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Motley dies at 79 Legendary Browns rusher was one of first black players
Posted: Sunday June 27, 1999 06:09 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Pro Football Hall of Famer Marion Motley, a bruising fullback for the Cleveland Browns and one of the first black players of the modern era, died Sunday. He was 79. Motley had been fighting prostate cancer for at least a year. He died Sunday morning at his son's Cleveland home, Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan said. Motley, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound fullback, rushed for 4,720 yards in nine professional seasons in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. He led the NFL in rushing with 810 yards on 140 carries in 1950, the Browns' first season in the NFL. Motley was also the AAFC's all-time leading rusher with 3,024 yards. Along with fellow Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham and kicker Lou Groza, the Browns won AAFC championships all four years the league existed. Motley was versatile for a big fullback. Sometimes called "Otto Graham's Bodyguard" for his blocking ability, Motley was also a receiving threat out of the backfield, catching 85 passes for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns. "Marion was a great player. My dad always felt Marion was the greatest back he ever had," said Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, whose father, Paul Brown, coached Cleveland from 1946-62. "Jim Brown may have been a great runner, but Marion was a better runner. He could really run. He was a complete player. He was a great blocker," Mike Brown said Sunday from his home in Cincinnati. During his first two seasons with the Browns, Motley was also a solid linebacker before he specialized on offense when the Browns split offensive and defensive players. He also returned 48 kickoffs for 1,122 yards - 23.4 yards per return. Before Motley, pro teams in the modern era didn't have black players. The Browns made history in 1946 when they signed Motley and teammate Bill Willis. That same season Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, who were also black, signed with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. The NFL had a number of black players in the 1920s, but an unspoken ban left them out of pro football in the '30s and '40s until Motley signed with the Browns. Motley was slowed late in his career by knee injuries. He took the 1954 season off and attempted a comeback in 1955 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but retired after carrying the ball just twice. Mike Brown said he remembers his father trading Motley to Pittsburgh because he was "over the hill." "And when Pittsburgh came to town, Marion had a big day," Mike Brown said. After the game, Motley joked that he played well because "it was easier to run down hill." Paul Brown, who saw Motley play at neighboring Canton McKinley High School while Brown was coach at Massillon, coached Motley on the Great Lakes Naval Training Center team, which beat Notre Dame 39-7 in 1935. Motley is survived by a brother and sister and three sons. There was no word Sunday on funeral arrangements. "The Hall of Fame has lost a dear friend in Marion Motley, not only because he was a member of the Hall, but he was also longtime Canton-area resident and a good friend to all. He will be sorely missed," Horrigan said.
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