43 Facts About Marion Motley

Marion Motley was an American professional football player who was a fullback and linebacker for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League.

Marion Motley was a leading pass-blocker and rusher in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and ended his career with an average of 5.7 yards per carry, a record for running backs that still stands.

Marion Motley was one of the first two African-Americans to play professional football in the modern era, breaking the color barrier along with teammate Bill Willis in September 1946, when the two played their first game for the Cleveland Browns.

Paul Brown invited Marion Motley to try out for the Cleveland Browns, a team he was coaching in the newly formed AAFC pro football league.

Marion Motley made the Browns in 1946, and became a cornerstone of Cleveland's success in the late 1940s.

Marion Motley was the AAFC's leading rusher in 1948, and the NFL leader in 1950, when the Browns won another championship.

Marion Motley attempted a comeback in 1955 as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released before the end of the year.

Marion Motley then pursued a coaching career, but was turned away by the Browns and other teams he approached.

Marion Motley attributed his trouble finding a job in football to racial discrimination, questioning whether teams were ready to hire a black coach.

Marion Motley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Marion Motley was born in Leesburg, Georgia and raised in Canton, Ohio, where his family moved when he was three years old.

Marion Motley transferred before his sophomore year to the University of Nevada, where he was a star on the football team between 1941 and 1943.

Marion Motley suffered a knee injury in 1943 and returned to Canton to work after dropping out of school.

Marion Motley played fullback and linebacker at Great Lakes, and was an important component of the team's offense and defense.

Marion Motley put up an impressive performance, thanks in part to Brown's experimentation with a new play: a delayed handoff later called the draw play.

Marion Motley wrote to Brown asking for a tryout, but Brown declined, saying he already had all the fullbacks he needed.

Marion Motley felt the Browns would likely be his only opportunity to make a career of football.

Marion Motley was signed to a contract worth $4,500 a year.

Marion Motley was a force to be reckoned with in the AAFC, and helped the team win every championship in the league's four years of existence between 1946 and 1949.

Marion Motley was an able pass blocker and played on defense as a linebacker.

Marion Motley rushed for an average of 8.2 yards per carry in his first season.

Marion Motley's forte was the trap play, a scheme where a defensive lineman was allowed to come across the line of scrimmage unblocked, opening up space for Motley to run.

Marion Motley was the AAFC's all-time rushing leader when the league folded after the 1949 season and the Browns were absorbed into the more established National Football League.

In October 1950, Marion Motley set an NFL record that stood for more than 52 years when he averaged over 17 yards per rush against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 188 yards on 11 carries.

Marion Motley had a 69-yard rushing and 33-yard receiving touchdowns in the game.

Marion Motley suffered a knee injury in training camp, and he was getting older; by the time the season was in full swing, he was 31.

Marion Motley only ran for 273 yards and one touchdown that year, an uncharacteristically low total.

Marion Motley finished the year with 444 yards of rushing and 4.3 yards per carry, a career low.

Marion Motley performed well in that matchup against the Detroit Lions, rushing for 95 yards.

Marion Motley did not participate in the championship game that year, another loss to the Lions.

Marion Motley thought he could come back and play a ninth season in 1954, and showed up to training camp to prove it.

Marion Motley took the 1954 season off and attempted a comeback in 1955 after the Browns, who still had rights to Marion Motley under his contract, traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Ed Modzelewski.

Marion Motley's career rushing average is still an all-time record for running backs.

Marion Motley got occasional scouting assignments from the Browns, but as the Civil Rights Movement began to coalesce in 1965, he issued a statement saying he had been refused a permanent coaching position by the team numerous times.

Marion Motley applied for a coaching job in 1964, he wrote, and was told that there were no vacancies.

Marion Motley asked Otto Graham for a job with the Washington Redskins when Graham was head coach there in the late 1960s, but he was again turned away.

Marion Motley signed on to coach an all-girl professional football team called the Cleveland Dare Devils in 1967.

Later in life, Marion Motley worked for the US postal service in Cleveland, Harry Miller Excavating Suffield, Ohio, the Ohio Lottery and for the Ohio Department of Youth Services in Akron.

Marion Motley died in 1999, twenty-two days after his 79th birthday, of prostate cancer.

In 1968, Marion Motley became the second black player voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, located in his hometown of Canton.

Marion Motley could run with anybody for 30 yards or so.

Marion Motley was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994.

In November 2019, Marion Motley was selected as one of the twelve running backs on the NFL 100 All-Time Team.