John B. Wooten (born December 5, 1936) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

guard who played nine professional seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Wooten played college football at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

and was drafted in the fifth round of the

1959 NFL Draft The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dr ...

Early life

Wooten was born in Riverview, Texas. His family then moved to

Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62/180 and 285, and is the principal city ...

and he attended

segregated schools Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

through the 9th grade, before attending the newly- integrated Carlsbad High School. Wooten first played high school football as a sophomore in 1952, and he eventually earned All-State honors in football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He received offers to play football at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

, but chose to go to the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

instead.

College career

Wooten attended and played college football at the

. He joined the team in 1955 and became the second

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

varsity football player in the program's history ( Franklin Clarke was the first). As a senior, Wooten earned

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors and was selected to play in the

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...

. He is believed to be one of the first African-Americans to earn All-America honors playing a position in the interior line. He graduated in 1959 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Education.

Honors

Wooten was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012. He was also selected as one of 25 members of Colorado's All-Century Team in 1989, honoring the school’s first 100 years of intercollegiate football.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Wooten was drafted in the fifth round (53rd overall) of the

by the

, where he would play left guard for the next nine seasons. During that time, he blocked for Hall of Fame

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Jim Brown, widely regarded as one of the top running backs in NFL history. Brown led the league in rushing for six of the seven seasons Wooten served as one of his blockers, and was the

NFL Most Valuable Player The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

in 1965 with 1,544 yards and a league-best 21 touchdowns. The Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts, 27–0, to win the

1964 NFL Championship Game The 1964 NFL Championship Game was the 32nd annual championship game, held on December 27 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. With an attendance of 79,544, it was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS. The game marked the last c ...

. They also played in the 1965 NFL Championship Game and lost to the Green Bay Packers, 23–12. In 1979, he was named to the Browns All-Time All-Star Team. In 2010, Wooten was inducted into the Browns Ring of Honor, as well as the Browns Legends program.

Washington Redskins

In July 1968, Wooten demanded a trade from the Browns after a dispute with the organization involving an all-white Browns' golf outing in

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Ashland County, Ohio, United States, 66 miles southwest of Cleveland and 82 miles northeast of Columbus. The population was 20,362 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan S ...

. On July 19, 1968, he was released from the Browns by owner

Art Modell Arthur Bertram Modell (June 23, 1925 – September 6, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years and established the Baltimore Ravens franchis ...

. The

signed Wooten in August, and he played his final year with them.

Front office

After retiring from football, Wooten worked for a short time as a sports agent at Pro Sports Advisors from 1973 to 1975. He then became a scout with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

from 1975 to 1979. He was promoted to Director of Pro Personnel in 1980. In 1992, he moved to the role of Player Personnel with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. He was promoted to Vice President of Player Personnel in 1994. In 1998, he moved to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

Assistant Director of Pro and College Scouting. In 2000, he began to prepare for his eventual retirement, taking a step back to work as a consultant with the Ravens until 2003. Currently he is a
Football GM & Scouting
instructor for the online sports-career training school

Sports Management Worldwide Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) is an international sports agency and private for-profit sports management training institution based in Portland, Oregon. It is an accredited online Sports Management school and is certified by the Oregon Depar ...

, founded and run by Dr. Lynn Lashbrook.

Fritz Pollard Alliance

In 2003, Wooten became the Chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an advocacy group who works in conjunction with the

as it relates to minority hiring in coaching, scouting and front office positions.

Personal life

Wooten is a resident of Arlington, Texas, where he lives with his wife. They have five children and five grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wooten, John 1936 births Living people American football offensive guards Baltimore Ravens executives Cleveland Browns players Colorado Buffaloes football players Dallas Cowboys executives Dallas Cowboys scouts Philadelphia Eagles executives Baltimore Ravens scouts Washington Redskins players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from Carlsbad, New Mexico Players of American football from New Mexico African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople