“I have always been fascinated by Charles Follis and wanted to compose my own play about his story,” said The Black Cyclone director, Jim Stoner.
Stoner’s interest in the performing arts and theater started at The Ohio State University, as president of the glee club at Ohio State. “The glee club at OSU is one of the most decorated men’s chorus and I was proud to be a part of the program,” said Stoner. He would graduate and enter the workforce. In 1996, Stoner would find himself moving to Shelby, Ohio.
After he moved to Shelby, and became involved in it, he had an idea. “I always thought it would be an interesting book and I wanted to do some kind of drama with the story,” said Stoner. During his time as president of the commerce, he wanted to pay tribute to Charles Follis.
“While I was president of the Shelby Commerce, murals were put on the courthouse of Charles Follis. I wanted to pay tribute to him in some way and bring recognition to the community,” said Stoner.
Charles Follis was the first African-American professional football player. He began playing for Shelby in 1902. During the early years of football, players didn’t wear any padding to protect their bodies.
“These were tough men that could really take a beating,” said Stoner. “When Charles came to Shelby, people were uneasy about him playing because of his color. However, people came to appreciate him because he was very good. It was all about winning and that is where the nickname Black Cyclone came from because he was vicious and fast. Charles could not be taken down,” said Stoner. According to the playwright, Follis played an influential role in the fate another historical athlete.
“Along with keeping an eye on Charles, spectators should take note of Branch Rickey during the play because he was inspired by Charles. The two of them played baseball against each other and were teammates in football. He was a huge fan of Charles. Branch Rickey went on to become the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and he was the one who signed Jackie Robinson. Charles was a huge inspiration to Branch Rickey,” said Stoner. And he is not the only person to take note.
Stoner shared that NFL Films will be attending the play. “The intentions are for them to come opening night. It is very exciting because Charles Follis will get the national attention he deserves,” said Stoner.
“We have a tremendous group of actors,” said Stoner. Those actors will perform at Malabar Farm State Park on 4050 Bromfield Road., in Lucas. The “Black Cylcone” premieres August 9-11 and 16-18. Tickets are available through the Mansfield Playhouse. More information on the play is at http://www.blackcyclone.org/.
