Kenny Washington and Woody Strode reintegrate the NFL

The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21, 1946, and soon after signed Woody Strode — both former UCLA teammates — ending the NFL's 12-year color ban. The signings were conditioned by the LA Coliseum Commission, which required the Rams to field Black players. Washington and Strode were the first Black players in the NFL since 1933, integrating professional football a year before Jackie Robinson entered Major League Baseball.