Kenny Washington ( American football ) Kenneth S . " Kingfish " Washington ( August 31 , 1918 – June 24 , 1971 ) was a professional football player who was the first African - American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern ( post - World War II ) era . UCLA Bruins . He was a star running back at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles In college at UCLA , he rushed for 1 , 914 yards in his college career , a school record for 34 years . He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team , the others being Woody Strode , Jackie Robinson and Ray Bartlett . Washington , Strode , and Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team , in which they made up three of the four backfield players . This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams . They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0 - 0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line . It was the first UCLA - USC rivalry football game with national implications . UCLA teammates have commented how strong Washington was when confronted with racial slurs and discrimination . He led the nation in total offense and became the first consensus All - America n in the history of the school ' s football program in 1939 . However , he was named to second team All - America selection instead of the first and was omitted from the East - West Shrine Game that year . These slights were the source of much outrage among West Coast media outlets which blamed them on racial discrimination . According to " Time " magazine ' s coverage of the 1940 College All - Star Game , Washington was " Considered by West Coast fans the most brilliant player in the U . S . last year . " Professional football . After graduation , George Halas attempted to sign Washington to the Chicago Bears , but was blocked by NFL owners . Instead , Washington played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League from 1941 to 1945 . Unlike most professional athletes , he was able to avoid joining the United States military during World War II and was not drafted into service . In 1946 , when the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles , the commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated . As a result , the team signed Washington on March 21 , 1946 , and fellow UCLA ( and Hollywood ) teammate Strode later on May 7 . His NFL stint only lasted three years , but the impact he had on the league was enormous . He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA . He can be seen as a contestant on the 16th April 1959 edition of You Bet Your Life . Politics . Washington was a staunch Republican and strongly supported Richard Nixon ' s 1950 U . S . Senate campaign . The night before Nixon ' s crushing victory over Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas , he spent the evening at Washington ' s south Los Angeles home playing music and trying to relax . Later career . After his retirement from football , Washington became a distinguished police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department . For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles , he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum " Court of Honor " plaque by the Coliseum commissioners . Washington died of polyarteritis nodosa on June 24 , 1971 , at the age of 52 .