A Nod from Destiny: How Sportswriters for White and African-American Newspapers Covered Kenny Washington's Entry into the National Football League

Abstract

The Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League signed Kenny Washington to a contract on 21 March 1946, ending the NFL's thirteen-year unwritten ban on African-American players. Washington played in the same UCLA backfield as Jackie Robinson, who would go on to break Major League Baseball's color barrier a little more than a year later. While events leading up to Robinsons signing and his first season with the Dodgers drew national attention and extensive news media coverage, Washington's signing with the Rams was a less-celebrated event. Still, African-American journalists, particularly those working for the Pittsburgh Courier and two Los Angeles-based African-American newspapers, the Sentinel and the Tribune, worked diligently to bring about Washington's signing. This research pays special attention to the work of three African-American sportswriters: Herman Hill of the Courier, Abie Robinson of the Sentinel, and Hallie Harding of the Tribune.