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Breaking Through the Lines: The Marion Motley Story
Marion Motley was recognized as one of the gridiron’s most outstanding players when he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 in his hometown of Canton, Ohio. His legacy off the field, as one of four Black players to reintegrate pro football in 1946, helped blaze a path for Black athletes in the highest echelons of professional sports, including baseball’s Jackie Robinson. Yet, the story of one of the sport’s greatest and most impactful players remains unknown to most Americans.
Black players once thrived during the early days of the NFL. Then a “gentleman’s agreement” among NFL owners in 1933 kept those players out of the highest level of the sport for the next 12 years. That changed in 1946. Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown, a native of Massillon, Ohio, was putting together the inaugural Cleveland Browns roster and signed Black players Motley and Bill Willis to be a part of it. That same year, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode also signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
Years earlier, Brown had coached his high school team against Motley’s. They formed a strong partnership first with a Navy team and then in Cleveland, where Motley twice led his league in rushing yards and helped the Browns win five championships. Motley’s efforts to play a physically brutal game in the face of societal racism and state-sanctioned Jim Crow laws helped reintegrate American sports. Yet half a century after Motley’s enshrinement to the Hall of Fame, the memory of Motley and his accomplishments on and off the field have begun to fade, including in the city where he first made his name.
This book tells Motley’s story of adversity, personal tragedy, and triumphs using archival interviews and new interviews with historians, friends, and descendants.
Black players once thrived during the early days of the NFL. Then a “gentleman’s agreement” among NFL owners in 1933 kept those players out of the highest level of the sport for the next 12 years. That changed in 1946. Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown, a native of Massillon, Ohio, was putting together the inaugural Cleveland Browns roster and signed Black players Motley and Bill Willis to be a part of it. That same year, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode also signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
Years earlier, Brown had coached his high school team against Motley’s. They formed a strong partnership first with a Navy team and then in Cleveland, where Motley twice led his league in rushing yards and helped the Browns win five championships. Motley’s efforts to play a physically brutal game in the face of societal racism and state-sanctioned Jim Crow laws helped reintegrate American sports. Yet half a century after Motley’s enshrinement to the Hall of Fame, the memory of Motley and his accomplishments on and off the field have begun to fade, including in the city where he first made his name.
This book tells Motley’s story of adversity, personal tragedy, and triumphs using archival interviews and new interviews with historians, friends, and descendants.
- GenresSports
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2023
1373 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 20, 2023
A quick and concise read on the life and career of one of the most prolific football players ever to touch the turf, Marion Motley.
Morgan covers from Motley's early career to his eventual induction into the hall of fame. The interviews used and the information presented is useful and fitting for the topic. I learned so much about this amazing football player, as well as the times in which he played. I have a greater understanding and respect for how difficult it was to play football as a black man in the early years of the league. I knew little to nothing about Motley prior to reading this book and I feel like I really understood him by the end of the book. When I read how his hometown of Canton cheered courting his induction I got emotional for him.
Overall I would recommend this book to those wanting to learn not only about motley, but about the time as well. Well done.
Morgan covers from Motley's early career to his eventual induction into the hall of fame. The interviews used and the information presented is useful and fitting for the topic. I learned so much about this amazing football player, as well as the times in which he played. I have a greater understanding and respect for how difficult it was to play football as a black man in the early years of the league. I knew little to nothing about Motley prior to reading this book and I feel like I really understood him by the end of the book. When I read how his hometown of Canton cheered courting his induction I got emotional for him.
Overall I would recommend this book to those wanting to learn not only about motley, but about the time as well. Well done.
July 8, 2023
Like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby in major league baseball, Marion Motley and his teammate, Bill Willis, of the Cleveland Browns were the first two prominent black players to break the color barrier in the modern NFL.
This book tells the story of the lesser known trials and tribulations Motley went through, similar to his Major League Baseball counterparts. This was a fast-paced history chronicling his high school career in Canton, Ohio, through hiss NFL career with the Cleveland Browns.
Although not known well among the modern era football fans, Motley is seen by his former teammates and peers as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Despite the horrendous discrimination he experienced, he persevered and eventually made it back to his hometown of Canton, Ohio, as only the second black player inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
It's a great story of following your dreams, having determination, overcoming challenges, and achieving your goals.
This book tells the story of the lesser known trials and tribulations Motley went through, similar to his Major League Baseball counterparts. This was a fast-paced history chronicling his high school career in Canton, Ohio, through hiss NFL career with the Cleveland Browns.
Although not known well among the modern era football fans, Motley is seen by his former teammates and peers as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Despite the horrendous discrimination he experienced, he persevered and eventually made it back to his hometown of Canton, Ohio, as only the second black player inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
It's a great story of following your dreams, having determination, overcoming challenges, and achieving your goals.
March 27, 2023
This is an excellent sports biography. It is well researched and well written. The author included photographs and statistics from Motley's football career. I had not heard of Motley before, though I have only recently taken an interest in the history of football. This book makes the reader want to know more. In my opinion, that defines high quality nonfiction.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sports biographies, history of football, Black history, and civil rights. This would make a good book club selection, as this biography contains plenty of information to spark discussion.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sports biographies, history of football, Black history, and civil rights. This would make a good book club selection, as this biography contains plenty of information to spark discussion.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 21, 2025
Biography of Marion Motley. if you are asking who that is, that is the problem! Four black football players broke professional football's "gentlemen's agreement" a year before Jackie Robinson signed his MLB contract. There are many reasons fewer people know of Motley than Robinson - he was one of four, football wasn't as popular as baseball at the time, modern football doesn't commemorate him the way modern baseball commemorates Robinson, etc, etc. This book is a step toward rectifying that. it also ties to a documentary about Motley, which is even better.
As for the book itself, I struggled to know the audience it was meant for. The writing felt almost middle grade sometimes. There were, of course, lots of stats, plays, and other football things. About a quarter in, the author provided much more nuance and sophisticated discussion of the issues surrounding Motley - the why this matters instead of just saying that it does.
If you're interested - read it! It is quick, informative, and you won't be disappointed!
As for the book itself, I struggled to know the audience it was meant for. The writing felt almost middle grade sometimes. There were, of course, lots of stats, plays, and other football things. About a quarter in, the author provided much more nuance and sophisticated discussion of the issues surrounding Motley - the why this matters instead of just saying that it does.
If you're interested - read it! It is quick, informative, and you won't be disappointed!
March 20, 2024
I had the opportunity to hear the author speak and talk to him about this book. Motley’s life is a story that needs to be told more broadly. This book is an easy read and provides good insight into an under appreciated pro football pioneer.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews