Bobby Mitchell

Robert Cornelius Mitchell (June 6, 1935 – April 5, 2020) was an American professional football player who played halfback and wide receiver in the National Football League. Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, he attended Langston High School, where he played football, basketball, and ran track, and was a good enough baseball player to be offered a contract by the St. Louis Cardinals. He declined professional baseball to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which he chose from among numerous schools, playing college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Mitchell played professionally for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. In 1962 he became the first black player to sign with the Redskins, the last NFL team to racially integrate.

After his playing career, Mitchell became an executive with Washington. He joined the team's scouting department in 1969 and was named assistant general manager in 1981, spending more than 40 years with the organization before retiring in 2002. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Following his death in 2020, the team retired his jersey number 49.