Bobby Mitchell, the speedy Hall of Famer who became the Washington Redskins’ first black player, has died. He was 84.
Mitchell split his career between the Cleveland Browns and the Redskins, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.
“The game lost a true legend today,” Hall of Fame president and chief executive David Baker said in a statement on Sunday. “Bobby was an incredible player, a talented executive and a real gentleman to everyone with whom he worked or competed against.”
Photo: AP
When Mitchell joined the Redskins in 1962, they became the last NFL team to integrate.
After playing his first four seasons in Cleveland, he spent seven more with Washington and retired with the second-most combined offensive yards.
Mitchell became a Redskins scout and later served as assistant general manager.
“His passion for the game of football was unmatched by anyone I have ever met,” Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said. “Not only was he one of the most influential individuals in franchise history, but he was also one of the greatest men I have ever known. He was a true class act and will be sorely missed.”
Retired NFL running back Brian Mitchell, who has no relation to Bobby, but became friends with him, said he learned from his namesake.
“Tough times don’t remain, tough people do, and you don’t let what you go through change who you are unless it’s for the better,” Brian Mitchell said. “I’m sure there was people saying stuff to him and doing things that [ticked] him off, but he wasn’t bitter. When you look at him when he was working for the Redskins early on, many people felt Bobby should’ve been the general manager of the Washington Redskins. He didn’t get bitter. He kept doing the things he can do.”
Bobby Mitchell in 2015 told 60 Minutes Sports that he understood pretty quickly upon signing for Washington “there was no one in this town used to having a black star.”
Friend and fellow Hall of Famer Jim Brown took it one step further.
“Bobby was an individual that was thrown into the arena of being a victim for no reason,” Brown said. “He had to suffer for being black more than any person I know that played football at the time I played. With that kind of ability, if he were white, everybody on this Earth would know who he was.”
“You look at Bobby, his career was a Hall of Fame career, but I know for African-American people, he was a social activist as well,” Brian Mitchell said. “Not only was he a great football player, and a guy who would go out there and fight for the rights of his people, but he was also a guy who was a philanthropist, a guy doing everything that you’re supposed to do.”
In related news, legendary New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who held the record for the longest field goal in NFL history from 1970 until 2013, has died after contracting COVID-19, the team said on Sunday.
Dempsey, 73, died on Saturday at a care home where he had been battling Alzheimer’s and dementia. Several other residents of the facility where Dempsey was staying have also contracted the coronavirus.
Dempsey’s game-winning 63-yard field goal struck on Nov. 8, 1970, was the most famous moment of his NFL career.
Born without toes on his right foot or fingers on his right hand, Dempsey was an unlikely candidate for a football career, but he flourished with a specially modified, flat-fronted right boot, which critics said gave him an unfair advantage in kicking.
It did not prevent him from spending a decade in the NFL between 1969 and 1979, with stints in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Houston and Buffalo.
His record-setting field goal — which clinched a 19-17 triumph over the Detroit Lions — was the longest in NFL history until Matt Prater converted a 64-yard effort for the Denver Broncos in the thin air of Mile High Stadium in 2013.
“The New Orleans Saints family is deeply saddened and heartbroken at this most difficult time. Tom’s life spoke directly to the power of the human spirit and exemplified his resolute determination to not allow setbacks to impede following his dreams and aspirations,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “He exemplified the same fight and fortitude in recent years as he battled valiantly against illnesses, but never wavered and kept his trademark sense of humor. He holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the Saints family.”
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