New Keyshawn Johnson’ Forget First’ book historic blockbuster for NFL

Bob Glauber and Keyshawn Johnson’s new book, The Forgotten First is a must-read for all football fans and not only the Cleveland Browns fans. This great read will give you more insights on how far the league has come, and a further understanding of NFL betting lines and spreads before you start to wager on games.

The historic blockbuster narrates how racism was integrated into professional football a year before Jackie Robinson got past the color line in Major League Baseball to play for the Dodgers. However, although almost every fan knows Jackie Robinson’s story, it has been forgotten that professional football was integrated first.

Hall of Famers Bill Willis and Marion Motley were the first African American players to debut for the Browns in 1946 at the All-American Football Conference. The older National Football Leagues also featured Woody Strode and Kenny Washington, two UCLA alumnus who were Robinson’s teammates.

Strode and Washington played for the Los Angeles Rams in 1946, after the team won the 1945 NFL Championship as the Cleveland Rams. These four black players permanently broke the color line in professional football, after other players had previously failed. \

Keyshawn Johnson has proven to be an excellent storyteller with street cred, media clout, and player credentials. His achievements include being a first overall draft pick, a Super Bowl ring, over 10,000 receiving yards, and three Pro Bowl Berths. On the other hand, Glauber is a talented sports journalist, former Pro Football Writers Association president, and the winner of the New York State Sportswriter award two times.

The two can keep a story moving in an exciting style while being factual and on track. As such, the book is perfectly entertaining from a football perspective, although it’s also a key social commentary with a historical value.

Like many receivers, Johnson is known for being spontaneous and a bit wild, but people sometimes underestimate his capabilities. However, Glauber offers the seriousness and scholarship to complement Johnson’s colorful public persona. As such, their book should be a must-read for every rookie as soon as he signs a free-agent contract or gets drafted.

The book is a key piece of history to help rookies understand where they’ve come from and the various bumps that have been there along the road. In Brown’s case, Willis and Motley are the stars of the story alongside Coach Paul Brown. However, the white players include men like Graham and Groza who stepped up for them.

Other tidbits dropped in the book include the revelation that a linesman with the Los Angeles Dons used a razor blade attached to his hand wrappings to hurt Willis when he had the chance in 1946. Willis couldn’t react to the act, besides outplaying his rivals. Willis and Motley also got death threats in Miami.

Following the death threats, Paul Brown paid Motley and Willis to stay home when playing in Miami without explaining his reasons until years later. The behavior might seem unbelievable by today’s standards, but people did what thought they needed to do in those years.