Robert Cornelius Mitchell (June 6, 1935 – April 5, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. Mitchell became the Redskins' first African-American star after joining them in 1962, when they became the last NFL team to integrate. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
Early life
Mitchell was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and attended Langston High School. There, he played football, basketball, and track, and was good enough at baseball to be offered a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
College career
Instead of playing professional baseball, Mitchell chose to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which he picked from a host of schools that offered him scholarships. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and had a particularly good sophomore year. At the beginning of the 1955 season, he was behind junior Harry Jefferson on the depth chart. Seven games into the season, Jefferson went down with an injury, and Mitchell took over at one of the halfback spots. The first time he handled the football, he ran 64 yards for a touchdown. Though he entered in the third quarter, Mitchell gained 173 yards in 10 carries, and the Illini upset third-ranked Michigan, 25–6. He gained more than 100 yards in each of the final two games of the season, when he also played as a defensive back. That year, he averaged a record 8.6 yards per rush.
As a junior in 1956, Mitchell did not see the field much due to a knee injury. After his senior season, he was invited to play in the College All-Star Game, where he got behind defensive back, James David on an 84-yard touchdown reception, and then scored again on an 18-yard pass from Jim Ninowski. The All-Stars' upset the Detroit Lions, 35–19, and Mitchell and Ninowski shared game MVP honors. Mitchell was named first-team All-Big Ten football in 1955 and second-team status in 1957. He was named to The Pigskin Club Honor Roll by The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C.
Mitchell was even more successful in track. In February 1958, he set an indoor world record (one that lasted only six days) with a 7.7 mark in the 70-yard low hurdles. In the Big Ten championships, he scored 13 points and helped Illinois win the title. Mitchell was unsure whether he wanted to pursue a career in football or track. Even though the 1960 Summer Olympics were still two years away, he had his sights set on competing on the American team. However, Browns head coach Paul Brown offered to pay him $7,000 during his rookie season and was able to convince Mitchell to play football instead of participating in the Olympics.
NFL playing career
Cleveland Browns (1958–1961) Mitchell was drafted in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he played as a halfback. He was teamed with Jim Brown to give the Browns one of the most successful running back combinations from 1958 through 1961.
As a rookie, Mitchell had a 98-yard kickoff return. A year later against Washington, he rushed for 232 yards, including a 90-yard scoring scamper. The same year, he returned a punt 78 yards against the New York Giants. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 1960.
As a Brown, Mitchell accumulated 2297 yards rushing, 1463 yards receiving, 607 yards on punt returns, 1550 yards on kickoff returns, and scored 38 touchdowns. He once held the Browns' career record for kickoff returns for touchdowns, and he also currently holds the team's best rookie rushing average (6.3 in 1958).
Washington Redskins (1962–1968) Under pressure to integrate the team by the U.S. federal government, the Washington Redskins selected Ernie Davis with the first overall pick of the 1962 NFL Draft. However, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, wary of Davis's potential salary demands, traded his rights to the Cleveland Browns for Mitchell and first-round draft pick Leroy Jackson. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time of the draft, Davis had leukemia, and died without ever playing a down in professional football.