View source for Fritz Pollard

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1894–1986)}}
{{About|the football pioneer|his son, the Olympic hurdler|Fritz Pollard Jr.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name         =
| image        = Frederick Pollard, 1916 (cropped).jpg
| image_size   = 
| caption      = Pollard in 1916
| number       = 9, 1
| position     = [[Back (American football)|Back]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1894|1|27}}
| birth_place  = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1986|5|11|1894|1|27}}
| death_place  = [[Silver Spring, Maryland]], U.S.
| height_ft    = 5
| height_in    = 9
| weight_lbs   = 166
| high_school = [[Lane Technical College Prep High School|Lane Tech]] <br /> (Chicago, IL)
| college      = [[Brown Bears football|Brown]] (1915–1916)
| pastteams    =
* [[Akron Pros]] ({{NFL Year|1920|1921}})
* [[Union Club of Phoenixville]] (1920)
* [[Milwaukee Badgers]] ({{NFL Year|1922}})
* [[Gilberton Cadamounts]] (1923–1924)
* [[Hammond Pros]] ({{NFL Year|1923}}, {{NFL Year|1925}})
* [[Providence Steam Roller]] ({{NFL Year|1925}})
* [[Akron Pros|Akron Indians]] ({{NFL Year|1925|1926}})
| pastcoaching =
* [[Lincoln Lions football|Lincoln (PA)]] (1918–1920)
* [[Akron Pros]] (1921)
* [[Hammond Pros]] (1925)
* [[Chicago Black Hawks (American football)|Chicago Black Hawks]] (1928)
| highlights   =
* [[List of NFL champions (1920–1969)|NFL champion]] ([[1920 Akron Pros season|1920]])
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1920 All-Pro Team|1920]])
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1916 College Football All-America Team|1916]])
| statlabel1   = Rushing touchdowns
| statvalue1   = 16
| statlabel2   = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue2   = 2
| statlabel3   = Total touchdowns
| statvalue3   = 18
| pfr          = P/PollFr21
| pfrcoach     = PollFr0
| HOF          = fritz-pollard
| CollegeHOF   = 1262 
}}
'''Frederick Douglass''' "'''Fritz'''" '''Pollard''' (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). Pollard and [[Bobby Marshall]] were the first two [[Black players in professional American football|African-American players]] in the NFL in 1920. He is also recognized as the first [[List of Black starting NFL quarterbacks|Black quarterback]] in NFL history, playing the position for the [[Hammond Pros]] in 1923. Football pioneer [[Walter Camp]] called Pollard "one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen."<ref name="Carroll4">{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=John M. |title=Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement |date=1998 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana |isbn=0252067991 |page=4}}</ref>

==Early life==
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 executive [[Luther J. Pollard]] and librarian [[Naomi Pollard Dobson]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gray |first=LaVerne |date=2022-03-01 |title=Naomi Willie Pollard Dobson: A Pioneering Black Librarian |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/libraries/article/6/1/1/299077/Naomi-Willie-Pollard-Dobson-A-Pioneering-Black |journal=Libraries: Culture, History, and Society |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.5325/libraries.6.1.0001 |issn=2473-0343|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

He attended Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School in Chicago, also known as "[[Lane Tech College Prep High School|Lane Tech]]," where he played football, baseball, and ran track. He then went to [[Brown University]], majoring in chemistry.  Pollard played halfback on the Brown football team, which went to the [[1916 Rose Bowl]].<ref name="Reasons">Reasons and Patrick, "Pollard Set Records as Black Football Player, Coach",  ''The Plain Dealer'', Cleveland, Ohio, 1972, February 27, Section E: 5.</ref> He became the first African American running back to be named to [[Walter Camp]]'s [[College Football All-America Team|All-America]] team.

==Career==
Pollard coached [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University]]'s football team in [[Oxford, Pennsylvania]] during the 1918 to 1920 seasons <ref>"Crack Lincoln University Team Coached by Fritz Pollard", ''Philadelphia Tribune'', October 19, 1918</ref> and served as athletic director of the school's World War I era [[Students' Army Training Corps]]. During 1918–1919, he led the team to a victorious season defeating [[Howard University]]'s Bisons 13–0<ref>"Lincoln University Victor over Howard", ''Washington Post'' November 29, 1918.</ref> in the annual Thanksgiving classic as well as [[Hampton University]] (7–0) on  November 9, 1918, and teams of military recruits at [[Camp Dix]] (19–0) on November 2, 1918,<ref>"Pollard's Orange and Blue Juggernaut Crushes Camp Dix", ''Philadelphia Tribune'', November 9, 1918.</ref> and [[Camp Upton]] (41–0).<ref>"Lincoln Swamps Camp Upton", ''Chicago Defender'', November 30, 1918.</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Fred Pollard Finishes as Coach for Lincoln", ''Chicago Defender'', December 4, 1920.</ref> [[Paul Robeson]] was enlisted by Lincoln's alumni to coach the Thanksgiving 1920 game against Howard.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

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.<ref>"Fritz Pollard Answers Critics", ''Baltimore Afro-American'', December 17, 1920.</ref>

[[File:Pollard and Robeson.jpg|thumb|Pollard (left) and [[Paul Robeson]] in a photo from the March 1918 issue of [[The Crisis (magazine)|''The Crisis'']]]]
He played professional football with the [[Akron Pros]], the team he would lead to the [[National Football League#History|APFA]] championship in 1920. In 1921, he became the co-head coach of the Akron Pros, while still maintaining his roster position as [[running back]]. He also played for the [[Milwaukee Badgers]], [[Hammond Pros]], [[Gilberton Cadamounts]], [[Union Club of Phoenixville]] and [[Providence Steam Roller]]. An article in the October 1, 1921 issue of ''the Chicago Whip'' newspaper stated that Pollard served as "assistant coach of the backfield men" of [[Northwestern University]]'s football team.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pollard Made Asst. Coach at Northwestern |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-whip-fritz-pollard-made-assi/152959650/ |access-date=9 August 2024 |publisher=The Chicago Whip |date=1 October 2021 |quote=Pollard started his duties last Tuesday, appearing on the field in uniform}}</ref>

Some sources indicate that Pollard also served as co-coach of the Milwaukee Badgers with [[Budge Garrett]] for part of the 1922 season.{{Citation needed|reason=what sources?|date=August 2024}}

On November 19, 1922, Pollard and [[Paul Robeson]] led the Badgers to victory over the great [[Jim Thorpe]] and his [[Oorang Indians]]. The final was 13–0 with Robeson scoring both touchdowns in his finest pro football performance.<ref>"Path Lit by Lightning" by David Maraniss</ref>

Fritz also coached the Gilberton Cadamounts, a non-NFL team. In 1923 and 1924, he served as head coach for the Hammond Pros.<ref name="Reasons"/>

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 the [[Chicago Black Hawks (American football)|Chicago Black Hawks]] in 1928 and the [[Harlem Brown Bombers]] in the 1930s.

==Later life==
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 produced ''Rockin' the Blues''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049687/|title=Rockin' the Blues|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> in 1956, which included such performers as Connie Carroll, [[The Harptones]], The Five Miller Sisters, Pearl Woods,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.discogs.com/artists/650079|title=Pearl Woods|website=Discogs}}</ref> Linda Hopkins, Elyce Roberts, [[The Hurricanes]], and The Wanderers.<ref name="Carroll1998">{{cite book|author=John M. Carroll|title=Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUQaS0pHIocC|year=1998|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-06799-0}}</ref>

===New York Independent News===
Pollard also published the '''New York Independent News''' from 1935 to 1942, purportedly the first African American-owned [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="BAM200503">{{cite news|title=Fritz's Fame|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/1420/40/|access-date=February 3, 2016|agency=Brown Alumni News|publisher=Brown University|date=March 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Fritz Pollard: A Forgotten Trailblazer |language=en-US |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/fritz-pollard-a-forgotten-trailblazer-0ap2000000325958 |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref> The war and a rivalry forced it to close.<ref name="carroll"/><ref name="dunlap">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=Keith |date=2021-02-18 |title=Fritz was ritz as pioneer for Black football players |language=en |url=https://www.news4jax.com/features/2020/02/25/fritz-was-ritz-as-pioneer-for-black-football-players/ |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref> 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.<ref name="carroll">{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=John M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUQaS0pHIocC&q=%2522New%2520York%2520Independent%2520News%2522&pg=PA194 |title=Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement |date=1998 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06799-0 |pages=194–196 |language=en}}</ref>

==Honors and legacy==
* In 1981 Brown University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree on Pollard, recognizing his achievements as athlete and leader.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2003-04/03-078.html|title=03-078 (Fritz Pollard Award)|website=www.brown.edu}}</ref>
* In 2005, Fritz Pollard was posthumously inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]].
* In 2015, Pollard was posthumously inducted into the [[Rose Bowl Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jim Muldoon inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame|url=http://pac-12.com/article/2015/12/30/jim-muldoon-inducted-rose-bowl-hall-fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230233727/http://pac-12.com/article/2015/12/30/jim-muldoon-inducted-rose-bowl-hall-fame|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 30, 2015|website=Pac-12|publisher=Pac-12 Conference|access-date=February 3, 2016|date=December 30, 2015|quote=Also inducted (was) ... Brown's Fritz Pollard (1916 Rose Bowl Game)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mark Brunell, Fritz Pollard, Tyrone Wheatley and Jim Muldoon to be Inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame presented by Northwestern Mutual|url=http://www.tournamentofroses.com/news/mark-brunell-fritz-pollard-tyrone-wheatley-and-jim-muldoon-be-inducted-rose-bowl-hall-fame|website=Tournament of Roses|access-date=February 3, 2016|location=Pasadena, CA|date=September 25, 2015|archive-date=October 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030055644/http://www.tournamentofroses.com/news/mark-brunell-fritz-pollard-tyrone-wheatley-and-jim-muldoon-be-inducted-rose-bowl-hall-fame|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Pollard appears as a free agent in ''[[Madden NFL 09]]'' and ''[[Madden NFL 10]]'' and is also a part of the game's Hall of Fame feature.
* Pollard's son [[Fritz Pollard Jr.]] won the bronze medal for [[110 m hurdles]] at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]].<ref name=sol1936>{{cite web |url=http://www.sphinxmagazine.com/Articles/Alpha-and-the-Olympic-Games.aspx |title=Alpha Athletes at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany |publisher=Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity |access-date=January 10, 2010}}</ref>
* The [[Fritz Pollard Alliance]], a group promoting minority hiring throughout the NFL, is named for Pollard.
* Brown University and the [[Black Coaches & Administrators]] co-sponsor the annual Fritz Pollard Award, which is presented to the college or professional coach chosen by the BCA as coach of the year.<ref>Brown University – [https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2003-04/03-078.html Brown University and the Black Coaches Association establish annual Fritz Pollard Award] February 18, 2004.</ref>

==Head coaching record==
===College===
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Lincoln Lions football|Lincoln Lions]]
 | conf      = [[Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association|Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association]]
 | startyear = 1918
 | endyear   = 1920
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1918 college football season|1918]]
 | name         = Lincoln
 | overall      = 5–0
 | conference   = 2–0
 | confstanding = 1st{{#tag:ref|From 1918 to 1920, the [[Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association|Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] (CIAA) did not recognize a champion in football|group=n|name=CIAA}}
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1919 college football season|1919]]
 | name         = Lincoln
 | overall      = 2–0–1
 | conference   = 2–0–1
 | confstanding = T–1st<ref name=CIAA group=n/>
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1920 college football season|1920]]
 | name         = Lincoln
 | overall      = 3–2
 | conference   = 1–2
 | confstanding = 5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Lincoln
 | overall    = 10–2–1
 | confrecord = 5–2–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
 | overall  = 10–2–1
 | bowls    = no
 | poll     = no
 | polltype = 
 | legend   = no
}}

==See also==
* [[List of African-American firsts]]
* [[Racial issues faced by black quarterbacks]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Profootballhof|242}}
* {{College Football HoF|1262}}
* {{Find a Grave}}
* [https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2003-04/03-078f.html Fritz Pollard and early African American professional football players] (Brown University) February 18, 2004
* [http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/1420/40/ Fritz's Fame], a biography at ''Brown Alumni Magazine''

{{Lincoln Lions football coach navbox}}
{{Akron Pros coach navbox}}
{{Hammond Pros coach navbox}}
{{1920 Akron Pros}}
{{1916 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{2005 Football HOF}}
{{Pro Football Hall of Fame members}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Fritz}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Brown Bears football players]]
[[Category:Akron Indians (Ohio League) players]]
[[Category:Akron Indians coaches]]
[[Category:Akron Indians players]]
[[Category:Akron Pros coaches]]
[[Category:Akron Pros players]]
[[Category:Gilberton Cadamounts players]]
[[Category:Hammond Pros coaches]]
[[Category:Hammond Pros players]]
[[Category:Lincoln Lions football coaches]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Badgers players]]
[[Category:Providence Steam Roller players]]
[[Category:Union Club of Phoenixville players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Hammond, Indiana]]
[[Category:Coaches of American football from Illinois]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Chicago]]
[[Category:African-American coaches of American football]]
[[Category:Editors of New York City newspapers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]