Horace Gillom
Horace Gillom - The NFL's First African-American (Black) Punter
- 1947 – Defensive end; won AAFC championship; 2nd in league in punting with a 44.6 average.
- 1948 – Offensive end; undefeated season; won AAFC championship.
- 1949 – Offensive end; won AAFC championship; league absorbed into NFL.
- 1950 – Tied for first in American Conference; won semifinal playoffs; Gillom’s punts kept the New York Giants in poor field position throughout the game; won the finals vs. Los Angeles; 2nd in the league in punting with a 43.2 average.
- 1951 – Lost in the Championship Game; led the league in punting with a 45.5 average.
- 1952 – Lost in the Championship Game; led the league in punting with a 45.7 average.
- 1953 – Lost in the Championship Game; 2nd in the league in punting.
- 1954 – NFL champs; 2nd in the league in punting.
- 1955 –
- 1956 – Released during the season due to a sore back.
For his career, he is ranked as the 2nd best punter in NFL history with a 43.8 average. His punts had very little chance of return on account of his tremendous distance and hang time. In fact, he punted over 400 times before one was returned for a touchdown. “Gillom had such a powerful leg and kicked the ball so far; before that punters used to line up 10, 12 yards behind the center,” running back Sherman Howard later said. “He started the 15-yard drop. And with Horace, he would kick it so high that by the time guys got down, the ball was coming down, so most guys had to fair catch.” Lebovitz, Hal (May 28, 1978). “What does the ledger show?”. Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 2
Gillom holds the Browns’ record for the longest ever punt at 80 yards against the New York Giants in 1954. He also had a 75-yard punt against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1950. “Horace was the greatest punter I’ve ever seen play pro football,” said Lin Houston, former Cleveland Browns player.
Gillom was also one of the first black athletes to play professional football, but never saw himself as a pioneer in that regard.
First African-American Punter in the NFL - Horace Gillom - Reference Articles
Horace and his wife Mamie raised a son and daughter and he split work between the Los Angeles Recreation Department as an Assistant Athletic Director and a local hospital where he was a security guard. Unfortunately, Gillom left us too early, dying of a heart attack at the age of 64 on October 28, 1985.
In 1985 Gillom was inducted into the Canton Negro Oldtimers Athletic Association Hall of Fame. In 1994 Massillon honored him with a place on the Wall of Champions. In 2007 he became a Cleveland Browns Legend, which denotes the best players in their history. And in 2009 he was inducted into the Stark County Hall of Fame.