"Three Studs on the O-Line" article

[Jeremy Crowhurst]

Here is another example, Marion Motley and Bill Willis were both stars and are both in the HOF. In their game at Miami, there were death threats against Motley and Willis, so Paul Brown decided to give them the week off and leave them in Cleveland. Cleveland struggled without two of their superstars and managed a 38 to 0 victory.

I recall reading somewhere (but haven't been able to remember where, or find a source confirming it) that there was a law on the books in Florida that prohibited players of different races from playing on the same field of any public stadium, and that was why Motley and Willis were held out of that game. Can anyone confirm that?

[oldecapecod11]

Jeremy Crowhurst » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:08 pm
"I recall reading somewhere (but haven't been able to remember where, or find a source confirming it) that there was a law on the books in Florida that prohibited players of different races from playing on the same field of any public stadium, and that was why Motley and Willis were held out of that game. Can anyone confirm that?"

There's a couple of guys at the boatyard who only have two faults: they love football and they are retired lawyers.
Since they are even more ancient than me, they might know. I will ask.
What can be confirmed is that the Southeast Conference Constitution and By-laws specifically excluded "colored" players. That is posted many places. I will try to find it.

[oldecapecod11]

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALABAMA

Excerpt...

In 1967, the University of Kentucky fielded the first integrated varsity football team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), prompting observers to question when other members of the SEC, including Auburn and Alabama, might recruit their first African American athletes. For most black Alabamians, a change in recruitment policy was long overdue, although some worried that the first black recruits at white colleges might be mistreated. Frustrated by the continuing exclusion of black players on the UA team, the school's black student association filed a lawsuit in the spring of 1969, charging it with racial discrimination in athletics. Racial restrictions in the state's athletic programs had already started to change by this time, however. In the summer of 1968, the white and black high school athletic associations merged pursuant to a court order, with limited competition between black and white high schools starting that fall. The integration of high school sports thus established a precedent that made it more acceptable for white college coaches to recruit minority athletes.

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1668

[rhickok1109]

Here is another example, Marion Motley and Bill Willis were both stars and are both in the HOF. In their game at Miami, there were death threats against Motley and Willis, so Paul Brown decided to give them the week off and leave them in Cleveland. Cleveland struggled without two of their superstars and managed a 38 to 0 victory.

I recall reading somewhere (but haven't been able to remember where, or find a source confirming it) that there was a law on the books in Florida that prohibited players of different races from playing on the same field of any public stadium, and that was why Motley and Willis were held out of that game. Can anyone confirm that?

From Coach the Kid, Build the Boy, Mold the Man: The Legacy of Run and Shoot Football by Carolyn J. Ellison: "Paul Brown ... recruited two black players from major universities because he was committed to fielding the best professional team he could. When that Cleveland team went to Florida in 1946 to play Miami, he had to leave his two black starters at home because Florida had a state law prohibiting black and white players from competing on the same field at the same time."

[BD Sullivan]

Legendary Cleveland sportwriter Gordon Cobbledick wrote an article before the game about the situation, writing, "A Florida state law forbids mixing of the races in sports events. Brown was aware of that statute when he signed Willis and Motley to contracts and gave them to understand that they could not play."

Cobbledick also commented, "Bill Willis and Marion Motley committed the unforgivable blunder of being born with dark skin and so are not welcome in Miami."

The Browns coasted because the Miami Seahawks were a disaster that moved to Baltimore after the season.

[Saban1]

I think that is true about the segregation law, but I also read somewhere about death threats made to Motley and Willis.

[oldecapecod11]

... Generally, segregation and discrimination were outlawed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
§ Florida
"All marriages between a white person and a Negro, or between a white person and a person of Negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited."
"Any Black man and white woman, or any white man and Negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars."
"The schools for white children and the schools for Negro children shall be conducted separately."