Good Seats Still Available

267: Pro Football's Kenny Washington - With Dan Taylor


Listen Later

Fresno Grizzlies baseball TV play-by-play broadcaster (and Episode 208 guest) Dan Taylor ("Lights, Camera, Fastball: How the Hollywood Stars Changed Baseball") returns to the podcast - this time with the story of one of the most unheralded players in pro football history. In his new book "Walking Alone: The Untold Journey of Football Pioneer Kenny Washington," Taylor writes the first solo biography devoted to collegiate star and original Los Angeles Rams standout running back Kenny Washington (1918-71) - perhaps the best known of the pro game's "Forgotten Four" (the others: Woody Strode, Bill Willis, and Marion Motley) - collectively recognized as the first Black athletes to permanently break pro football's color barrier in 1946. Of the group, it was Washington - a one-time UCLA teammate of Jackie Robinson in both baseball and football - who officially re-integrated the NFL by signing with the just-relocated-from-Cleveland Rams (he convinced the club to later sign Strode). While Willis and Motley were doing similarly with the challenger All-America Football Conference (and later NFL-absorbed) Cleveland Browns - ultimately earning them selections to the Pro Football Hall of Fame - Washington has yet to join them in such recognition, despite being the first of any of them to achieve the feat. Of course, there is MUCH more to the story - including Washington's prolific minor league football exploits, frequent small-part film roles, and local LA celebrity status. By the end of this episode, you too will be convinced that Washington deserves a place in the Canton's hallowed Hall.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Good Seats Still AvailableBy Tim Hanlon

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

104 ratings


More shows like Good Seats Still Available

View all
The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

The Bill Simmons Podcast

30,191 Listeners

The Brian Lehrer Show by WNYC

The Brian Lehrer Show

1,576 Listeners

Fitzdog Radio by Greg Fitzsimmons

Fitzdog Radio

4,212 Listeners

The Tony Kornheiser Show by This Show Stinks Productions, LLC

The Tony Kornheiser Show

10,421 Listeners

Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney by ESPN, Buster Olney

Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney

4,151 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

113,121 Listeners

This Week In Baseball History by Mike Bates and Bill Parker

This Week In Baseball History

255 Listeners

The Rewatchables by The Ringer

The Rewatchables

14,071 Listeners

The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

The Bulwark Podcast

12,741 Listeners

Josh Pate's College Football Show by iHeartPodcasts

Josh Pate's College Football Show

3,678 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

15,506 Listeners

The Prestige TV Podcast by The Ringer

The Prestige TV Podcast

1,701 Listeners

The Mike Francesa Podcast by BetRivers Network

The Mike Francesa Podcast

1,038 Listeners

Pablo Torre Finds Out by The Athletic

Pablo Torre Finds Out

2,476 Listeners

The Air Show by Shayr Media

The Air Show

222 Listeners