Washington Redskins To Retire Jersey Of Former Illini Great Bobby Mitchell
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Bobby Mitchell will finally be honored forever by the NFL franchise he made famous after he stared at the University of Illinois.
The NFL’s Washington Redskins announced Saturday they intend to retire the No. 49 jersey of the late Mitchell in what will only be the second time in the team's 88-year history that a jersey number will officially be honored in that way. Mitchell died this past April at age of the 84.
Mitchell became the Redskins' first African-American star player after joining the team in 1962, when they became the last NFL team to racially integrate. Washington was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
"There is no one more deserving of these honors than the late Bobby Mitchell. Bobby was one of the most influential players not only in our team's history, but in the National Football League. He excelled on the field, in the front office and most importantly in his community where he had a tremendous impact on the lives of so many through his charitable efforts. He was one of the greatest men I have ever known," Washington owner Dan Snyder said in the team’s release.
Snyder announced the franchise is renaming the lower level of FedExField in honor of Mitchell.
"This honor would have meant the world to him. He would have been thrilled, appreciative and humbled. He felt that the retiring of a jersey is the ultimate recognition of an athlete. My father was a great family man who would have embraced this well-deserved recognition of his many accomplishments," said Terri Mitchell, daughter of Bobby Mitchell, in the team’s media release.
Before being a historically relevant figure and Hall of Fame player in Washington, Mitchell was already known as one of the best players to ever wear an Illinois football jersey.
Bobby Mitchell was a two-sport star in football and as a sprinter in track. He earned All-Big Ten football honors for head coach Ray Eliot in 1955 and 1957 but also he set an indoor world record (one that lasted just six days) with a 7.7-second mark in the 70-yard low hurdles in helping the Illini win the 1958 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championship. Mitchell would eventually win the 1958 Big Ten sprint championships in the 100-yard dash with a 9.6-second time and the league’s 220-yard sprint with a time of 21.3 seconds in leading the Illini to the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field title as well.
Mitchell was honored by Illinois as a member of the school’s 2019 Athletics Hall of Fame Class along with Illini football great Ray Nitschke. Mitchell is regularly mentioned by current Illinois head coach Lovie Smith as a one of his idols in the football world for not only his play on the field but the racial movement that was thrusted upon him in the National Football League once he was traded to Washington.
“It’s a great feeling, surprise of course,” Mitchell said in his Illinois Hall of Fame acceptance video. “Ray Nitschke and I were freshman and he was my freshman quarterback before he was moved to linebacker. It feels good to be honored in this manner. All I want now is more guys to come to Illinois and that place to go to the top.”
When he retired at the end of his 11-year pro career, his 14,078 combined net yards was the second highest total in NFL history and led to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. After retiring from football in 1968, Mitchell remained with the Washington franchise as a pro scout, gradually moving up the ranks to assistant general manager before retiring in 2003 after spending 40 years with the team as both a player and an executive.