high_school height_ft weight_lbs years death_date birth_place teams article_title position birth_date height_in college name
wooster -lrb- oh -rrb- 6 200 1901 1902-1906 15 april 1910 cloverdale , virginia , united states wooster athletic association shelby blues charles follis
 halfback february 3 , 1879 0 wooster charles follis
charles follis

charles w. follis , a.k.a. `` the black cyclone , '' -lrb- february 3 , 1879 -- april 5 , 1910 -rrb- was the first black professional football player .
he played for the shelby blues of the `` ohio league '' from 1902 to 1906 .
on september 16 , 1904 , follis signed a contract with shelby making him the first black contracted to play professional football .
he was also the first black catcher to move from college baseball onto a black professional baseball team .
