Little Known Black History: Pre NFL Players

The state of Ohio has a long history with the sport of football.  The Ohio League was one of the earliest professional football leagues in the world.  There were several black players that paved the way in the early 1900s including Charles Follis and Doc Baker.  These are two examples of American pioneers that most have never heard of.

Follis was credited with being the first black professional football player.  He was born in Virginia on February 3, 1879.  He was one of seven children and helped organize his Wooster, Ohio varsity high school football team.  He was named captain, by his otherwise white teammates, and then went on to attend Wooster College.  He had a brother that at age 19 died of a football related injury.

In 1901, while in college, he played for the Wooster Athletic Association earning the nickname “The Black Cyclone”.  He was a 6′0″ 200 pound halfback and after his first year playing for Wooster, went on to play four more years and dominate with the Shelby Blues.   Follis was also a professional baseball player in the Negro Leagues.  He played catcher and was a slugger who also stole many bases.  In 1910, at only 31, Follis died of pneumonia.

Charles “Doc” Baker also played halfback in the Ohio Football League for the Akron Indians.  He is considered to be the second African American professional football player and got his nickname because of serving as an aid to a physician.  Baker was raised in an orphanage and his career was marred by scandal due to gambling implications.  He played for the Indians from 1906 to 1908.  Unfortunately, like Follis, he died very young in the early 1920s.