Gridiron Gauntlet: The Story of the Men Who Integrated Pro Football, in Their Own Words Book

One year before Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball, four black players joined the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams to become the first African-American pro football players in the modern era. Players who began their careers from 1946 to 1955 reminisce about the violence they faced on and off the field, the world of segregation and the violence it brought, but also of white players and coaches who assisted and supported their careers.

Library Journal

Pro football was fully segregated from 1933 to 1945; the story of its integration is one of great significance—and not yet adequately addressed. Piascik (The Best Show in Football: The 1946–55 Cleveland Browns) interviewed a dozen black football players who played in the AAFC, the NFL, or the AFL between 1946 and 1961. The players ranged from Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry and stars George Taliaferro and Bob Mann to lesser lights like Eddie Macon, Eddie Bell, Charlie Powell, and John Brown. Of particular interest is Harold Bradley, a guard for the Browns and Eagles in the 1950s whose father, Harold Sr., played in the NFL in the 1920s before the color ban was enacted. The reminiscences cover the lives of these men both in and out of football. The stories they tell are humorous, disturbing, angry, sad, and uplifting. An involving and essential read for anyone interested in football.—J.M.