WOOSTER — The legend and impact of Charles Follis continues to be felt more than a century after his death.
Follis, a former Wooster High School student who became the country’s first Black professional football player when he signed with the Shelby Blues in 1902, will be honored Friday night at halftime of his alma mater’s basketball game.
The story of “The Black Cyclone,” chronicled in a stage play bearing that name by Shelby native Jim Stoner, led to then-Gov. John Kasich proclaiming Feb. 3 as “Charles Follis Day” each year across the state.
Wooster officials will honor members of the Charles Follis Memorial Committee on Friday night when the Generals host New Philadelphia in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.
Members of the committee are Lawrence Welker, Cheryl Goff, Mike Franks and the late David Broehl, along with Stoner and his wife, Amy.
The 6-2, 200-pound Follis earned his “Black Cyclone” nickname while serving as captain on the first Wooster High School football team during undefeated seasons in 1898 and 1899. He also starred on the baseball and track teams.
He signed with the Shelby Blues in 1902, earning $10 per game. He starred for the Richland County team for two years before injuries pushed him off the gridiron.
His career as a baseball player continued with the Cuban Giants, a Negro League team based in Trenton, N.J. While playing baseball, Follis developed pneumonia and died in Cleveland on April 5, 1910, at age 31.
He is buried in Wooster Cemetery.
According to the Wooster High School website, the ceremony Friday night will help to “commemorate the life of (Follis) and the profound impact he had on the Wooster and Shelby communities, the State of Ohio and the United States.”
Few know that story and impact better than Stoner, whose research led him to write the stage play, which has been produced nine times in 10 years on various stages, including Shelby High School.
“Charles should be recognized on the same level as Jackie Robinson, as he predated him by 45 years in breaking the race barrier in major sports,” said Stoner, who now lives outside Fredericktown.
“As Archie Griffin put it in my first conversation with him, ‘If you had not had Charles Follis, we would not have had Jackie Robinson for decades,'” Stoner said.
Since Stoner brought the Follis story back to life:
— a new headstone has erected in Wooster to commemorate Follis and his family.
— a street has been renamed “Charles Follis Way” in Shelby.
— a driving tour has been developed called “The Black Cyclone Trail,” which takes people on a journey of significant sites marking Follis’ journey.
— a partnership has been developed with the Pro Football Hall of Fame promoting the trail.
— a screenplay for a major motion picture is in development with Stonewal Productions and Peter Waldman.
Follis was born in 1879 to Catherine and J. Henry Follis in Cloverdale, Va. In 1890, they moved to Wooster, Ohio.
While playing baseball for Wooster University (now the College of Wooster), he played football for the Wooster Athletic Club. There, Follis faced the Shelby Athletic Club (later the Shelby Blues) and owner Frank Schiffer.
Schiffer offered Charles a job, and a place to live in Shelby, an offer Follis accepted.
While in Shelby, Follis’ ability and character impressed teammate Branch Rickey, who later became the general manager of the National League’s Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1947, perhaps recalling his old teammate, Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers, a signing that broke the race barrier and brought an end to segregation in professional baseball.
