Woody Strode
On May 7, 1946, Woodrow "Woody" Wilson Woolwine Strode Signed A Contract To Play Professional Football With The Los Angeles Rams. In Doing So, He Became The Second Black Man To Play In The National Football League During The Modern Era. Kenny Washington Signed With Rams On March 21,1946 -- Making Him The NFL's First Black Modern-Era Player.
Woody Strode Was Born July 25, 1914, In Los Angeles, California. He Attended College At UCLA And Was A Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, The First Intercollegiate Greek-Letter Fraternity In The United States Established For Men Of African Descent. Strode Excelled As A College Athlete At UCLA. He Was A World-Class High Jumper And Shot Putter. He Also Starred With Kenny Washington And Jackie Robinson On The 1939 Bruins Football Team.
From 1941 - 1995, Strode Appeared In 82 Films And Contrasted Many Of The Stereotypes That Plagued Black Actors During The Early Years. In 1960 He Was Nominated For A Golden Globe Award For Best Supporting Actor In The Movie, Spartacus .
His Other Film Credits Include: (1941) Sundown, (1995) The Quick And The Dead, (1993) Posse, (1992) Storyville, (1990) Super Brother,(1987) A Gathering of Old Men, (1987) On Fire, (1986) The Bronx Executioner, (1984) The Cotton Club, (1956) The Ten Commandments, (1959) Pork Chop Hill And (1977) How The West Was Won.
Along With Sidney Poitier And Brock Peters, Woody Strode Was Considered One Of The Most Important Black Film Actors Of His Time.
Strode Died Of Lung Cancer On December 31, 1994.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr,
