Bobby Mitchell

Lore & Background

Mitchell was drafted 84th overall in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he played as a halfback. He was teamed with Jim Brown to give the Browns one of the most successful running back combinations from 1958 through 1961. As a rookie, Mitchell had a 98-yard kickoff return. A year later against Washington, he rushed for 232 yards, including a 90-yard scoring scamper, a Browns record until it was broken by Nick Chubb in 2018. The same year, he returned a punt 78 yards against the New York Giants. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 1960. As a Brown, Mitchell accumulated 2297 yards rushing, 1463 yards receiving, 607 yards on punt returns, 1550 yards on kickoff returns, and scored 38 touchdowns. He once held the Browns' career record for kickoff returns for touchdowns, and he also currently holds the team's best rookie rushing average (6.3 in 1958). Under pressure to integrate the team by the U.S. federal government, the Washington Redskins selected Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis with the first overall pick of the 1962 NFL draft. However, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, wary of Davis's potential salary demands, traded his rights to the Cleveland Browns for Mitchell and first-round draft pick Leroy Jackson. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time of the draft, Davis had leukemia, and died without ever playing a down in professional football. Mitchell, along with John Nisby, Leroy Jackson, and Ron Hatcher, was one of four black players on the 1962 Redskins, as the franchise became the last professional football team to integrate. Bill McPeak, in his first year as head coach, immediately announced Mitchell would become a flanker. In his first game in Washington, Mitchell ran back a 92-yard kickoff return against the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins finished the season with a 5–7–2 record, their best record in five years. Mitchell led the league with 72 catches and 1384 yards and ranked third with 11 touchdowns. He was selected to the first of three consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1963, Mitchell recorded 69 catches for 1436 yards and seven more touchdowns. During this season, he also became the second player in league and franchise history to record a 99-yard pass play. The pass from George Izo was the first 99-yard pass in over 23 years, when the Redskins' Frank Filchock and Andy Farkas set the original record October 15, 1939.

Reader's Guide

Mitchell was a four-way threat as a runner, receiver, and return specialist. He is the only NFL player with more than 500 career rushes and 500 receptions to average more than five yards per carry (5.3) and more than 15 yards per catch (15.3). As a player and a front office executive, Mitchell spent 41 years with the Redskins.

Did You Know?

• Mitchell set an indoor world record in the 70-yard low hurdles in February 1958, with a time of 7.7 seconds, though it lasted only six days.
• He was the runner-up in the long jump at the 1958 NCAA Track and Field Championships.
• Mitchell hosted the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Classic, an annual golf fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, beginning in 1990.
• He was named first-team All-Big Ten in 1955 and second-team in 1957.