Gridiron Integration
Metro Stop: Stadium-Armory
- Blue Line
- Orange Line
- Silver Line
Hall of Fame football player Bobby Mitchell, the first African-American to play for the Washington Redskins. (AP Photo)
R.F.K. Stadium has been the home to eleven separate Washington sports teams, but is now home to none. So, before R.F.K. vanishes from our memories completely, let’s commemorate how it came to be. In the late 1950s, George Preston Marshall, owner and founder of the Redskins, tried to move out of Griffith Stadium and build a new home for his team. He convinced Congress to authorize funding for a stadium, but there was a catch. You see, in 1961 the Redskins were the only team in the NFL to still be segregated. Since R.F.K. Stadium (then called D.C. Stadium) was built on government owned land and received government funding, Marshall had to comply with the Department of the Interior's demand that he end his ban on black players. He reluctantly did so, trading for future Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell prior to the 1962 season.