Robert Cornelius Mitchell (June 6, 1935 – April 5, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and professionally for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. In 1962 he was the first black player to sign with the Redskins, who were the last NFL team to racially integrate.
After his playing career, Mitchell became an executive with Washington. He joined their scouting department in 1969 and was named assistant general manager in 1981, spending over 40 years with the team in total before retiring in 2002. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and had his jersey number 49 retired by the team following his death in 2020.
Early life
Mitchell was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and attended Langston High School. There, he played football, basketball, and track, and was good enough at baseball to be offered a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. The first time he handled the football, he ran 64 yards for a touchdown.
Mitchell was even more successful in track. In February 1958, he set an indoor world record (one that lasted only six days) with a 7.7 mark in the 70-yard low hurdles. In the Big Ten championships, he scored 13 points and helped Illinois win the title.
NFL playing career
Cleveland Browns (1958–1961)
Mitchell was drafted in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he played as a halfback. He was teamed with Jim Brown to give the Browns one of the most successful running back combinations from 1958 through 1961.
As a Brown, Mitchell accumulated 2297 yards rushing, 1463 yards receiving, 607 yards on punt returns, 1550 yards on kickoff returns, and scored 38 touchdowns.
Washington Redskins (1962–1968)
Under pressure to integrate the team by the U.S. federal government, the Washington Redskins selected Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis with the first overall pick of the 1962 NFL draft. However, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, wary of Davis's potential salary demands, traded his rights to the Cleveland Browns for Mitchell and first-round draft pick Leroy Jackson. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time of the draft, Davis had leukemia, and died without ever playing a down in professional football. Bill McPeak, in his first year as head coach, immediately announced Mitchell would become a flanker. In his first game in Washington, Mitchell ran back a 92-yard kickoff return against the Dallas Cowboys.
NFL career statistics
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| Bold
| Career high
|}
Regular season
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Receiving
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Returning
|-
! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Ret !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! 1958 !! CLE
| 12 || 7 || 16 || 131 || 8.2 || 25 || 3 || 80 || 500 || 6.3 || 63 || 1 || 32 || 619 || 19.3 || 98 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 2
|-
! 1959 !! CLE
| 12 || 12 || 35 || 351 || 10.0 || 76 || 4 || 131 || 743 || 5.7 || style="background:#cfecec;"|90 || 5 || 28 || 413 || 14.8 || 78 || 1
|-
! 1960 !! CLE
| 12 || 11 || 45 || 612 || 13.6 || 69 || 6 || 111 || 506 || 4.6 || 50 || 5 || 26 || 533 || 20.5 || 90 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 1
|-
! 1961 !! CLE
| 14 || 13 || 32 || 368 || 11.5 || 52 || 3 || 101 || 548 || 5.4 || 56 || 5 || 30 || 592 || 19.7 || 91 || style="background:#cfecec;"|2
|-
! 1962 !! WAS
| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|72 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,384 || 19.2 || 81 || 11 || 1 || 5 || 5.0 || 5 || 0 || 15 || 405 || 27.0 || 92 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1
|-
! 1963 !! WAS
| 14 || 14 || 69 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,436 || 20.8 || style="background:#e0cef2;"|99 || 7 || 3 || 24 || 8.0 || 21 || 0 || 15 || 392 || 26.1 || 92 || 1
|-
! 1964!! WAS
| 14 || 14 || 60 || 904 || 15.1 || 60 || style="background:#cfecec;"|10 || 2 || 33 || 16.5 || 19 || 0 || 3 || 58 || 19.3 || 28 || 0
|-
! 1965!! WAS
| 14 || 12 || 60 || 867 || 14.5 || 80 || 6 || – || – || – || – || – || 6 || 131 || 21.8 || 35 || 0
|-
! 1966!! WAS
| 14 || 13 || 58 || 905 || 15.6 || 70 || 9 || 13 || 141 || 10.8 || 48 || 1 || 4 || 21 || 5.3 || 13 || 0
|-
! 1967!! WAS
| 14 || 14 || 60 || 866 || 14.4 || 65 || 6 || 61 || 189 || 3.1 || 16 || 1 || – || – || – || – || –
|-
! 1968!! WAS
| 14 || 4 || 14 || 130 || 9.3 || 18 || 0 || 10 || 46 || 4.6 || 13 || 0 || 12 || 235 || 19.6 || 43 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career || 148 || 128 || 521 || 7,954 || 15.3 || style="background:#e0cef2;"|99T || 65 || 513 || 2,735 || 5.3 || 90 || 18 || 171 || 3,389 || 19.8 || 98 || 8
|}
Front-office career (1969–2003)
After retiring from football in 1968, Mitchell remained with the Redskins, at the request of then head coach Vince Lombardi, as a pro scout. He gradually moved up in the ranks to assistant general manager in the organization,
Mitchell also worked in many efforts and organizations, including the United Negro College Fund, the Howard University Cancer Research Advisory Committee, the American Lung Association of D.C., the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission, the Boys Club of Washington, the National Urban League, the NAACP, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the University of Illinois Presidents Council and the University of Illinois Foundation.