Before They Let Us Play Vol. 2 — The Gridiron Door: Football's Color Line and the Men Who Broke It (Standard Companion Edition — EPUB)

Pro football pushed Black players out for more than a decade without ever putting the ban in writing — and the men who came back in 1946 reintegrated the pro game a full season before Jackie Robinson's baseball debut. This volume tells it in the documented order: Kenny Washington signed March 21, 1946, Woody Strode followed on May 7, Bill Willis on August 6, and Marion Motley on August 9 — a reintegration, not a first integration, because Fritz Pollard, co-coach at Akron in 1921, and a small number of Black players had belonged in the league's first years. It closes the on-field story with the quarterback door and Doug Williams, first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXII, January 31, 1988).

All 6 chapters, each closing with its sources and method note, in the clean EPUB edition — readable on any e-reader, tablet, or phone. The Interactive Edition (separate listing) adds recorded narration by Marcus, the timeline, and the educator quiz. The chapters: Fritz Pollard and the First Years · The Ban Nobody Signed (1934–1945) · 1946: A Year Before Jackie · The Quarterback Door · Washington Holds Out · The Coaching Door (Bridge Chapter). They built their own game. Then they took the whole game. Edition and price: Standard Companion Edition — EPUB $9.99 (this listing) · Interactive Edition $14.99 (separate listing). A TEKS correlation sheet for this volume is available with the Before They Let Us Play Educator materials.