940 College All-Star Game, Washington was "Considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the U. S. last year."〔(Sport: Kickoff ), ''Time'', September 9, 1940, accessed July 12, 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kenny Washington (American football)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|