BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Kenneth S. "Kingfish" 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
He was a star running back at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles
In college at UCLA, he 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. This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams. 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.
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.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."
Professional football
| "Considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the U. S. last year, Washington cannot play major-league pro football because he is a Negro." |
| — Time magazine, 1940 |
After graduation, George Halas attempted to sign Washington to the Chicago Bears, but was blocked by NFL owners. Instead, Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League from 1941 to 1945. Unlike most professional athletes, he was able to avoid joining the United States military during World War II and was not drafted into service. In 1946, when the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, the commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated. As a result, the team signed Washington on March 21, 1946, and fellow UCLA (and Hollywood) teammate Strode later on May 7.[7] His NFL stint only lasted three years, but the impact he had on the league was enormous. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA.
He can be seen as a contestant on the 16th April 1959 edition of You Bet Your Life.
Politics
Washington was a staunch Republican and strongly supported Richard Nixon's 1950 U.S. Senate campaign. The night before Nixon's crushing victory over Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, he spent the evening at Washington's south Los Angeles home playing music and trying to relax.
Later career
After his retirement from football, Washington became a distinguished police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.
Washington died of polyarteritis nodosa on June 24, 1971, at the age of 52.
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