.jpg) Pollard in 1916 | |||||||||
| No. 9, 1 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1894-01-27)January 27, 1894 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | May 11, 1986(1986-05-11) (aged 92) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 166 lb (75 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lane Tech (Chicago, IL) | ||||||||
| College | Brown (1915–1916) | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
Frederick Douglass "Fritz"Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professionalfootball player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in theNational Football League (NFL). Pollard andBobby Marshall were the first twoAfrican-American players in the NFL in 1920. Football pioneerWalter Camp called Pollard "one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen."[1]
Pollard was born in Chicago to John W. Pollard, a barber and Union army veteran, and Catherine Amanda Hughes Pollard, a seamstress. Pollard's siblings included advertising executiveLuther J. Pollard and librarianNaomi Pollard Dobson.[2]
He attended Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School in Chicago, also known as "Lane Tech," where he played football, baseball, and ran track. He then went toBrown University, majoring in chemistry. Pollard played halfback on the Brown football team, which went to the1916 Rose Bowl.[3] He became the first African American running back to be named toWalter Camp'sAll-America team.
Pollard coachedLincoln University's football team inOxford, Pennsylvania during the 1918 to 1920 seasons[4] and served as athletic director of the school's World War I eraStudents' Army Training Corps. During 1918–1919, he led the team to a victorious season defeatingHoward University's Bisons 13–0[5] in the annual Thanksgiving classic as well asHampton University (7–0) on November 9, 1918, and teams of military recruits atCamp Dix (19–0) on November 2, 1918,[6] andCamp Upton (41–0).[7] By the fall of 1920, he had begun to play for Akron, missing key Lincoln losses to Hampton (0–14) and Howard (0–42), much to the consternation of the alumni and administration.[8]Paul Robeson was enlisted by Lincoln's alumni to coach the Thanksgiving 1920 game against Howard.[8]
Pollard criticized Lincoln's administration, saying they had hampered his ability to coach and had refused to provide adequate travel accommodations for the team. "Prior to the Hampton game, the team was compelled to go to Hampton by boat, sleeping on the decks and under portholes," he told a reporter. "No cabins were provided, nor were they given a place to sleep after reaching Hampton. They lost the game through lack of rest." He also blamed the school for not providing the proper equipment. "I, myself, bought and paid $200 out of my pocket for football shoes for the team." He missed the 1920 Howard game, he said, because his Lincoln salary was so low that he was compelled to augment it with pay from Akron.[9]
He played professional football with theAkron Pros, the team he would lead to theAPFA championship in 1920. In 1921, he became the co-head coach of the Akron Pros, while still maintaining his roster position asrunning back. He also played for theMilwaukee Badgers,Hammond Pros,Gilberton Cadamounts,Union Club of Phoenixville andProvidence Steam Roller. An article in the October 1, 1921 issue ofthe Chicago Whip newspaper stated that Pollard served as "assistant coach of the backfield men" ofNorthwestern University's football team.[10]
Some sources indicate that Pollard also served as co-coach of the Milwaukee Badgers withBudge Garrett for part of the 1922 season.[citation needed]
On November 19, 1922, Pollard andPaul Robeson led the Badgers to victory over the greatJim Thorpe and hisOorang Indians. The final was 13–0 with Robeson scoring both touchdowns in his finest pro football performance.[11]
Fritz also coached the Gilberton Cadamounts, a non-NFL team. In 1923 and 1924, he served as head coach for the Hammond Pros.[3]
Pollard, along with all nine of the African American players in the NFL at the time, were removed from the league at the end of the 1926 season, never to return again. He spent some time organizing all-African American barnstorming teams, including theChicago Black Hawks in 1928 and theHarlem Brown Bombers in the 1930s.
In the 1930s, Pollard founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers. The Depression ended the Brown Bombers' run in 1938, and Pollard went on to other ventures, including a talent agency, tax consulting, and film and music production. He producedRockin' the Blues[12] in 1956, which included such performers as Connie Carroll,The Harptones, The Five Miller Sisters, Pearl Woods,[13] Linda Hopkins, Elyce Roberts,The Hurricanes, and The Wanderers.[14]
Pollard also published theNew York Independent News from 1935 to 1942, purportedly the first African American-ownedtabloid inNew York City.[15][16] The war and a rivalry forced it to close.[17][18] The paper's offices were on 125th Street and at its peak, the paper had a weekly circulation of approximately thirty-five thousand, ranking it among the top most read Black newspapers in the country.[17]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Lions(Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1918–1920) | |||||||||
| 1918 | Lincoln | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1st[n 1] | |||||
| 1919 | Lincoln | 2–0–1 | 2–0–1 | T–1st[n 1] | |||||
| 1920 | Lincoln | 3–2 | 1–2 | 5th | |||||
| Lincoln: | 10–2–1 | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 10–2–1 | ||||||||
Pollard started his duties last Tuesday, appearing on the field in uniform
Also inducted (was) ... Brown's Fritz Pollard (1916 Rose Bowl Game)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |