Hall of Fame
Football (1940-42)
A native of Canton, Ohio, Marion Motley came to the University of Nevada in 1940 where he quickly established himself as a star. He broke into the starting lineup at fullback and linebacker and played for the Wolf Pack for three seasons from 1940-42. A powerful blocker and tackler at 6-1 and 240 pounds, Motley also returned several kickoffs for touchdown, including a 105-yarder in a 1941 game that is still tied for the school record. While Motley was at Nevada, a Reno reporter wrote that “in Marion Motley, the ball club has one of the best backs in the entire nation.”
Motley left Nevada in 1942 when he was inducted into the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Station just outside of Chicago where he played on the station football team, which was coached by future Pro Hall of Famer Paul Brown. In 1945, Brown signed on to coach the Cleveland Browns of the new All-American Football Conference, and gave Motley, then 26 years old, married with four children and working in a mill in his hometown, a chance to try out for his team.
Motley made the Cleveland squad, and in 1946, he, Browns teammate Bill Willis and two African-American players signed by the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League, broke the color line in modern professional football.
Motley played nine seasons of professional football, including eight with the Browns (1946-53) and one with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1955). He was the all-time rushing champion of the AAFC and led the National Football League in rushing in 1950. Called “the greatest fullback ever” by his coach Brown after a 1946 game, Motley amassed 4,720 rushing yards in his career and averaged a staggering 5.7 yards per carry, and played in the 1951 Pro Bowl. Motley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his hometown of Canton, Ohio, in 1968, becoming the second African-American to earn the sport’s highest honor.
He was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973 as part of the inaugural class.
Even 40-plus years after he played the game, Motley’s legacy is still recognized. In 1994, he was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, while Sports Illustrated’s Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman called Motley, who died in 1999 at the age of 79, the best player in the history of football in his book, A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football.
