CANTON, Ohio — As people gather in Canton to recognize a new class of football greats, an area author is taking the moment to recognize a player who tackled something greater than football.
And he did it right here in Cleveland.
The name Marion Motley isn’t unknown in Northeast Ohio; the Canton native played at McKinley High School and would later become a founding member of the Browns. But compared to other icons who broke racial barriers during the same time period, Motley's tale just isn't as widely known, according to Canton-based author David Lee Morgan Jr.
"It's not that people don’t want to know; they just don't know the story," Morgan, a former sportswriter for the Akron Beacon Journal, said. "Nobody has really told them the story."
Motley broke the color barrier in professional football with three other football players in 1946, a year before Jackie Robinson did the same with baseball. He was brought on by Browns coach Paul Brown alongside Bill Willis at a time when the rest of the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was entirely white, along with the rival National Football League.
This week, Morgan released his new book titled "Breaking Through the Lines: The Marion Motley Story" to try and share the tale more widely.
"He was one of the greatest running backs in NFL history," Morgan noted, referring to Motley's pair of league rushing titles and career record mark of 5.7 yards per carry.
The book lays out for readers what it was like to be one of the four Black players playing pro football at the time, when Jim Crow and segregation were the norm. It features firsthand accounts from Motley along with interviews with coaches and fellow players.
"You know, not only was the opposing team against their team; they had to battle that racism and angst and hate toward them and still try and play a game that they loved," Morgan said.
As Motley became a prolific running back, Willis solidified himself as an All-Pro defensive lineman. Fellow Black athletes Kenny Washington and Woody Strode broke the color barrier over in the NFL, joining the Los Angeles Rams.
Motley's particular struggles were exemplified in this excerpt from the book:
"Unable to bring Motley down, defender Harmon Rowe began slugging him in the face. ... All of that physicality took a toll. After the [New York] Yankees game, Motley was being interviewed when a photographer asked him to smile. Motley said he couldn't because a few of his teeth got knocked out during the game."
Motley never flaunted what he ended up meaning to football, Morgan says, and while playing was forced to tread lightly on certain issues because of his race. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968, and died in 1999 at the age of 79.
Last year, Morgan said successful efforts to erect a statue of Motley on Stadium Park Drive Northwest propelled him to write "Breaking Through the Lines."
"I would love to see people pick it up and learn some things about [Motley]," Morgan told 3News. "Because it’s not just a Cleveland book, it's not just a Northeast Ohio book. It's a book for everybody."
A book about a man who helped lead the way in football, so one day others could follow.
If you are interested in getting a copy, the book is available at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s gift shop in Canton, at select Barnes and Nobles, and on Amazon. Morgan will also be taking part in a book signing Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at Centennial Plaza.
