On Sunday we will honor the late Bobby Mitchell by wearing a No. 49 patch on our jerseys 🙏 pic.twitter.com/XlgKVAFT5g
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) September 11, 2020
After the passing of Washington great Bobby Mitchell, the Washington Football Team announced on Friday that they would be wearing a No. 49 patch to honor the former franchise legend in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend, and it will continue throughout the 2020 season as well.
This isn’t the first thing that Washington has done to honor Mitchell, who passed away on April 5th of this year. The team announced earlier this offseason that they would be retiring Mitchell’s number, as well as naming the lower bowl of seats after him at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Mitchell is only the second player in Washington history to have his number retired, alongside Sammy Baugh, who wore No. 33.
Mitchell was the franchise’s first Black player after the organization was the last to integrate in 1962. After spending the first four years of his career with the Cleveland Browns, Mitchell was traded to D.C. in 1962 along with Leroy Jackson for Ernie Davis.
Mitchell led the league in receiving in 1962 and 1963 and receptions in ’62. He was named to four Pro Bowls, three with Washington from 1962 through 1964, and was a first-team All-Pro in ’62, when he hauled in 72 catches for 1,382 yards and 11 scores.
