ILLINOIS (WAND) - Bobby Mitchell, a man with decorated careers at the University of Illinois and in the NFL, has died.Â
Mitchell, who was 84 at the time of his death, passed away Sunday. He was a two-sport competitor at the U of I and was a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
He competed at Illinois in the late 1950s in both football and track and field. In the NFL, he was a player and team executive. He joined the NFL hall of fame in 1983, then received the same honor from the U of I in 2019.Â
According to The News-Gazette, Mitchell had a health issue that stopped him from attending a U of I hall of fame induction ceremony in September 2019. He got his trophy in December, when Illinois associate athletic director Kent Brown and Varsity "I" Director Lee Zerrusen paid him a visit in Washington, D.C.
"The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Bobby Mitchell," Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker said. "The game lost a true legend today. Bobby was an incredible player, a talented executive and a real gentleman to everyone with whom he worked or competed against. His wife Gwen and their entire family remain in our thoughts and prayers. The Hall of Fame will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration to future generations."
Mitchell's U of I career involved All-Big Ten honors in 1955 and 1957, when he played running back on the football team. He also helped the school win the 1958 Big Ten indoor championship when he set an indoor world record in the 70-yard low hurdles. That record only lasted six days.
The Cleveland Browns then selected Mitchell in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Washington Redskins before the 1962 campaign. In Washington, he was the first American-American to play for that franchise.
