The Washington Redskins will retire the No. 49 jersey of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, the first Black player in franchise history, the team announced Saturday. Mitchell died in April.
It comes the day after crews removed the memorial to founding owner George Preston Marshall outside of RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. He refused to sign Black players until the government forced him to in 1962, making it the last NFL team to integrate. Per ESPN, the team’s decision to retired Mitchell’s number had been in the works for a while.