RENO, Nev. – Nevada Football will honor the legacy of former Wolf Pack star and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marion Motley (Nevada, 1940-42), widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of football, beginning with a special tribute in 2025.

"This is an opportunity to remember a great Nevada and NFL legend in Marion Motley. What it exemplifies to me is the courage, determination and hard work it takes to be a champion, and part of the Wolf Pack program. Nobody exemplifies that more than Marion Motley," said Nevada head coach Jeff Choate.

In each of the Wolf Pack's contests this season, one player will wear Motley's No. 41 as a tribute to his journey to Nevada and perseverance and experience in football and as a U.S. Navy veteran. At this Saturday's 2025 opener at Penn State (12:30 p.m. PT, CBS), wide receiver Charles Brown will don the number.

"I'm tremendously grateful for this opportunity and for the support from my coaches and teammates who have recognized the hard work I put in every day," Brown said. "Being the first to wear Marion Motley's No. 41 is more than just an honor; it's a responsibility. This initiative reminds me to lead with humility, to set an example for my team, and to bring along selfless, dedicated individuals who share that same drive day in and day out. It's motivation to keep pushing, not just for myself but for the legacy we are all part of."

The number will not be assigned to any one Wolf Pack player for the season, maintaining its "retired" status. The number was retired by Nevada in 1969 to commemorate Motley's 1968 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Motley was also a member of the charter class of the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973.

"Marion Motley's Nevada legacy is an essential component in the history of Wolf Pack Athletics. So much about Marion Motley's story at Nevada—his journey to Reno, his perseverance, his outstanding performances on the field, his service for this country—embodies the values we hold highest at the University and in Northern Nevada," said Nevada Athletics Director Stephanie Rempe.

A native of Canton, Ohio, Motley began his collegiate career at South Carolina State in 1939 before making the cross-country trip to 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. Brown signed on to coach the Cleveland Browns of the new All-American Football Conference in 1945, and a year later, he 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 and Browns teammate Bill Willis, along with Woody Strode and Kenny Washington of 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 in 1968, becoming the second Black player to earn the sport's highest honor.

Even more than 50 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.