Table of Contents
- 1 When was Charles Follis born?
- 2 Where did Follis die?
- 3 Who is Charles Follis and what was he known for?
- 4 When did Charles Follis play football?
- 5 What did Mr Charles Follis do to succeed on the football field?
- 6 Where was Charles W Follis born and raised?
- 7 When was Charles Follis inducted into the Hall of Fame?
- 8 When did Follis have his career ending injury?
When was Charles Follis born?
February 3, 1879
Charles Follis/Date of birth
The first African American professional football player, Charles W. Follis, was born February 3, 1879, in Cloverdale, Virginia.
Where did Follis die?
Wooster, OH
Charles Follis/Place of death
Where is Charles Follis from?
Cloverdale, VA
Charles Follis/Place of birth
Who is Charles Follis and what was he known for?
On April 15, 1947, he ran onto the baseball field and into the history books as the first African American professional baseball player in the modern era. However, hardly anyone knows the name of the man who first broke the color barrier in professional football 43 years earlier, Charles Follis.
When did Charles Follis play football?
He was born on February 3, 1879, in Cloverdale, Virginia. In 1901, he enrolled at the College of Wooster. Follis played football for a local amateur club, and in 1902, he began playing football for the Shelby Blues, a professional team in Shelby, Ohio.
How did Charles Follis die?
Pneumonia
Charles Follis/Cause of death
Due to injury, Follis left football and Shelby in 1902 to play baseball in The Negro Leagues of Baseball, barnstorming for the superstar “Cuban Giants.” Sadly, his career ended sooner than expected with his sudden death in 1910 of pneumonia.
What did Mr Charles Follis do to succeed on the football field?
Follis, a.k.a. “The Black Cyclone,” (February 3, 1879 – April 5, 1910) was the first Black professional American football player. On September 16, 1904, Follis signed a contract with Shelby making him the first Black man contracted to play professional football on an integrated team.
Where was Charles W Follis born and raised?
Charles W. Follis was born on February 3, 1879 to James Henry and Catherine Matilda Anderson Follis in Cloverdale, Virginia. James Henry (b. 1846– d. 1910) and Catherine Matilda (b. 1848– d.1922) were married in Virginia in 1873. Charles W. Follis’ father was a farm laborer. Charles was probably the third born of seven children.
What was the name of Charles follis’sister?
Sister Laura Alice was born in 1880 and brother Curtis W. was born in 1884 and died in 1903. In 1885, the family moved to Wooster, Ohio where Walter Joseph (b. 1888) and Lucy Jane (b. 1890) were born. Follis entered Wooster College, in 1901, however,
When was Charles Follis inducted into the Hall of Fame?
The script was written by an area playwright, Jim Stoner. The story relives Follis’ life, football career, and family. In 2013, Follis was inducted into the College of Wooster Hall of Fame. However, despite his impact on American sports he is still not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
When did Follis have his career ending injury?
In Shelby, Follis joined his teammates at a local tavern after a game; the owner denied him entry. At the Thanksgiving Day game of the 1906 season, Follis suffered a career-ending injury. Follis turned to baseball, a sport he played for many years in the spring and summer.